A Busy Day, sort of (6/17)

We left Meson de Sancho in a hurry this morning because we overslept.  I made up some time on the drive to Cordoba, so we didn't miss much.

Today's highlight was the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba (Mezquite-Catedral de Córdoba).  It started out as a small church.  After the Muslim conquest of Spain in 711, it was divided into Christian and Muslim halves.  In 784, the emir 'Abd al-Rahman I bought the Christian half, demolished the entire church, and began to build the Grand Mosque.  Cordoba returned to Christian rule in 1236 and the building became a Roman Catholic church.

Inside the Mosque-Cathedral

Bibles from the 17th Century

Altar

Chapel of St. Acacio

Islamic doorway

Cathedral Dome

We backtracked a bit to visit the Castillo del Almodovar.  It is about 15 miles from Cordoba, on the left bank of the Guadalquivir River.

Almodovar Castle

Entrance

View of the town (Almodovar del Rio) from the Castle tower

Another view

Castle fountain.  Couldn't drink he water, but it was over 100 F so it served its purpose.

Cordoba had a lot more to see, but we just didn't have the time to do it all.  I think we saw two of the more important sights, but I'd like to come back and see more.

As impressive as these two sites were, my favorite part of the day was when we got to the town of Almagro.  It's a small town about 12 miles outside of Ciudad Real, and I chose it as an overnight because the hotel prices were less.  We were actually in a private apartment and the hostess was really great.  She brought her adult son to help translate (though I thought she spoke English pretty well) and both of them conversed in Spanish with Kyle.  

I always like big cities, but I am beginning to see the charms of small-town life.  Best of all, parking was free!

Town Square, Almagro

Cafes in the town square

St. Bartholomew Church, right around the corner from our place.

Statue of Diego del Almagro, conquistador who is said to be the first European to visit Chile.

That last picture was taken on Sunday the 18th.  Good thing I went out because the street where I parked had temporarily closed for a procession they were having.  I'd've loved to see that, but we had to keep moving.

¿Cómo se dice "How hot is it?" en Español?  ¿Qué tan caliente es?