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June 23
- 30, 2008 |
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$3,295 (8
days, 7 nights) |
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The minaret of the Great Mosque
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Córdoba
(tour days 7-8)
"Córdoba is like an inverted rosebush, with it's roots toward the sky and it's flowers toward the ground."
-Ortega y Gasset
For nearly 300 years Córdoba was the most resplendent city in all of Europe. Under Moorish rule, Christians, Jews and Muslims lived together peacefully and prospered. The capital of Al-Andalúz (the Moorish Empire in Spain) attracted scholars, artists, mathematicians, poets, traders and lay people alike. While the rest of Europe languished in the Dark Ages, Córdoba flourished.
Classical knowledge was resuscitated for the first time in the West by great Cordovan scholars, such as Jewish philosopher/doctor Moses ben Maimonides and the Arab theologian/philosopher Averroes. Their influences have left an indelible print on human history. The "Golden Age" of Córdoba came to its zenith under the self-proclaimed caliph Abdal-Rahman III who, in 929 AD, made the city into the greatest metropolis of the civilized world. Imagine: advanced urban planning, intricate systems of irrigation, technical and artistic feats in architecture, flourishing and regulated trade, public lighting in the main streets (some 700 years before London or Paris) and a mosque that was to rival Baghdad and Constantinople in its size and brilliance.
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Our elegant hotel is built right into the walls of the old Jewish Quarter, and sits directly across from the prized Bullfighting Museum. From your room you'll be less than two minutes from cafes, shopping, and the Great Mosque itself. We'll celebrate our week together with a six-course meal on the roof-top terrace of one of Córdoba's finest restaurants, with views of the mosque and the accompaniment of live classical Spanish guitar.
From the Alpujarras, we are transported by our private bus towards Córdoba. After lunch we set out through the narrow streets of the Judería, the Jewish Quarter. The district, alive with shops and souvenirs, buzzes with activity, yet a solemn reign of history pervades in the long, lazy shadows of the afternoon sun. We will visit one of the three remaining synagogues in all of Spain and pay homage to great humanists and scholars as we pass their statues. We will also take you to the modern Córdoba which celebrates each year its enchanted patios and decorated balconies! Our last evening together will be one to remember: live Spanish guitar, exquisite seafood, succulent eggplant in honey and carnes a la brasa served on the rooftop terrace of our favorite Cordoban restaurant overlooking the mosque. Our tour nearly finished, we'll toast to wonderful shared experiences and brand-new friendships.
Our last day in Córdoba will focus on the Mezquita, or the great Mosque. This awe-inspiring architectural wonder, with its rows and rows of graceful candy-striped arches, holds a surprise at its center: a soaring a controversial cathedral! We’ll wander through the forest of onyx, jasper, and porphyry columns savoring the sumptuous elegance and beauty of Moorish art. No other site in Spain so overtly exhibits the fantastic clash and mixture of culture which continues to define Andalucía to this day! Our journey now complete, we’ll bid each other fond farewell and “Adiós.”
Click on a link to get the detailed itinerary for each place that we visit:
Sevilla (days 1-2) | Granada (days 3-4) | Las Alpujarras (days 5-6) |
Córdoba (days 7-8)
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