An adventure in Córdoba!

¡Hola a todos! Sorry to leave you waiting so long to hear about our adventures here in Spain-- we've had an exciting last few days! This past weekend we all went on our first excursion together to the city of Córdoba, located a few hours south of Ciudad Real in the province of Andalusia. The city is famous for its history and architecture, made unique by the mixture of cultures and religions that lived here for centuries during the Middle Ages. During our day trip, the students got a taste of this culture and history while also having the chance to explore the city!

We arrived in Córdoba at around noon, not long after eating our mid-morning merienda (snack). We were greeted by our first guide of the day, Rafa (short for Rafael), who gave us a tour of the historic city center and the judería, the Jewish neighborhood of Córdoba between the 10th and 15th centuries. We explored narrow cobblestone streets that led into cul-de-sacs lined with beautiful flowers, all while learning about how contact between Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures made Córdoba the city we see today. 

By 2pm, it was getting hot! That meant it was time for us all to take a break, get some lunch, and keep cool. The students had some time to get food, buy souvenirs (or just an abánico, or fan) and explore the city in their own groups before meeting up again later that afternoon for a tour of the city's most famous attraction: la Mezquita-catedral de Córdoba. The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba (as it's known in English), was originally constructed as a mosque in 785, during a period of Islamic rule in many parts of what is now Spain that lasted for over 700 years. The mosque was expanded several times over the years, and was eventually converted into a cathedral in 1285 after the city was captured by Christian forces. The group learned all this history from our tour guide (although they had learned a little already in class!) and got to see the beautiful mix of different architectures in the building, which you can see too in the pictures below. 

After our tour, we had a little bit more free time before heading home. Everyone was exhausted by the end of the trip, but everyone was so happy to have gotten to see this amazing city and all it had to offer! 

I'll be back with another post tomorrow about our time in school this past week. In the meantime, check out some pictures of the students touring the beautiful city of Córdoba!

-Ari


























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