4 August 2006: The next town of our trip is Cordoba which is 165km from Granada. We depart at 09:30 in order to go there early enough to visit some of the basic sights since we do not plan to stay there more than one day.
The national road which connects the two town of Andalusia is the N432. In the beginning we decided to follow the secondary country road but we change our mind quickly since it is more time-consuming. Following the national road N432 we drive fast in a very good condition road although in some point it is narrow enough. I cannot say that it is one of the best roads of Spain but we move without problems and easily. What is remarkable to say is that the road passes through olive plantation. Olive oil trees cover big areas and makes you thing that belong to one person. On the route we see some villages with many white houses which remind me the houses of the Aegean islands of Greece.
At about noon we reach Cordoba. It seems to be empty. In general the cities which are away form the sea, during the summer months are empty since their citizens’ move to more coastal cities. Because of this we easily find a room at the Hostel Les Acros (Romero Baros, 14) which has a magnificent atrium. As we learn one specific day of the year, as many as landlords want open their doors to people to see their atrium and reward the best of them.
We unpack our motorcycles and relax to the atrium which is full of flowers and has a beautiful decoration with tiles and plates on the walls. After a few minutes rest we start our wandering to the city’s alleys in order to go to them main sight of the town, the Mezquita (mosque) which is north of the Guadalquivir river. The Mezquita has rock walls with great decorated pylons. We move on a perimetric way and we find the entrance which leads to the interior. The ticket costs 7euros per person. In the beginning you think that you are inside a Christian temple because of the Christian interferences on the mosque temple. However, you can enjoy the couplet arches with lines made from red bricks and white stones, magnificent domes and a very reach decoration. In one point there is a room with churchy kits of the Catholic Church made of silver, gold and jewels. Everything is impressing.
Leaving the temple, we move towards the Hebraic uptown, Juderia. This area is full in narrow alleys and small squares, limy houses with jardiniere full in flowers on the windows and on the metal doors.
We pass outside of Casa Andalusi and we reach Puerta de Almodovar in order to go to the castle Alcazar de los Reys Cristianos. Unfortunately, it is closed and we miss the change to enjoy its beautiful gardens. We move to the Puente Romano Bridge, which crosses the Guadalquivir River, and it is under erection.
We continue our walk and we reach the main square Plaza Tendillas which is the trade centre of the town. We turn out to eat on a traditional restaurant at the Hebraic area where we tried some special Andalusia dishes. Later on we returned to our hostel to sleep.
As we have seen Granada, Cordoba looks simple and austere in our eyes. However, it is an interesting place to see if you happen to be in the area.