Cordoba, Spain

Puente Romano, Cordoba

Cordoba: a city in Andalusia, southern Spain, and the capital of the province of Cordoba. An Iberian and Roman city in ancient times, in the Middle Ages it became the capital of an Islamic caliphate. The old town contains numerous architectural reminders of when Corduba was the capital of Hispania Ulterior during the Roman Republic and capital of Hispania Baetica during the Roman Empire; and when Qur?uba (?????) was the capital of the Islamic Caliphate of C?rdoba, including most of the Iberian peninsula. It has been estimated that in the 10th century and beginning of the 11th century, C?rdoba was the most populous city in the world, and during these centuries became the intellectual center of Europe. Today it is a moderately-sized modern city; its population in 2008 was 325,453.

Palm Trees, Cordoba, Spain

The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy. The first historical mention of a settlement dates, however, to the Carthaginian expansion across the Guadalquivir, when the general Hamilcar Barca renamed it Kartuba, from Kart-Juba, meaning "the City of Juba", the latter being a Numidian commander who had died in a battle nearby. C?rdoba was conquered by the Romans in 206 BC. In 169 the Roman consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus founded a Latin colony alongside the pre-existing Iberian settlement. Between 143 and 141 BC the town was besieged by Viriatus. A Roman Forum is known to have existed in the city in 113 BC. At the time of Julius Caesar, C?rdoba was the capital of the Roman province of Hispania Ulterior Baetica. Great Roman philosophers such as Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger, orators such as Seneca the Elder and poets such as Lucan came from Roman Cordoba. Later, it occupied an important place in the Provincia Hispaniae of the Byzantine Empire (552?572) and under the Visigoths, who conquered it in the late 6th century.

Colorful, Rain-Soaked Street in Cordoba, Spain

C?rdoba was captured in 711by an Arab/Berber Muslim army. In 716 it became a provincial capital, subordinate to the Caliphate of Damascus; in Arabic it was known as ????? (Qur?ubah). In May 766, it was chosen as the capital of the Arab Muslim emirate of al-Andalus, later a Caliphate itself. During the caliphate apogee (1000 AD), C?rdoba had a population of about 500,000 inhabitants?estimates range between 350,000 and 1,000,000. In the 10th and 11th centuries, C?rdoba was one of the most advanced cities in the world as well as a great cultural, political, financial and economic center. The Great Mosque of C?rdoba dates back to this time; under caliph Al-Hakam II C?rdoba had 3,000 mosques, splendid palaces and 300 public baths, and received what was then the largest library in the world, housing from 400,000 to 1,000,000 volumes.

Door inside the Mezquita, Cordoba

Reinhardt Dozy wrote: "The fame of C?rdoba penetrated even distant Germany: the Saxon nun Hroswitha, famous in the last half of the 10th century for its Latin poems and dramas, called it the Jewel of the World." After the fall of the caliphate (1031), C?rdoba became the capital of a Republican independent taifa. This short-lived state was conquered by Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad, lord of Seville, in 1070. In turn, the latter was overthrown by the Almoravids, who were later replaced by the Almohads. During the latter's domination the city declined, the role of the capital of Muslim al-Andalus having been given to Seville. On 29 June 1236, after a siege of several months, it was captured by King Ferdinand III of Castile, during the Spanish Reconquista. The city was divided into 14 colaciones, and numerous new church buildings were added. The city declined especially after Renaissance times. In the 18th century it was reduced to just 20,000 inhabitants. The population and economy started to increase only in the early 20th century.

Puente Romano, Cordoba

With the most extensive historical heritages in the world declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO (on 17 December 1984), the city also features a number of modern areas, including the districts of Zoco and the railway station district. The regional government (the Junta de Andaluc?a) has been studying the creation of a C?rdoba Metropolitan Area that would comprise, in addition to the capital itself, the towns of Villafranca de C?rdoba, Obejo, La Carlota, Villaharta, Villaviciosa, Almod?var del R?o and Guadalcazar. The combined population would be around 351,000.

Moorish Arches Striped in Red and Yellow

Cordoba is located on the banks of the Guadalquivir river, and its easy access to the mining resources of the Sierra Morena (coal, lead, zinc) satisfies the population?s needs. Cordoba is in a depression of the valley of the Guadalquivir. In the north is the Sierra Morena, defining the borders of the municipal area. 

Religious Statue in the Mezquita, Cordoba, Spain

Cordoba has the highest summer average daily temperatures in Europe and days with temperature over (104??F) are common in the summer. July's 24 hour average of 81??F is among the highest in Europe, despite having relatively cool nightly temperatures. Cordoba has a Mediterranean climate with Atlantic coastal influences. Winters are mild with isolated frosts. Precipitation is concentrated in the coldest months; this is due to the Atlantic coastal influence. Precipitation is generated by storms from the west that occur most frequently from December through February. This Atlantic characteristic then gives way to hot summers with significant drought typical of Mediterranean climates. Annual rain surpasses 500?mm, although there is a recognized inter-annual irregularity. In agreement with the K?ppen climate classification, the local climate can be described as Csa.

