Day Trip to Cordoba
Written and photographed by Rashid Fehmi November 2017
Madrid to Cordoba by Speed Train
We took the speed train from Madrid to Cordoba. Riding at a speed of 300 KM (186 miles) per hour was a new experience for us. Just loved the olive trees and the terrain that we passed through. We did see some Bull Farms, where they raise them for their famous Bull Fight. At the Madrid train station we got the opportunity to explore the Botanical Garden. Cordoba is almost 250 miles ( 400 KM) south east of Madrid and it was a center of education during the Muslim period with many medical schools, universities and learning centers. At its peak the city had a population of over 1 million, now it is around 300 K. If you are planning a trip to Spain do try to incorporate Cordoba in your itinerary, one day should be enough unless you want to experience local culture.
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| Botanical Garden at Madrid Atocha Train Station. Almost 4,000 square meter of enclosed green space. Not to be missed. |
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| Our train to Cordoba -pretty sleek |
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| The Platform |
Weather
November month was perfect. It was a bit cold in the mornings but as the sun came up the weather was pretty moderate. Cordoba is the hottest place in Spain during summer, so keep that in mind while doing your planning. Trains run on time. Our train was to Malaga, the birth place of Picasso. Cordoba is a short stop so be ready to get off and also when boarding you do not get much time. We had a great experience walking up the train as we boarded the last Coach Number 11, and we were in Coach 1. Language is a issue. Not too many people speak or understand English in smaller cities.
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| Speeding at 270 KM did get to 300 KM |
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| You can see the Roman Bridge right through the Gate - that is where we headed to after the Mezquita. |
No Real Planning
The only planning we did for our trip to Cordoba was to reserve our train tickets and narrow down the must see sites. We were open to using a taxi. However, as soon as we came up to the main entrance of Cordoba train station we saw the Hop-on-Hop-off bus. With the ticket office right in front, it was no-brainer. Went into teamwork mode one person ran to the bus and another bought the tickets and in no time we were on our sight seeing tour, destination Grand Mosque of Cordoba or as the locals call it Mezquita.
The distance from the train station to the Grand Mosque is not much but the bus takes a longer route giving us a tour of the city which we wanted to explore after we had visited the Grand Mosque. I have covered in detail
The Great Mosque of Cordoba in another blog, still here are some pictures.
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| Inside the Mosque |
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| The addition and conversion to a cathedral |
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| Reminds you of Moghul Architecture - these were wooden Jaalees, Moghul Architecture used Red Stone. |
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| Time for a Selfie |
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| Above the Pulpit |
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| Outside - entrance in from the right of the picture. Tower was the old Minaret. |
After spending time visiting inside the mosque it was time to explore the outside. Got the feel of walking on the brick layered and cobbled streets. Noticed many tourists wandering around, we decided to give them company.
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| There are many doors to admire |
Not sure if others have noticed but over the years my observation has been that smoking in the US appears to be going down but it has been picking up steam in Europe with female smokers outnumbering males in Spain.
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| One of the old door |
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| Just wish that crane was not there |
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| The River |
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| Guadalquivir River and its bank |
Roman Bridge
It was time to cross over and walk the Roman Bridge. There were people just sitting and enjoying the scenery, musicians playing, people walking by, some in a rush others taking a leisurely walk stopping taking pictures, couples holding hands, kids trying to hold on to the fingers of their parent and mothers pushing the stroller with baby inside. And in all this action some one would just inadvertently stop as it was time for another selfie and the person walking and texting not realizing what was going on got in the way. It was so much fun.
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| The Tower on the other side of the Bridge |
The Roman bridge was first built in 1 BC, since then it has been re-constructed several times. After walking back and forth on the bridge it was time to go to the Castle or as the locals call it Alcazar. The word Alcazar comes from Arabic word Al Qasr meaning of course the Castle.
Another interesting thing that we noticed was that the Gatehouses of the castles were simple and ordinary. Their main purpose was to fortify the building inside. However, we later learned that there was another reason to keep it simple. The Rulers of those times wanted to WOW their guests and so used it as a facade too. One could imagine a dignitary walking into the Gatehouse and not being impressed. But suddenly when you walk through the walkways and come out into the open there is no question that ones breath was taken away.
We walked through the gatehouse, stopped to pay our dues in cash, no credit cards, turned left and walked up some stairs and it was time to be WOWED. The gardens would take your breath away. The pictures do not do justice. Credit goes to the Cordoba Municipality that maintains the gardens. We saw many gardeners working tirelessly manicuring and keeping the place looking pristine.
No matter where we go the American food chain is there to add to the calories that you may have burnt walking those 20,000 steps in a day. They pay the municipality to put up signs just in case you may miss the golden arches.
Having spend most of our mornings at the Grand Mosque, the Alcazar, Roman bridge and the surrounding areas it was time to Hop on our bus and go to another stop on our list. This is a site that tourist may miss and not get off the bus. We asked our driver to drop us at Iglesia de San Lorenzo. It is a now a Gothic style cathedral that was once a Mosque. The minaret was converted into a tower. It is another remarkable building that was completed in the 14th century. Be careful as to the timings as the cathedral is generally closed during the afternoons.
It is one of the few buildings that has a balcony before the main entrance. Most probably the way the mosque was built.
It was now time to explore the old quarters of Cordoba. You have to walk the streets and experience the beauty and simplicity. Everything was so clean. Some of the streets were barely 4 or 5 feet wide
One more thing on our bucket list was to peek into some courtyards. And we were not disappointed. As many travelers have written these courtyards are very well maintained and the architecture reminded me of some old houses in Delhi. The courtyard, the Verandah, the flower pots and the tiles in the court yard.
Narrow lanes
The shutters were down as it was Siesta time.
He also decided to pack all his stuff and move on and we decided to Hop on the bus again and cover the city.
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| And the American Avenue was there in Cordoba Spain. |
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| The old wall and gate is preserved and maintained well. |
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| This was a Chimney of one of the old factories now it is a symbol of Cordoba. |
At first sight did not realize that it was a school and parents were waiting outside to take their kids home.
Kids being kids, as soon as they got a chance they ran out
Notice that the width of the bus was just enough to fit into the lane. If I wanted I could have reached out and plucked a fresh orange for my afternoon snack.
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| Yes it is real and not a set of a film in Hollywood |
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| The cars were generally small to medium size - there were many scooters on the road and parked on the sides. |
The Christmas decorations were up and the streets were lined up.
Roman remains right in the Center of the City.
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| Pomegranates growing in the shade of the old wall. |
We were ready to close this chapter of our trip and take our ride back to Madrid. Bye Cordoba till we come back again.
The platforms are a shark contrast to many other platforms that we have seen. They manage the passenger flow and only allow ticketed passengers on to the platform.
Everything was organized and worked like a well oiled machine. As we walked up to the main level there was a separate line for taxi. It may have taken maybe 5 minutes to get into our Taxi for our ride back to the Madrid Hotel
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I think most people have read the stories of Don Quixote and his assistant Sancho Panza, if for some reason you have not then try putting it on your bucket list and get to it whenever you can. It is one of the best works written in early 1600 and published in 1615. Don Quixote lives in his on world. Sancho Panza is another great character. A simple farmer recruited as squire by the self proclaimed Knight and the two head out to change the world. It is pretty entertaining. We did not have the slightest idea that our Guide would take us to see the Statues of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza that are in the Plaza de Espana.
