Mosque of Cordoba

To go inside the Cathedral-Mosque of Córdoba is to go inside another world, where you can see the remains of different cathedrals and of different time periods in the floors, structures and walls, as well as in the relics.

This church, “Mother of the Diocese”, like it is called, is not just a symbol for the believers but it is also a millenary witness of a passionate and captivating history. From the first Islamic influence inspired in the Mosque of Damascus, combined with Roman-Hispanic art and the superimposed arches alternating with bricks and red stones, along with the enlargement of the naves of the oratory, or with the materials used by Byzantine artists with beautiful mosaics for the construction of the “mihrab” (sacred space where the imam conducts prayer), and the Christian contribution of the floor with a Latin cross structure or the eight naves that vary in colors.

It is an exceptional mixture of Muslim and Catholic cultures.

The Cathedral-Mosque or Mosque Cathedral: I don’t know how much it is a Catholic temple and how much a Muslim temple; I imagine visitors feel the same way as me.

It is a unique place in the world, even though it is quite common that one culture substitutes another one (like it happened in Spain in the 15th century), but what is not frequent is that the victors not only respect the most representative building of the defeated culture, but that they construct their one temple inside. Here we find a gothic cathedral in the heart of an impressive mosque.