"The City of Khalifs" a Córdoba Travel Page by el_ruso

I stayed in Madrid and chose to go to Cordoba on a day-trip since the train only takes 2 hours to get here. And I was not disappointed. This is a very interesting city and very different from Northern Spain; feels almost like another country and is much more similar in style to Mexico than Madrid.

Cordoba was founded by Ancient Romans and became an important city during their dominion and then during the era of the Westgothic Kingdom. Arabs made Cordoba the capital of the Western Khalifate, and this is the period of the "Golden Age" of the city and the time of construction of its famous mosque. In the X century it was the biggest city in Europe, outshining Constantinople and Baghdad.

The main site of course is the Grand Mosque "Mezquita" which has been converted into a Catholic cathedral. A large old town is full of pretty whitewashed two-storied houses. There is a large castle of Catholic kings, an impressive Roman bridge (which was covered by scaffolding at the time of my visit), numerous gothic churches and even a partially restored ancient synagogue.

Кордова была основана римлянами у была важным городом во время их владычества и в период царства Вестготов. Арабы сделали Кордову столицей Западного Халифата, и на этот период приходится Золотой Век города и постройка его знаменитой мечети. В Х веке это был крупнейший город Европы.

Главное достояние города - Мечеть "Mezquita", преобразованная в католический собор. Старый город занимает большую площадь и застроен отбеленными двухэтажными домами. Есть королевский замок, древнеримский мост, многочисленные готические церкви и частично отреставрированная древняя синагога.