Cordoba

'Puente Romano' bridge which crosses the 'Rio Guadalquivir' river to the Cordoba mosque cathedral on the far side. The mosque has a chequered history starting with the Visigoths who built it on the site of a Roman temple after the fall of the Roman empire. Later it was taken over by the Muslims and divided between Christians and Muslims. It has a very interesting but complicated history which is too long to explain here but Wikipedia will have more detailed info.

A small section of the mosque's exterior wall, which although interesting is nothing compared to the spectacular interior, which is mainly of Moorish origins. The Internet is full of photos of the interior so I have not put any on the blog.

Cordoba mosque minaret bell tower seen from the courtyard.

Horses and a carriage wait outside the mosque to take tourist sight seeing.

A typical Cordoba narrow back street where few cars are seen but frequent horse and carriages pass by, which makes walking around the city very relaxing.

The impressive 'Palacia de Merced' entrance facade which now serves as a home for Cordoba provincial administration.

Inside the Palacia there is an impressive courtyard and church (see interior image below). On this occasion there was also an excellent photography and art exhibition open to the public.

The elaborate interior

Sculpture of 'Manolete' who was a famous local bullfighter.