We picked up our Peugeot in Malaga and drove the ninety minutes or so up to Cordoba. It was a very pleasant ride on smooth, easy to use roads. Traffic was very organized and polite and everybody stayed in the slow lane unless overtaking – a wonderful concept. Our hotel, the Eurostars Maimonides, has underground parking. If you’ve ever complained at the tight parking at Trader Joe’s - that is like parking in a prairie compared to the postage stamp sized space we had to squeeze into.
The old city of Cordoba radiates out from the amazing Mezquita mosque in an intricate web of cobbled alleyways forming what is known as the Juderia or Jewish District. It is here that the inhabitants, (actually made up of a mix of those of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths) formed a politically sound and spiritually aware society that flourished in both science and philosophy.We visited the Torre de la Calahorra (link in Spanish), a museum depicting the “Life of Al-Andalus.” Here we heard the words of the Jewish doctor and philosopher Maimonides, his Muslim counterpart Averroes, and the religious zealots Al-Arabi and King Alfonso X, each representing significant facets of this cultural period of synergy.
We visited the sinagoga, the only remaining synagogue in Andalucia and one of only three in Spain (the other two are in Toledo). It is basically a one room building with an ante room and small courtyard. It has been unused as a temple in hundreds of years. 
4 comments:
You should be a travel writer, Martin. Looks and sounds like Cordoba is a fascinating place to see and be. How are the Spaniards responding to you Americans?
Just back from my yoga class high as a kite with inspiration and perspiration. A revelation came during meditation I can reveal the hidden secret embedded deep within
Yes the hebrew refers to the famed Cordoba tortilla
Love and kisses xxxxx
Chuck,
Everybody has been very pleasant to us. Tourism is huge here with 8 million tourists visiting Cordoba last year. By the way...who are you calling American?
Jonathan,
Our search for the perfect tortilla ended at a Mexican Bodega. My tortilla had an imprint of the face of the virgin on it. As everyone knows, Mary was Jewish. Upon listening closer I could hear the holy sound, angelic choirs singing, "Oy Vey Maria"
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