Hundreds of red arches in Cordoba

We arrived in Cordoba by way of another blablacar. Blablacar is extremely popular in Spain it appears. When driving in we saw lots of floats with flowers on and people parading around them dressed in traditional Flamenco dress. This was the start of the Cruz de Mayo celebrations we had wanted to see.

Cruz de Mayo is a festival that happens only in Cordoba at the beginning of May every year for 4 days. During this time churches have crosses made out of flowers and decorated and displayed outside the buildings for all to see. The crosses are then judged over the 4 days and the winners are announced on the night before the last day, followed by celebrations and parties. However during the 4 days lots of other parties and drinking happens, with traditional flamenco shows and music in all the squares, with locals joining in. It's a very family oriented festival.

We decided to camp in Cordoba as other accommodation was very expensive due to the celebrations and not much options being available. Luckily the campsite is not far from the old quarter where everything happens so was ideal really. After setting up our tent we made our way to the old quarter, along the way we encountered a free open-air concert where people were having drinks and food, it was all in aid of raising money for the local hospital. We stayed to listen for a while, hearing a selection of different Spanish singers.

Open-air concert

After a while we headed into the old quarter. The old quarter is filled with lots of little twisting streets, with flowers hung up everywhere outside the houses, giving it all lots of colour and vibrancy. We thought overall it was much prettier than Sevilla or Granada in that respect. On the way through the centre we also saw all the local churches with bars up outside of them where people could get drinks and traditional food. We thought that this was a strange sight, churches selling alcohol, but apparently it is a very common practice for many celebrations. The reason the churches had the bars up this time was to show off their flower crosses, which are proudly displayed outside of the buildings for all to see and admire.

Me with the winning cross

During our few days in Cordoba we also witnessed in the main square; Plaza Trellinos the local school children doing flamenco in their many different coloured dresses, it was a nice experience and all the parents and other spectators joined in as well at different points to give it a very festive feel. This was one of the many events going on during the festivities.

Local schools performing Flamenco

The main highlight of Cordoba for us though was its main attraction, the Mesquita, which is beautifully positioned overlooking the river. It is a huge former mosque built by the Moors and over the years expanded more and more by subsequent rulers, till the Moors were conquered and driven out of the country where the mosque then was converted to a cathedral, which it still is today. Although many Muslim organisations have petitioned unsuccessfully for it to be made back into a mosque.

It costs 8 Euros per adult to visit the Mesquita, but if you are willing to get up early and get to the mosque just before 8:30 in the morning you can get in to visit the Mesquita for free before you are told to leave at 9:30 so that they can carry out the morning service. Having seen mosques before we weren't sure quite what to expect, however we were not disappointed, it was beautiful. It was also huge, with hundreds of arches, extending in all directions, giving it a really grand feel; it was amazing. The fact that the cathedral section of the Mesquita is just stuck in the middle of all these arches makes it seem a little bit strange, but it also adds to the grandness of the place. We thought it was really impressive and definitely worth the visit!

The many arches inside the Mesquita

Some of the other things we saw in Cordoba, which also stood out as being really good was the Alcazar, which is right next door to the Mesquita with its outer walls all still intact, again of Moorish design. The Roman bridge with the Torre de la Calahorra at the end of it was also a nice addition, with views from the bridge, especially at night, looking towards the walls of the Mesquita a beautiful setting.

Mesquita overlooking the river

Cordoba is also the site of one of only 3 synagogues that survived the evacuation of Jews from Spain in 1492, and displayed some very interesting designs on the walls which were quite different to a lot of the things we had seem before. We also saw the Roman Temple, where a surprising amount of it had survived. The one other highlight for us and will be maybe more meaningful to anyone who has read Miguel de Cervantes' novel Don Quixote is a cute little plaza in the old quarter where there is an inn where Don Quixote stayed at in the book.

The Roman temple

On our last evening in Cordoba, we went to Plaza Trellinos to see the performances of the Flamenco dance schools (more professional this time), which was really amazing, seeing the dresses and the dancers. They were all really good, and it was a great atmosphere, with hundreds of people watching. After the flamenco performances they then announced the winners of the Cruz de Mayo celebration. After hearing the announcement we went to see the cross that had won, and there was a big bar and food being done by the cross, everyone celebrating by drinking, eating and dancing. This was all with the Mesquita lit up in the background, it made for a really nice last evening.