It is named the Mosque-Cathedral because Christian rulers who conquered Córdoba after the Muslims added a cathedral within the mosque to assert cultural dominance. It was interesting to see the contrast between the Islamic architecture and the Christian architecture (namely the cathedral) within the building. The Mosque-Cathedral also has a Christian bell tower and an orange tree courtyard. I also saw lots of orange trees decorating the streets of Córdoba, but apparently they are of a variety that is too bitter to eat.
The second day there I visited a place called The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, or the Fortress of the Christian Monarchs. This was a fortress with gardens surrounding it where the royal couple Isabella and Ferdinand sometimes resided. Also known as the Christian/Catholic monarchs, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand were the rulers that sponsored Christopher Columbus's voyages. I enjoyed the gardens a lot because they were well-maintained and had a variety of interesting plants and fountains.
I also had some fun cultural experiences in Córdoba. The first night, my class went to watch a local flamenco (traditional Spanish dance) show. There was one guitarist and one female singer providing music for the five flamenco dancers. The performance was excellent, and two of the dancers incorporated castanets (a percussion instrument) into their dancing towards the end of the show. During dinner, I tried a local soup called salmorejo, a cold soup made of ingredients including tomato, olive oil and garlic. It was quite good but a bit acidic.
