Cordoba

On Saturday afternoon, I took a bus from Granada to Cordoba, with the objective of seeing the grand Mezquita. Upon my arrival, I was struck by two things: first, Cordoba is very compact, and second, everything in Cordoba seems to be under construction. It's like Spain is trying to create jobs or something. I didn't do much sight seeing, as it was already dark, but I did get some dinner and headed to bed early so I could get up at the crack of dawn.

In the morning, I was greeted with rain. And not just rain. A driving, Noah's ark, Tapico-style inundation.

Now, the rain wasn't all bad. Some positives:
1. I got to see some gargoyles doing their job.
2. Free food! Cordoba is absolutely filled with orange trees, and the rain was heavy enough to knock off some of the ripe ones, which I pocketed and ate with lunch. Yum.
3. My shoes got a bath.

Determined to still see the city, I went ahead and slogged over to the Alcazar of the Christian Kings, which turned out to be pretty cool. They had a large collection of Roman mosaics, as well as more Arabic baths and a small dungeon.

After that visit, I went to the Mezquita-Catedral to hear Mass, which put everything in perspective. It was the first Sunday of Advent, so the cathedral was decked out in purple, and just splendid. I could finally understand everything the priest was saying, and he gave a nice sermon about how we should let the weather remind us to stay awake and always be watching out for the ways God touches our lives. He also told us not to be concerned with the little petty problems of this world, like the rain, since they don't matter in the scheme of things. And he was right - who cares about the rain when I'm SO LUCKY to get to be here at all?

The old Mezquita part of the cathedral is amazing as well. I knew there were arches, but I didn't realize there would be so many; it is a veritable forest in there! I can't wait to get the pictures unstuck from my camera's internal memory so I can show you.

After Mass, the rain had mostly subsided, so I made a quick jaunt to some of the city's historical attractions: a Roman temple and bridge and some really old water mills, which were pretty neat. I didn't have a whole lot of time, though, before I had to get on the bus for the long ride home.

Good weekend.