Experiences in Córdoba and Cadiz

Two weekends ago, my program spent a day in Córdoba, mostly because we’ve been learning a lot about the city since it was the capital of the Muslim nation way back when (the Muslims conquered Andalucía in 711 and ruled until 1492). The points of interest were Medinat Al-Zahra, a city in ruins, and the mosque (now cathedral) of Córdoba. I also stayed later to explore the Jewish neighborhood with my Memory of Sephardic Jews class.

Medinat Al-Zahra was built about 8 km outside of Córdoba when the struggles in the land the Muslims conquered had stopped and after the ruler declared himself the califa. He built the city to demonstrate his power and wealth and to impress other rulers. The city was abandoned during a civil war that divided and weakened the Muslim nation, which later allowed the Christians to reconquer Spain. All of the impressive stones, gold, and platinum was robbed during this time and sometimes reused in other constructions. The architecture of Medinat Al-Zahra was influenced by the mosque of Córdoba. The architecture of the two sites is considered the original architecture of Andalucía, which is a combination of aspects from the Syrians, the Romans, and the Christians.

There used to be 14 of these arches in this main plaza. Now there are 4.

The mosque of Córdoba was built in one year after the reign of Andalucía was declared independent from the caliphate of the Muslim world with its capital in Damascus. Each subsequent ruler added something to or expanded the mosque due to the growing population of the city. We have studied the differences in the architecture of each ruler, some examples of which are the different types of capitals at the top of the columns, the different colors of the stones of the columns, and the types of arches. When the Christians conquered Córdoba, they did not destroy the mosque, but they built a cathedral in the middle of it. I enjoyed seeing all of the structures we have been studying in class in person.

All of the arches and columns look like this in the mosque of Córdoba with slight differences, depending on the period of construction. The double arch design comes from the design of a Roman aqueduct.

Different arches and ceiling in the mosque from a different time period

Different arches to support the domed ceiling.

Cathedral in the mosque.

Roof of the cathedral.

Then, my Sephardic Jews class was going to see the synagogue, which is one of the three original synagogues left in Spain from before the edict of expulsion in 1492, but it was closed unfortunately. We went to this museum, Casa de Sefardad (http://www.casadesefarad.es/in/movie_entrada.html), which commemorates the history of Sephardic Jews—their life before the Reconquista and after. This visit reinforced what we have been learning in class, as well, but my favorite piece of information that I learned is about the hamsa. It is an amulet in the shape of a hand and has significance in both Judaism and Islam. The five fingers either symbolize the five books of the Torah or the five pillars of Islam. It also usually has an eye in the palm of the hand, which is supposed to ward off the evil eye. I have always admired the hamsa, but never took the initiative to find out what it means. Now I do!

Example of a hamsa

  The next day, I went to Cadiz for Carnaval, which is like Halloween during Mardi Gras. Everyone is dressed up in costumes, including parents and grandparents. Everyone is out in the streets. For the most part, everyone is drunk, but not at much during the day. We got there in the early afternoon and explored the city. I walked around with one friend dressed as Snow White while I was a pirate. On most corners of streets there were little shows, where parents and kids dressed up and sang songs making fun of some topic, usually a current issue. They were usually a play on words, so they were difficult for me to understand. Then, at night, there were stages set up around the city, where different groups would sing traditional songs in traditional costumes. My friends and I stayed in the main plaza by the cathedral most of the night (until 4 am when our bus left). An ironic picture: the steps up to the cathedral packed with people dressed in costumes and drinking. We also witnessed a fight break out on the steps of the cathedral, where bottles started to be thrown. That was scary, but I don’t think anyone got hurt. That was the point in the night were everything started going downhill; people just continued to get drunker and drunker. The ground everywhere was absolutely disgusting. I could not step anywhere without stepping on glass and plastic bottles, which reflects how much people were drinking. And, there were people going to the bathroom basically everywhere, which also reflects the level of sobriety in Cadiz on March 5. It must be a nightmare to clean up the next day. They must clean it every day because it was clean when we got to Cadiz, and the festival lasts for more than one week. Overall, I enjoyed seeing everyone’s costumes and seeing everyone in the city enjoying the festival, but I probably would not go again. We were walking around and standing for more than 12 hours, which is way too long, especially towards the end of the night when it was cold and my feet were covered in trash and pee. It was definitely an experience, though!

Margaret and friends

Cadiz is pretty.

Only 10% of the madness we saw at night.