Aaand... here is the beautiful city of Cordoba as I first saw it when we got off the bus. What you can see here is the La Mezquita Catedral de Córdoba,'described as one of the most important monuments in hispano-muslim architecture. This was our first stop.
The really interesting thing about this mosque/cathedral is that it combines Eastern and Western architecture; it was even shared by Christians and Muslims during certain periods.
After checking out the religious stuff, we moved on to royalty: this is the
Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Palace of the Christian Kings). We had a wander through the gardens, and the palace itself. I have to admit that I didn't find it as impressive as the Real Alcazar in Sevilla, but it was still interesting.
Just for a bit of history (and a varied one, at that): The palace was built to house Islamic leaders, but was later used as a royal residence (ie by Christian royalty), as a headquarters during the Inquisition, a town jail, and finally a military jail. It was declared to be a historical monument in 1931, and is part of the UNESCO heritage zone.
After a bit of free time in town, we decided to take tea. The place we went to was amazing, as you can see from the decor in the photo below.
Nothing like a bit of mint tea with some pastries to combat tiredness from early starts, long days, and lots of bus travel! You'll have to excuse this terrible pun, but the pastries were very Moorish! Ahahaha.
Had a bit of time for a quick walk, and went through the old city wall, before it was off to dinner, and back on the bus - for the night, this time.
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