March 14, 2022
“There is no beginning too small”
- Henry David Thoreau
Anyone who has ever read these postcards from our travels knows that I am irrevocably drawn to old things. To walk on stones previously trod upon by ancient peoples is thrilling. There is a palpable disturbance in the air you breath as you gaze on a site so ancient. It is hard to even imagine living people with hopes and dreams just like you once walked here. You feel smaller. It is humbling.
Here is a flyover of the Mezquita complex
The Mezquita here in Cordoba evokes such feelings. In an area the size of a large city block at least four separate cultures chose this spot to build something permanent. They felt their world would last for eternity and they wanted monuments to celebrate this belief.
None of them lasted for eternity.
Therein lies the lesson; neither will our world.
Not much is known about the original indigenous people here in Cordoba. Like many other settlements, the bend in the river here brought them water, food, irrigation and allowed for agriculture. As mentioned previously, Andalucia is a land with a history of being occupied repeatedly. In this mediterranean climate, everything grows and thus it was a natural target for conquering armies.
The Romans were here for centuries. It was thought by some that they built a temple to the god Janus on this spot. But, archeologists and historians despute that conclusion. They did build a fortified settlement here. Romans invented concrete. Much of the old settlement has been looted as a quarry for later structures. If you were a Roman citizen, you never paid any taxes. Food, at least bread, was provided for you. So how did Rome pay for all of that largess? They did so by perennially invading other countries and taking bounty to feed Rome.
Because Rome was insatiable in its appetite it drove ever Northward into Europe. Ahead of the onslaught they created massive refugees migrations always on the move to find a safe area to live. Eventually the Romans were stopped in Northern Europe when these refugees began to organize and fight back. These people were known as the Goths.
No, not these Goths.
The Goths were a people group originating in Southern Sweden and they, along with the Vandals, were known collectively by the Romans as “The Barbarians”.
The Visigoths, which means ‘Western Goths’, began to drive back the Romans and , over time, took the Iberian peninsula away from Rome as they great empire split apart and collapsed around 300-400AD.
The Visogoths had a settlement here and built porto-orthodox christian churches. Here in the photo below you see under the floor of the Mezquita the tile work of an original Visogothic church.
In 711 AD, A muslim army, invaded Spain from across the Strait of Gibraltar. The drove out the Visogoths who, by that time had largely assimilated into late Roman society and the culture disappeared.
The Moorish empire would flourish for almost a thousand years here. Like many faiths it too would splinter. During the golden age for the Moorish kingdom, around 95O AD, Cordoba was Europe’s greatest city with a population well over 100,000. By contrast Paris had a population of 30,000. While Europe was mired in poverty and ignorance, Cordoba flourished and became a center of learning and art. It was a remarkable period of tolerance and cooperation between jews, Muslims, and Christians.
The center of it all was this formidable Mosque - the Mezquita. It could house 20,000 worshippers at a time.
This golden time, as it always does would change. The more liberal sect of Islam that ruled here was ousted by a fundamental sect. Repression followed. Civil wars erupted. The city’s glory days were over.
On June 29, 1236 Muslims said their last prayers in the great Mosque. That afternoon, the conquering Christians of the Reconquista set up a portable tent here and held Mass for the first time.
As you enter the mosque you can appreciate the relatively low ceiling of 30 feet. While Christian churches are heavy laden with ornamentation, Mosques usually are not. Here symmetry and calligraphy phrases of holy phrases rule. There had to be plenty of space for the many pilgrims to worship up to five times a day.
There are over 800 of these red and white arches here that seem to spread out to infinity.
This is the Mihrab. It is the altar or holy center of the mosque. From here the Imam would read scripture and pray. it is facing south in this church. Often Mihrabs are pointed in the direction of Mecca. The reason is unclear but it may have to do with the particular Islamic sect who built this Mosque. Three thousand pounds of shimmering glass and enamel panels adorn the altar.
As the Christians took control of Cordoba they thankfully did not destroy the old building. But they did altar it putting in chapels and altars of their own.
Eventually, over the protests of the local people, they built a large cathedral in the center that rose to 130 feet high. It is decorated in gothic and Renaissance style and features a large choir for the VIP’s to sit. Regular worshiping christians had to do so outside. Only elites were allowed in the church and it was all in Latin anyway.
No where on Earth can you see such elaborate Christian iconography right next to Islamic worship areas.
The entire place is frozen in time and visitors are generally soft spoken entering its halls. It was a privilege to be here and , at least for a time, walk on these ancient stones.
The fact that a Burger King is 20 yards from the front door to this place seems profane.
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