Mezquita Cathedral

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Mezquita - meaning "mosque" in Spanish –located in Cordoba, Spain, is a harmonoius combination between a mosque and a cathedral dating from the eighth century. This impressive building stands as testimony for the multitude of religious changes that have shaped the city of Cordoba over the centuries.

Today, the Mezquita is known more as "Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption", the title of "mosque" being no longer commonly used. However, the building is tributary to Islamic architecture, most of its architectural elements belonging to the mosque built in the VIIIth century. The cathedral-mosque in Cordoba is one of the oldest and most significant examples of Spanish Islamic architecture. For this reason, the number of pilgrims here is very large. The mosque in the eighth century was the world's second-largest one.

The construction of the mosque began in the late sixth century, as a Christian Visigoth church. Later, the Visigoth church has undergone a series of works that have lasted for two centuries, transforming it into a mosque. Works began in 784, resulting in Aljama Mosque. The works were completed under the supervision of the first Muslim Emir Adb ar-Rahman I, who designed this building as a part attached to his palace. The name of the mosque - Mosque Aljama – was also given by him, in honor of his wife. The land where Mezquita rises today was bought by the Emir from the previous owners. It is believed that on that place there was still the Visigoth church of St. Vincent. When the armies of Tariq ibn-Ziyad occupied for the first time the city of Cordoba, in 711, the Christian church was suppressed.

For the unusual architecture and its position there were released several theories. Thus, some say that "mihrab” is oriented to the south because the foundations are kept from the old Roman-Visigoth building. (Mihrab is some kind of alcove dug in a wall indicating the direction to Mecca). Others argue that the "mihrab” is oriented to the east as Abd ar-Rahman was, at that moment, in the capital city of Ummayyad in Damascus, not in exile.

The mosque suffered an uninterrupted series of changes: Adb ar Rahman III ordered the construction of a new minaret, while Al-Hakam II, in 961, extended the building plan, enriching the old mihrab as well. The last of the architectural reforms was led by Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir in the year of 987.

Mezquita - Mosque Aljama - was the largest and most beautiful mosque of the 1,000 mosques that the city had, at that time. Besides, it was also the second largest mosque in the Muslim world. The mosque was connected to Caliph's palace by a suspended stone road. Caliphs’ desire to have a mosque inside or near the palace was a common trend in all the Muslim world. Mezquita became soon a very important place of pilgrimage for the Islamic world - considering that at that time, it also housed an original copy of the Koran, along with one of the arms of the Prophet Mohammed.

Mezquita is impressive primarily for its giant arches, supported by more than 1,000 columns of quartz, onyx, marble and granite. These were made including the ancient remains of the Roman temple that raised here before. Double arcs often seen in this building have the important role to support the weight vaults. Mihrab is an architectural masterpiece, featuring lots of geometric and floral motifs. Mezquita reached its current dimensions in 987, by adding the outer vessel and the completion of the court.

The year of 1236 is the year when the city of Cordoba was reconquered and freed from Muslim yoke by the King Ferdinand III of Castile. This is the time when the city becomes Christian again, the mosque being re-blessed as a place for Christian prayer. Alfonso the Xth projected the building of Royal Chapel and the Villaviciosa Chapel inside the former mosque. The kings that followed gradually added Christian elements: Enrique II rebuilt the chapel in the fourteenth century. The most important change that the building has undergone was building a renaissance nave in the center of the existing architectural structure. This was done with the consent of King Carlos V, king of United Spain.

In 1984, the historic center of Cordoba, including the Mezquita mosque-cathedral, was included in UNESCO World Heritage list.

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