Wandering in Cordoba

Cordoba, like so many other European cities is full of little cobbled lane ways and as there are no gardens people take every chance possible to  surround them selves with greenery and colour.

 I found out today that Cordoba used to be the largest city in Europe with 1 million residents. Here is part of the original city wall, I could almost hear the portcullis clanging shut as we walked through it!

In our wanderings we found a fantastic living museum. It was a 12th Century house, no, that is not a typo, the house was 1000 years old. It showed the cultural history of Cordoba. I brought two beautiful tiles to feature in our new bathroom. The owner didn't know what it said but assured me this was the right way up. For all I know it could say "very stupid foreign tourist to be buying this over priced tile", but I think it's rather beautiful anyway. Pity there were only two available, but maybe I can add some more when we get to Istanbul.

Here is part of the decoration in the house with a glimpse of the courtyard. The back wall of the house is formed by the old city walls.

Our next discovery was the Cordoba Sinagoga, one of only three remaining in Spain today. This one was erected in 1315.

This is a peek at a typical courtyard that can be seen through entrances, many beautifully tiled and with the mandatory fountain , all over the city.

The rest of the day was spent exploring the Alcazar los Reyes Cristanos and gardens with terraced, fountains and ponds, belonging to the Catholic Monarchs and built in the 14th Century.

Tomorrow we tackle the Mezquita!