The train to Cordoba was a pleasant four hour break to relax and have some quiet time after the constant din of Madrid. Too bad Cordoba was only two hours away. This is the problem with not speaking the language. I arrived in Malaga on the south coast, spent an hour an half killing time and then went the two hours back to Cordoba. It was good for a laugh at least. I don’t let things like this bother me or I would never be able to travel as I do.
Cordoba was better than I had expected for a few reasons: La Mesquita, orange trees, Arab baths, and food. La Mesquita is an enormous mosque, built on the site of a Christian church, that was convereted back into a cathedral. When you walk into the silent, dimly, yet artistically lit, forest of 850 columns and arches, you cannot help feeling that you have walked into a movie set. It feels unreal. It is truly a beautiful and serene place that goes on forever. That is, until you get to the middle. Right in the middle is a fairly standard and enormous Christian Cathedral. It is a bizarre juxtaposition and comically sad. The intent was to take back the space for Christianity. It looks like someone stuck an “I Love Jesus” sticker on a Quran.
La Mesquita’s courtyard is filled with orange trees and fountains. The sweet smell of orange permeates the space, immediately enlivening the senses as you walk under the intricate designs of the Moorish arches. Listening to the low splashes of the fountains, relaxing on the sun-warmed stone steps, and letting the oranges’ fragrance occupy my attention was a travel experience to remember. Ahhhhhh…….
It only got better at the Arab baths. It was like sneaking into a Moorish king’s palace bath. Everything is covered in intricately carved designs, candles and tiny star shaped holes in the arches and domed vaults provide light, and small pools in separate columned rooms allow for privacy. You start in the cold room for one minute. When I say cold, I mean looking-for-ice-cubes in the water cold. Then you move on to the warm room. It has the largest pool and is just warmer than body temperature. Stay as long as you like and then move on to the hot room for five minutes and return to the cold. Repeat. I went through the cycle three times before I was called for my rosemary scented oil massage. I was jello before the massage. I walked out of the baths feeling like a new man, incredibly relaxed and smelling of rosemary. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh…
Later, feeling a bit peckish, I hit a tapas place and had two that were outstanding. Rabo de Toro y Chocolate, shown, is bull’s tail and chocolate. Forget grabbing the bull by the horns, take that sucker by the tail and bite it. Served on a layer of pudding like mashed potatoes, the meat was shredded, molded into a nice round, and covered with a barely sweet chocolate, pine nuts, and some kind of small seeds. Oh, can’t forget the olive oil. It was a flavor combination I have not experienced and was intensely fascinating to eat. The other tapa was smoked quail stuffed with foie gras, accompanied with braised melon. I should not have to tell you how good that was. Ahhhhhhh…..
It is needless to say that I liked Cordoba very much. Even the former mental hospital turned hostel was nice; it had big rooms with private baths, good breakfast, and right next to La Mesquita.
Next up: Sevilla!
