Day 6: Attack of the clones and an old mezquita

1035hrs, Cafe Colisio, c/ Almirante Lobo, Sevilla
after last night’s debacle and an early morning miracle, we can now sit in peace. about to enjoy our usual desayuno fare of tostada con tomate, croissants, zumo de naranja and cafe con leche. i think both of us deserve it. besides, we will be taking a later train to cÃ³rdoba later from estaciÃ³n de santa justa. like yesterday, the weather has been kind again. there was a lovely westerly breeze blowing across the rio guadalquivir when we were walking near the riverside towards the south of the city.

Upcoming bloodbath next Sunday, Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza

we stopped briefly at plaza de toros de la real maestranza, probably the oldest bullfighting ring in spain. it was also here that they started to perform the corrida on foot as opposed to horseback. it was ironic to see the souvenir shop selling wide-eyed cuddly toro soft toys at a place where the real bulls get killed in a bloody spectator sport. i would never watch it, even for curiosity’s sake.

oh, here comes makan.

1325hrs, Andalucia ExprÃ©s, en route to CÃ³rdoba
plaza de espaÃ±a didn’t disappoint the star wars fan in me. and the camera-toting tourist, too. the noonday sun was beginning to bring the heat up, worthy of an andalusian summer. basically government offices now, it was built in the late 1920’s for the spanish-american exhibition.

anyway, this train isn’t the AVE. bloody didn’t read the timetable yesterday when we bought the tix! anyways, it’s only 45 minutes longer (six stops) than the AVE (stops: none) to cÃ³rdoba. no rush. just enjoy the scenery outside.

1905hrs, Plaza de Tandillas, CÃ³rdoba
i am writing this under the shade, enjoying a cone of vainilla helado (ais krim vanila). bliss.

The renovation of the Puente Romano across the Rio Guadalquivir.

el mezquita recapitulated the feelings i had visiting the catedral de sevilla, which i’m sure will happen again tomorrow when we get to the alhambra tomorrow in granada. the red and white arches between the 800-odd surviving columns was instantly recognisable from pictures i’ve seen in books and photoblogs of friends. despite having its central portion demolished for a cathedral in the 13th century, the christian reconquistas left the mihrab intact. i guess what goes around comes around – the mezquita was built on the foundations of a visigothic church in the 8th century AD. wars in the name of religion. nothing has really changed, hasn’t it.

These doors were opened in muslim times to let the light into the mezquita.

Where I almost jumped into to cool myself, Patio de los Naranjos.

like the catedral de sevilla, the mezquita has a patio de los naranjos of its own. this time with a big kolah where i literally cooled myself with the coolest water i’ve felt since… er, this morning in the hotel shower. i was drenched and i didn’t care. mandi-ed once before going into the mezquita and once again on the way out.

The mezquita's red and white horseshoe-topped arches.

One of the surviving columns of jasper, onyx, marble, and granite.

around the mezquita were an array of souvenir shops. as usual, when they are next to a historic monument, these shops would have the most ridiculous of prizes. apparently there is a kukuxumusu store in town but i didn’t really look for it. one thing we had was some french fries and large ice-cold diet cokes from the mezquita burger king. yup, you read it right. i think that was our first non-spanish meal in days! like that dialogue in pulp fiction, i also noticed that cerveza is served in joints like this.

Capilla real, added by the reconquistas in the 13th century.

along the way to the town centre, we walked through the narrow meandering streets (after a day in sevilla, i think we’ve gotten used to it – not for the claustrophobic!). the heat was quite bad this time, and it was a good thing i refilled three of our water bottles at the mezquita watercooler. unlike sevilla, there was nothing much else to see and do in cÃ³rdoba. ninie jokingly said our trip to the doctor’s was indeed a blessing in disguise as we may have been bored to bits if we had gotten the 9am train this morning! we even decided to just have our dinner in sevilla later.