Blog

Christmas in Al Ándalus

Thinking on Christmas is to remember our family at home singing Christmas songs. However, to know the tradition from other city is an experience and to have the opportunity to know Cordovan Christmas is something unique. So, you should come to Cordova at least once in your life! Christmas in Cordova is very different and special. You will not see snow, chimneys or candy canes. You will find other traditional things such as decorated lamps, anisette, mantecados, shortbread cookies or roasted almonds cakes typical from Andalucia, South Spain.

Christopher Colombus

Everybody knows Christopher Colombus, a Genovese man whose dream was to go to Asia from the West of Spain, but finally he discovered the American Continent. This famous trip could not be possible without Catholic Kings’ financing...

Curiosities about the Jewish Quarter of Cordoba: Sefarad

The Jewish Quarter of Córdoba is one of the most important places in Cordoba. It is the perfect place to get lost on the streets and squares, which is the best way to know the city. It is a beautiful place that brings you to old times. The Jewish Quarter is part of the historical centre of Córdoba, which was declared Wold’s Heritage by the UNESCO in 1994.

Curiosities of Medina Azahara

Medina Azahara was ordered to build by Abderramán III, the Ummayad calif in 936. Ten years later, the Court was moved from the capital of Cordoba (Qurtuba) to his new city, Madinat al-Zahra, the shiny city. The question is why having an important city like Cordoba, with excelent infrastructures and palaces, he decided to build a new city close to the capital of the Caliphate.

The Catholich Kings

Isabella I from Castilla (kingdom of Spain) and Ferdinand II from Aragón (kingdom of Spain) got married in the Palace of Vivero in Valladolid in 1469. From that momento they were known as the ‘Catholic Kings’ it was an honourable mention from the new Pope Alexander VI in 1492.

Curiosities of the Mosque-Cathedral bell tower

Last posts we talked about curiosities of the Mosque. This post is related with the bell-tower, which was built over the minaret of the Mosque. The minaret ‘manara’ is a tower of the islamic arquitecture for the religious worship. The muezzin call for the pray from the top of the minaret five times per day, although nowadays there are speakers in most of the mosques for the religious worship.

Maimonides

Cordova is known as ‘the city of the three cultures’ because there were three communities from different religions living in the same place. Muslims, Christians and Jews coexisted in Cordova from the 8th century. The jewish culture is the most unknown, although they were who stayed more in the city.

Curiosities about the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordova II

One of the most popular questions about the Mosque is how many columns there are inside the building. Today it is difficult to count them because there are some hidden columns around the Christian chapels and also because others were destroyed with the pass of time by the Christian interventions.

Curiosities about the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordova

The Mosque-Cathedral of Cordova was declared World Heritage by Unesco in 1984 because it is a singular building. It is unique in the World, not only because of its arquitecture, but also because it has changed with the passage of time. Inside the building you can find the mixture of its arquitecture from different cultures, first used as an Islamic building and then as a Christian temple.

Hasday ibn Shaprut

Today we will talk about one of the most influential and fascinating celebrities from the caliphate of Cordova: Hasday ibn Shaprut. He was born in Jaen (close to Cordova) in a very important Jewish family. When he was very young he travelled to the capital of Al-Andalus, Cordova, where he had a very successful career with the protection of the caliph Abderraman III and later also with his son Alhaken II. He standed out among the Jewish community and he became an ambassador and the personal caliph’s doctor...