The Walls of the Cave: January 2007

Invented words

The American students here have invented a lot of Spanish words that in reality don´t exist. Here are some of our creations:
fiestar - to party
siestar - to take a siesta
cafeinarse - to caffeinate one´s self
chequear el email - to check email

I´m sure there will be many more this semester, much to the chagrin of our professors.

Cordoba!

Our group spent Saturday and Sunday in Cordoba, in Andalucia in Southern Spain. It was about a four and a half hour bus ride down from Madrid. It's been snowing for much of the past week, so much of the landscape in La Mancha and Andalucia was white. Other than that, it was a lot of vineyards and olive trees.

We arrived in Cordoba at about 1:30. Our hotel was in the old city literally right across the street from the Mosque/Cathedral. When the Moors ruled Spain (711-1492), for much of the time Cordoba was the capital of their emirate and later califate of "Al-Andalus" from which Andalucia derives its name. For many hundreds of years through the middle ages Cordoba was the most culturally and scientifically advanced city in Europe.

After the Christian kings reconquered Cordoba in the 14th century, they built a cathedral in the center of the mosque. The Muslims before had built the mosque with some columns and rock from the old Roman temple, so there's actually quite a mix of architecture.

We also visited the Alcazar, a castle built by Alfonso XI in 1328 that served as the residence for Christian kings in Cordoba.

Everything's going really well so far. Enjoy the pictures!

A few more from Cordoba

Mosque

The tower in the sunlight!

Cordoba Pictures!

Here are some pictures!

Carlos tells us where we're going

For hundreds of years Jews, Muslims, and Christians coexisted in Cordoba

Narrow, cobblestone streets

Alex and Matt

Lots of orange trees in Cordoba, though they're pretty sour.

A view of the city.

Outdoor market

I'm a sucker for cool-looking windows

The outside of the mosque

A very ornate door

Erin, Michelle, Kay, and Liz

The courtyard to the mosque

Palm trees, but still very cold

The cathedral inside the mosque

Matt, Dylan, Alex, Me

Arch commissioned by Felipe II

Old Roman bridge being restored

Waterwheel from who knows when

The Alcazar

Monument to San Rafael, patron saint of the city.

El Corte Ingles

Interesting tidbit for today: ¨El corte¨is a ubiquitous department store chain in Madrid. Generally they´re situated within a block or two of each other. For example, not far from one of the metro stops near my flat, there´s a couple of buildings that house basically the equivalent of a Macy´s, Nordstroms, Sports Authority, Toys R Us, Whole Foods, Walgreens, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, and more. They´re having sales right now, and I should be able to find more than I need.