Friday, October 16, 2009

Córdoba
















Last weekend my host family and I visited the southern city of Córdoba, a city full of tourists, pubs, and more importantly history. The Roman Catholic Cathedral in Córdoba was originally a Moorish Mosque, but was converted into a Gothic style cathedral during the Spanish Reconquista. The mixture of cultures provides for an absolutely magnificent monument. The building began around 600 AD, which absolutely blows my mind. The place is breathtaking. It was incredible to be in the presence of something so ancient and so beautiful.
The old streets of Córdoba are so small ad lovely. And although there is not much room for trees or plants, many homes have patios or gardens in the middle, providing the beauty of nature in an area where there is no room for yards or lawns, unless you are royalty. In windows of the three-story buildings are hanging plants and planters, filled with fragrant flowers and sometimes herbs. You can almost reach across from one house to the other.
While there, I overheard Muslims, Brits, other Americans, and many, many Spanish speakers. It was interesting for me to hear the differences in dialects, as my host family is from the Valencian community on the east coast and we were in Andalucia, the southernmost autonomous community.



http://www.ryeflorida.org/Students/OB/2009-10/mariah.htm

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