Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

La Mezquita, the Great Mosque of Cordoba, is almost fort-like, high plain walls with elaborate portals and no visible windows. Inside it is cool and dark. When my eyes adjust all I see is a grove of pillars stretching in every direction topped by double arches of red and white brick lit by flickering chandeliers. The columns are of many different stones and styles dating back to the Romans and Visigoths. Wandering under the stone canopy I discover chapels built into the walls, then the mihrab which marks the direction to Mecca. It is very peaceful and spiritual. I move toward the middle of the mosque and I am shocked to find an ornate Catholic Cathedral built in the 15th C. Inside there is no sign of the Mosque. Outside there is no sign of the Cathedral hidden in the midst of the stone forest.