Spain: Two Cities Captivate the Weary Traveler

After 12 weeks of travel, I was getting burned out physically and emotionally. I was finding it harder to get up early every morning to catch a train and walk the streets of yet another gorgeous European venue. Thus, when I left Algeciras on the morning of 8 October 2012, I had a hard time not fantasizing about 4 days hence when I would finally be boarding a flight in Lisbon which would take me west across the Atlantic followed by another flight back to Denver.

A steep, narrow street in the southern Spanish port city of Algeciras

I was soon distracted by the mountainous Andalucían countryside on the way north to the small city of Ronda. Now I started fantasizing about returning to this picturesque area, renting a car, and hanging out in small hotels in several of the villages where my train stopped. I had chosen to spend a day in Ronda lured by guidebook descriptions of a steep and deep canyon which sliced the city in half. Ronda’s location at the edge of an escarpment helped the Moorish inhabitants keep Catholic troops from taking the town until 1485 just seven years before the last of the Moors had been killed or driven from Spain.

Countryside north of Gaucín, Spain

When I arrived in Ronda around 1:30PM, it was a warm day, and the five-block walk to my hotel with my pack and computer case seemed more arduous than usual. At the Hotel Arunda II where I had my reservation for the night, I meet with unpleasantness that I had not encountered in 12 weeks of travel: the manager was arrogant and unfriendly. As far as I know, I had done nothing to piss him off. His attitude didn’t seem to improve the following morning at breakfast (which he served), and I was glad to have to deal with this jerk for only one day.

Ronda: photogenic setting and whitewashed buildings

After dumping my luggage in the hotel room, I walked a few blocks to El Tajo, the gorge which has been cut by the Rio Guadalvín into limestone bedrock. The gorge is spanned by three old bridges, the highest of which is el Puente Nuevo(the New Bridge). “New” is a relative term as this massive stone arch structure (around 400 feet high) dates from the late 18^th Century but is newer than the other two bridges which lie upstream and cross the Guadalvín where the gorge is not as deep. Following a steep trail down to the bottom of the gorge, I found diversion structures for an old canal behind el Puente Nuevo and marveled at how Spanish engineers more than 200 years ago had been able to construct such a large and durable structure.

Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) spans a precipitous chasm and links two sections of Ronda.

Left: Puente Viejo (Old Bridge) was built in the early 17^th Century.
Right: Puente de San Miguel was constructed by the Moors.

Los Baños Árabes are Roman-style baths built by the Moors in the 13^th Century.

Tourist-packed Ronda at night

Continuing north by high-speed train the following morning, I reached the city of Córdoba, the former capital of Moorish Spain from the 8^th to the 11^thCenturies. It was a cultural and intellectual center at a time when much of Europe was stuck in the “Dark Ages”. After checking into my hotel, I walked to the historic Old Town, the location of two of Córdoba’s most popular tourist destinations: La Mezquita and the Jewish Quarter.

Modern downtown section of Córdoba

The 8^thCentury Mezquita (Great Mosque) is considered by many to be the finest example of Muslim architecture in Western Europe. The red and white stripes of its interior arches and pillars resemble candy canes giving the structure a unique flavor. Roman Catholic forces took over Cordoba in the 13^th Century and in the 16^th Century, part of La Mezquita was destroyed to convert the structure into a gothic-style, Catholic cathedral. Thus, part of the interior still feels like a mosque while a large portion has been transformed into an elaborate cathedral with numerous ornate side-altars. While the cathedral is artistically awesome, I personally find it offensive that a structure built for Moslem worship would be converted to a Catholic cathedral. It reminded me of the anger I felt 10 years ago when visiting Gazimağusa (formerly Famagusta) in Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus where the Orthodox Christian St. Nicholas Cathedral had been converted into a mosque. To the victors go the spoils, I suppose, but the arrogance shown by conquerors to take over and convert religious properties to suit their objectives is obnoxious.

La Mezquita (now a cathedral) integrates Moslem & Catholic design elements.

Islam with a “candy-cane” flare: This section of La Mezquita reflects its Moorish roots.

Intricate artistry of the Córdoba Cathedral, a converted mosque.

I also walked the streets of the old Judería (Jewish Quarter) near La Mezquita. Not much of the “Jewishness” of the quarter remains, but 1000 years ago Jews and Moslems lived here in harmony under the Moorish government. Once the Roman Catholics solidified their hold on Spain in the late 15^thCentury, Jews, like Moslems, were driven out or murdered by the Inquisition. Some converted to Catholicism to save their skins.

I concluded that Cordoba is a pleasant city with beautiful architecture, charming old neighborhoods and, much like the rest of Spain, a tragic and ugly history.

Córdoba’s Jewish Quarter:
Interior of one of Spain’s three remaining pre-Inquisition synagogues

Córdoba’s Roman Bridge spans el Rio Guadalquivir.

Una cerveza fría: the best way to end a day of street-walking in Córdoba!

Coming next: A brief visit to Madrid