If you can climb the 54m (177 ft) to the top, you will be rewarded with some great views of the courtyard and mezquita below. The Mezquita’s main chapel (Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption) is found right in the center of the complex. The patio is where the Muslims https://www.velwinscasino.gr/ would wash as part of their purification ritual before entering the mosque. But that’s just what the mosque is – a peculiar but beautiful masterpiece that stands testament to 1500 years of human civilization.
- The courtyard is known today as the Patio de los Naranjos or “Courtyard of the Orange Trees”.
- Due to its status as a former mosque, it is also known as the Mezquita (Spanish for ‘mosque’) and in a historical sense as the Great Mosque of Córdoba.
- The new tower had imperfections, however, and required repairs only a few decades later in the mid-17th century.
- The minaret has since disappeared after it was partly demolished and encased in the Renaissance bell tower that is visible today.
- The first precisely dated chapel known to be built along the west wall is the Chapel of San Felipe and Santiago, in 1258.
- On the dome itself, are the images of the eight Fathers of the Church along the outer edge and an image of the Holy Trinity at its center, which together are part of a Counter-Reformist iconographic program.
Architecture
Ultimately, the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba is more than an architectural landmark; it is a living document of cultural convergence, conflict, and coalescence. How can architects navigate the integration of divergent architectural traditions without diminishing either? The Mosque-Cathedral also prompts reflection on spatial hybridity in modern architectural practice. It challenges the assumption that interventions must be either wholly preservational or entirely transformative. With the Christian conversion, chapels, altars, and choir stalls were embedded within the existing framework. Horseshoe and polylobed arches, adorned with alternating red and white voussoirs, create a dynamic interplay of color and form.
Today, the building continues to serve as the city's cathedral and Mass is celebrated there daily. The former minaret, which had been converted to a bell tower, was also significantly remodelled around this time. The structure itself underwent only minor modifications until a major building project in the 16th century inserted a new Renaissance cathedral nave and transept into the center of the building. The mosque was converted to a cathedral in 1236 when Córdoba was captured by the Christian forces of Castile during the Reconquista. Among the most notable additions, Abd al-Rahman III added a minaret (finished in 958) and his son al-Hakam II added a richly decorated new mihrab and maqsurah section (finished in 971).
Reconquista and conversion to cathedral (13th century)
The cathedral chapter eventually won its case by petitioning Charles V, king of Castile and Aragon, who gave his permission for the project to proceed. The Royal Chapel was constructed in a lavish Mudéjar style with a ribbed dome very similar to the neighbouring dome of the Villaviciosa Chapel and with surfaces covered in carved stucco decoration typical of Nasrid architecture at the time. While it is sometimes believed to have been started by Alfonso X, Heather Ecker has argued that documentary evidence proves it wasn't begun before the 14th century when Constance of Portugal, wife of Ferdinand IV, made an endowment for the chapel.
The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba is a profound architectural expression of the layered histories of al-Andalus. This building is a temple and a monument. Discover one of the most beautiful and unique buildings in the world.
Al-Hakam II's work on the mosque also included the commissioning of a new minbar (pulpit) in 965, which took about 5 to 7 years to finish. Abd ar-Rahman III's son and successor, al-Hakam II (r. 961–976), was a cultured man who was involved in his father's architectural projects. Mosques were normally aligned with the qibla (the direction of prayer), which is theoretically the direction of Mecca. The Great Mosque was built in the context of the new Umayyad Emirate in Al-Andalus which Abd ar-Rahman I founded in 756.
The arches that marked the transition from the courtyard to the interior of the prayer hall were originally open and allowed natural light to penetrate the interior, but most of these arches were walled up during the Christian period (after 1236) as chapels were built along the northern edge of the hall. The Puerta de las Palmas (Door of the Palms) is the grand ceremonial gate from the Courtyard of the Oranges to the cathedral's interior, built on what was originally a uniform façade of open arches leading to the former mosque's prayer hall. The most substantial and visible additions are the cruciform nave and transept of the Capilla Mayor (the main chapel where Mass is held today) which were begun in the 16th century and inserted into the middle of the former mosque's prayer hall, as well as the remodelling of the former minaret into a Renaissance-style bell tower. Abdurrahman III had a new minaret built whilst in 961 Al-Hakam II extended the ground plan and decorated the “mihrab” (prayer niche). The bell tower was built in the 17th century over what was the mosque’s minaret. Known as the Patio de los Naranjos, this open courtyard is attached to the mosque and surrounded by walls and the bell tower.
