Day 7 in Spain - Malaga to Córdoba to Seville!
Hello
everyone, believe it or not, we only have four days left on our tour!
Yesterday, we left Malaga and headed to Córdoba and Seville. After
arriving in Córdoba and getting off the bus, we were met by a huge
bridge constructed by the Romans adjacent to Córdoba called “El Puente
Romano”.
The
main reason for us to visit Córdoba was to visit one of the largest
structures in all of Spain - the Mezquita Catedral de Córdoba, which
began as an impressive 10th century Arabian mosque, the third largest in
the world! If you have not yet received my common point in these
emails, let me pronounce again. We on this tour have been amazed at how
much Muslim culture has influenced Spain.
Of
course, we all know that Spain was part of the Roman Empire during
first through fifth centuries. We did not know that Muslims conquered
and occupied Spain from roughly 500 - 1500 AD. You cannot visit
Andalusia, that is southern Spain, without seeing remnants of Muslim
culture. In general, Spain did not destroy Muslim culture. They
appreciated the beauty of the artistry and chose to build around
existing Muslim structures.
Today
we visited the Cathedral of Cordoba which was a converted Muslim
Mosque. Masses are still held in this structure today. We were amazed
that rather than destroying a conquered culture and erecting from
scratch, the Spaniards recycled the structures and made Christian. The
mosque that we visited was first erected in 700 AD, originally with
over one thousand columns in the structure, currently with 851 are still
standing today. Inside the Mosque is a addition of an enormous
Catholic cathedral - so imagine the size of this structure to house a
Cathedral!
This
entire structure is a confluence of so very different styles, it was
utterly confusion - but beautiful. At times one sees Muslim columns,
and around the corner, one sees gothic Catholic stained glass. See
photos attached of this incredible structure. Thousands were flocking
to visit daily. Our dedicated tour guide took no less than two hours to
the history of the structure which I will do bore you with now.
After
the tour, lunch was on our own. Once again, we were exploring many
type of new foods. During lunch, I had ox tail (bull meat) for the
first time. It was quite tasty! See photo attached.
As
a professional musician, I have been very impressed with the quality of
music heard on the streets from the local musicians. While waiting
outside the Cathedral to go to Seville, I heard a string duo, called
Happy Strings, play some delightful tunes which were quite refreshing
and relaxing to hear while waiting. I recorded a few of the tunes on my
phone and shared with you via YouTube. See links below - worth your
time to listen.
After
we re-assembled, we were on our way to Sevilla, also in the province of
Andalusia. Sevilla, which lies on the Guadalquivir river, was a very
important trade city. In the 15th century, Sevilla was known as the
Florence of Spain! Seville thrived much like Florence during the
Renaissance.
Sevilla
is also known for being known as the being the capital of Flamenco.
Although not originally on our itinerary, our guides, arranged for us
to see a flamenco show in the city where Flamenco flourishes even today.
Please see link below to the finale of the flamenco show seen by all
who chose to spend thirty Euros to see the show. Although we
appreciated the footwork of the dancers and wanted to understand and
experience a huge part of the Spanish culture, after some of us saw
Samba in Brazil, and Tango in Argentina, we were genuinely not as
entertained, although this could be that we have not a a moment to catch
our breath and rest on this tour since we have arrived. No complaints,
why come to a foreign country to sleep?
See photos attached. of our day in both Córdoba and Seville and YouTube links of musicians at the Cathedral.
EC
P.S.
I included a few of yesterday’s photos from the sand sculpture again.
In trying for you to see the entire display, the photos selected were
not close enough to appreciate the detail of the sand sculpture. Enjoy!
Pachelbel’s Canon in D
All of Me
Stand by Me
Flamenco Show Finale:
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