Exterior of Mezquita with Tower, Cordoba, Spain

C?rdoba has the second largest Old town in Europe, the largest urban area in the world declared World Heritage by UNESCO. The most important building and symbol of the city, the Great Mosque of C?rdoba and current cathedral, alongside the Roman bridge, are the best known facet of the city. Other Roman remains include the Roman Temple, the theater, mausoleum, the Colonial Forum, the Forum Adiectum, an amphitheater and the remains of the Palace of the Emperor Maximian in the Archaeological site of Cercadilla. Near the cathedral is the old Jewish quarter, which consists of many irregular streets, such as Calleja de las Flores and Calleja del Pa?uelo, and which is home to the Synagogue and the Sephardic House. In the extreme southwest of the Old Town is the Alc?zar de los Reyes Cristianos, a former royal property and the seat of the Inquisition; adjacent to it are the Royal Stables, a breeding place of the Andalusian horse. Near the stables are located, along the walls, the medieval Baths of the Caliphate. In the south of the Old town and east of the mosque, in the Plaza del Potro, is the Posada del Potro, a row of inns mentioned in literary works such as Don Quixote and La Feria de los Discretos and which remained active until 1972. The plaza and the inn get their name from the fountain in the center of the plaza, which represents a foal. Near this plaza is Arco del Portillo (14th century arch).

Purple and Orange Sunset

Along the banks of the Guadalquivirare the Mills of the Guadalquivir, Muslim era buildings that took advantage of the water force to grind the flour. They include the Albolafia, Alegr?a, Carbonell, Casillas, Enmedio, Lope Garc?a, Martos, P?palo, San Antonio, San Lorenzo and San Rafael mills. Surrounding the large Old town are the Roman walls: gates include the Puerta de Almod?var, the Puerta de Sevilla and Puerta del Puente, which are the only three gates remaining from the original thirteen.

Slick Wet Pavement, Cordoba

Towers and fortresses include the Malmuerta Tower, the Bel?n Tower and the Puerta del Rinc?n's Tower, and the fortress of the Calahorra Tower and of the Donceles Tower. Palace buildings in the Old Town include the Palacio de Viana (14th century) and the Palacio de la Merced among others. On the outskirts of the city lies the Archaeological site of the city of Medina Azahara, which, together with the Alhambra in Granada, is one of the main Spanish-Muslim architectures in Spain. Other sights are the Cuesta del Bail?o (a staircase connecting the upper and lower part of the city) and the Minaret of San Juan, once part of an Islamic mosque.

Angel Statue on the Puente Romano, Cordoba

Scattered throughout the city are ten statues of Archangel Raphael, protector and custodian of the city. These are called Triumphs of Saint Raphael and are located in landmarks such as the Roman Bridge, the Puerta del Puente and the Plaza del Potro. In the western part of the Historic Centre are the statue to Seneca (near the Puerta de Almod?var, a gate of Islamic ordigina), the Statue of Averroes (next to the Puerta de la Luna), and Maimonides (in the plaza de Tiberiades). Further south, near the Puerta de Sevilla, are the sculpture to the poet Ibn Zayd?n and the sculpture of the writer and poet Ibn Hazm and, inside the Alc?zar de los Reyes Cristianos, the monument to the Catholic Monarchs and Christopher Columbus.

There are also several sculptures placed in plazas of the Old Town. In the central Plaza de las Tendillas is the equestrian statue of the Gonzalo Fern?ndez de C?rdoba, in the Plaza de Capuchinos is the Cristo de los Faroles, in Plaza de la Trinidad is the statue of Luis de G?ngora, in the Plaza del Cardenal Salazar is the bust of Ahmad ibn Muhammad abu Yafar al-Gafiqi, in the Plaza de Capuchinas is the statue to the bishop Osio, in Plaza del Conde de Priego is the monument to Manolete and the Campo Santo de los M?rtires is a statue to Al-Hakam II and the monument to the lovers.

In the Jardines de la Agricultura is the monument to the painter Julio Romero de Torres, a bust by sculptor Mateo Inurria, the bust of the poet Julio Aumente and the sculpture dedicated to the gardener Aniceto Garc?a Rold?n, who was killed in the park. Further south, in the Gardens of the Duke of Rivas, is a statue of the writer and poet ?ngel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas made by the sculptor Mariano Benlliure. In the Guadalquivir river, near the San Rafael Bridge is the Island of the sculptures, an artificial island with a dozen stone sculptures executed during the International Sculpture Symposium. Up the river, near the Miraflores bridge, is the "Hombre Rio", a sculpture of a swimmer looking to the sky and whose orientation varies depending from the current.