Red and white coloured arcs spanning between hundreds of columns. Reduced light. Vast space. People roaming freely through this important historic building. The Mezquita, a mosque-cathedral in Córdoba, Spain is maybe the most beautiful house of prayer in the world and enchanting at every visit.
It is located in the heart of Córdoba close to river Guadalquivir. It is 179 meters long and 134 meters wide and in front of it you’ll find the classic surroundings of a mosque: a courtyard (that was once used for cleaning) now filled with lemon trees and a huge tower. As it was converted into a Roman-Catholic church after the Reconquista some elements have been removed (like the well in the courtyard) and in the center of the Mezquita an altar has been integrated.
The Mezquita was built by different emirs during the time of Arab reign in Andalucía – beginning in 784. It was extended multiple times and in 1236 after the Catholic kings took over this area it was transformed to todays Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción by king Ferdinand III. It is somehow the direct mirror image of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey which was for very long time a Christian church and later converted into a mosque.
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