Light and dark - the Mezquita, Cordoba
The Mezquita is one of the most mesmerising buildings I have ever visited.
It was a mosque, first constructed in the 10th century, probably on the site of a Visigothic place of worship.
At that time, Cordoba, the capital of the emirate of Al-Andalus, was one of the biggest and most cosmopolitan cities in Europe.
It was then extended by various Islamic rulers before having a Catholic cathedral built in the middle of it when Christians conquered the emirate.
Today it is officially a cathedral, though its architecture, inside and out, shows clearly that it was conceived and built as a mosque.
It is regarded as one of the most outstanding Islamic buildings in the world.
Light and dark - the Mezquita, Cordoba
The Mezquita is one of the most mesmerising buildings I have ever visited.
It was a mosque, first constructed in the 10th century, probably on the site of a Visigothic place of worship.
At that time, Cordoba, the capital of the emirate of Al-Andalus, was one of the biggest and most cosmopolitan cities in Europe.
It was then extended by various Islamic rulers before having a Catholic cathedral built in the middle of it when Christians conquered the emirate.
Today it is officially a cathedral, though its architecture, inside and out, shows clearly that it was conceived and built as a mosque.
It is regarded as one of the most outstanding Islamic buildings in the world.