PATIO OF THE ORANGE TREES
The cathedral's first altar was installed in 1236 under the large ribbed dome at the edge of Al-Hakam II's 10th-century extension of the mosque, becoming part of what is today called the Villaviciosa Chapel (Capilla de Villaviciosa) and the cathedral's first main chapel (the Antigua Capilla Mayor). The mosque's original mihrab (niche in the far wall symbolizing the direction of prayer) no longer exists today but its probable remains were found during archeological excavations between 1932 and 1936. This wall-less cathedral looks as though it was just plopped into the middle of the mosque – a truly strange sight to behold.
It’s the fact that the building tells the story of over 1500 years. Its roof is held up by a series of double arches made up of its iconic alternating red and white bricks. This is one of the reasons why the mosque, along with Cordoba’s historic center, were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. In 1994, the original World Heritage property was extended to include not only the Mosque-Cathedral, but also the surrounding area and a number of historic buildings and monuments from Roman, Islamic and Christian times. Added to and altered but never demolished, this architectural hybrid is today a truly unique artistic creation.
Christian Iconography and Architectural Hybridization
Starting in the 19th century, modern restorations have in turn led to the recovery and study of some of the building's Islamic-era elements. Due to its status as a former mosque, it is also known as the Mezquita (Spanish for 'mosque') and in a historical sense as the Great Mosque of Córdoba.
- The historicity of this narrative has been challenged as archaeological evidence is scant and the narrative is not corroborated by contemporary accounts of the events following Abd al-Rahman I’s initial arrival in al-Andalus.
- An inscription is also included in the mosaics of the middle dome of the maqsura, in front of the mihrab.
- The ground plan of the completed building forms a vast rectangle measuring 590 by 425 feet (180 by 130 metres), or little less than St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
- According to Muslim sources, before leaving the city the Christians plundered the mosque, carrying off its chandeliers, the gold and silver finial of the minaret, and parts of the rich minbar.
- In 1589 a strong storm (or earthquake) caused damage to the former minaret, which was being used as a bell tower, and it was decided to remodel and reinforce the tower.
San Rafael triumphal monument
To the north is a spacious courtyard (the former sahn), surrounded by an arcaded gallery, with gates on the north, west, and east sides, and fountains that replace the former mosque fountains used for ablutions. After all of its historical expansions, the mosque-cathedral covers an area of 590 by 425 feet (180 m × 130 m). A restoration project began on the bell tower in 1991 and finished in 2014, while the transept and choir of the Renaissance cathedral were also restored between 2006 and 2009. More recent scholars have noted that modern restorations since the 19th century have partly focused on "re-islamicizing" (in architectural terms) parts of the Mosque-Cathedral. During this period, in 1882, the cathedral and mosque structure was declared a National Monument. In 1816 the original mihrab of the mosque was uncovered from behind the former altar of the old Chapel of San Pedro.
He also added a new, richly-decorated mihrab (a niche built into the qibla wall which indicates the direction of prayer) and a large maqsurah (an area that was reserved for rulers during prayers). The first minaret in all of Al-Andalus, it was built in the courtyard of the mosque. On the opposite side of the hall, the naves opened out into an impressive porticoed courtyard, which was also part of the original building and the location for ritual purification prior to prayer. A defining feature of the original mosque is its hypostyle hall, an expansive grid of columns supporting double-tiered horseshoe arches.
He reinforced the tower and modified the initial design of the Puerta del Perdón ("Door of Forgiveness") which passed through the tower's base. In 1589 a strong storm (or earthquake) caused damage to the former minaret, which was being used as a bell tower, and it was decided to remodel and reinforce the tower. The final element was the construction of the elliptical central dome of the transept, built between 1599 and 1607. He was responsible for building the transept walls to their full height as well as the buttresses upholding the structure. He also worked on the mosque building's eastern section (the extension added by Al-Mansur) by adding gothic vaulting to the mosque naves in this area. Before his death in 1547 he built the choir walls up to the windows and the gothic vaults on the south side.
Muslim prayer has not been always banned outright and there are some cases of token concessions in the past, including Saddam Hussein's prayer at the Mihrab in December 1974. The faded mural paintings inside the blind arches above the outer doorway include a depiction of Our Lady of the Assumption in the middle, with Saint Michel and Saint Raphael on the sides. Its current appearance dates from the work of Hernán Ruiz II, who took over work on the cathedral in 1547 after the passing of his father (Hernán Ruiz I). The small Postigo de la Leche ("Door of the Milk") on the west side of the building has Gothic details dating from 1475.
