Great Mosque of Córdoba
The (Great) Mezquita (of Córdoba or Cordova), now known as Catedral de Nuestra Señora
de la Asunción (Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption) is a Roman Catholic Cathedral
originally built as a Mosque on the place (and partly with materials) of what previously had been
a Christian Visigothic Church in the Andalusian city of Córdoba, Spain. It is regarded as
perhaps the most accomplished monument of the Umayyad dynasty of Córdoba. After the
Spanish Reconquista, it was turned into a church, with a Gothic cathedral inserted into the center
of the large Moorish building. Today the entire building is used to house the Cathedral of the
diocese of Córdoba in Spain.
HISTORY
The building was begun in approximately AD 600 as the Christian Visigothic church of St.
Vincent. After the Islamic conquest of the Visigothic kingdom the Emir Abd ar-Rahma I bought
the church, and he and his descendants reworked it over two centuries to refashion it as a
mosque, starting in 784. Additionally, Abd ar-Rahman I used the mosque (originally called
Aljama Mosque) as an adjunct to his palace and named it to honor his wife. According to some
authors the church of St. Vincent was demolished after it was bought from the local Christian
community.
Several explanations have been proposed to explain the mosque's unorthodox orientation.
Traditionally, the mihrab of a mosque faces in the direction of Mecca; by facing the mihrab,
worshipers pray towards Mecca. Mecca is east-southeast of the mosque, but the mihrab points
south. Some have suggested the mihrab faces south because the foundations of the mosque were
taken from the old Roman and Visigoth constructions. Others contend that Abd ar-Rahman
oriented the mihrab southward as if he were still in the Ummayyad capital of Damascus and not
in exile.
The Mihrab
The mosque underwent numerous subsequent changes: Abd ar-Rahman III ordered a new
minaret, while Al-Hakam II, in 961, enlarged the building and enriched the mihrab. The last of
the reforms was carried out by Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir in 987. It was connected to the Caliph's
palace by a raised walk-way, mosques within the palaces being the tradition for the Islamic rulers
of all times.
The city in which it was built was subject to frequent invasion and each conquering wave added
their own mark to the architecture. The building is most notable for its giant arches, with 856
columns of jasper, onyx, marble and granite. These were made from pieces of the Roman temple
which had occupied the site previously, as well as other destroyed Roman buildings. The double
arches, pictured below, were a new introduction to architecture, and helped support the
tremendous weight of the higher ceilings. The double arches consist of a lower horseshoe arch
and an upper semi-circular arch.
The Mezquita also features richly gilded prayer niches. A centrally located honey-combed dome
has blue tiles decorated with stars. The mihrab is a masterpiece of architectural art, with
geometric and flowing designs of plants. The Mezquita reached its current dimensions in 987
with the completion of the outer naves and orange tree courtyard.
Patio de los naranjos (Orange Tree Courtyard)
In 1236, Córdoba was recaptured from the Muslim army by King Ferdinand III of Castile and the
mosque was reconverted into a Christian church. Alfonso X oversaw the construction of the
Villaviciosa Chapel and the Royal Chapel within the mosque. The kings who followed added
further Christian features: King Henry II rebuilt the chapel in the 14th century.
The most significant alteration was building a Renaissance cathedral nave in the middle of the
structure. It was constructed by permission of Charles V, king of united Spain. Its reversion to a
Christian church (officially the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin) may have helped to
preserve it when the Spanish Inquisition was most active.
Artisans and architects continued to add to the existing structure until the late 18th century.
The Great Mosque of Cordoba placed its importance amongst the Islamic community of AlAndalus for three centuries. In Cordoba, the capital of Al-Andalus, the Great Mosque was seen
as the heart and central focus of the capital. The master piece was created by Abd-Al-Rahman in
the 8th century. The mosque’s floor plan is seen to be parallel to some of the earliest mosques
built from the very beginning of Islam. The main hall of the mosque was used for a variety of
purposes. It served as a central hall for teaching and to manage law and order within Al-Andalus
during the rule of Abd-Al-Rahman. The Great Mosque had a rectangular prayer hall which had
aisles standing pendicular to the qibla, the main direction towards which Muslims pray. The wall
facing towards the qibla had an indent on it representing the direction of Mecca to be facing that
wall. The prayer hall was large in size, flat with timber ceilings held up by arches of horseshoelike appearance. The arches came from reused Roman and Visgothic columns. The walls of the
mosque had Quranic inscriptions written on them. Some of the most prominent features were: an
open court (sahn) surrounded by arcades, screens of wood, minarets, colourful mosaics, and
windows of coloured glass. The Great Mosque of Cordoba held features and architectural
appearance similar to the Great Mosque of Damascus, therefore it is evident that it was used as a
model by Abd-Al-Rahman and the creation of the Great Mosque in Cordoba. 150 years
following its creation, a staircase to the roof was added to the mosque, along with an extension
of the mosque itself southwards, and a bridge linking the prayer hall with the Emir’s palace. The
mosque was later expanded even further south, as was the courtyard which surrounded the Great
Mosque. The mosque itself was built in four stages, each Caliph and his elite contributing to it. It
is seen as a trademark of Islamic architecture. To the people of Al-Andalus “the beauty of the
mosque was so dazzling that it defied any description.”
After conquering Cordoba in 1236, Ferdinand III king of Castile consecrated the Great Mosque
as the city's cathedral. The Christian population of Cordoba used the former mosque with
relatively minor changes for the next three hundred years. In the early 16th century the Bishop
and Canons of the cathedral proposed the construction of a new cathedral, and proposed to
demolish the mosque in order to build it. The opposition of the townspeople to the proposed
destruction of the building led to the unprecedented decision, endorsed by the Holy Roman
Emperor Charles V, to insert an entire Gothic "chapel" into the very heart of the former Great
Mosque. The result is an uneasy and controversial juxtaposition: the soaring forms of a Gothic
cathedral rise from the very centre of the comparatively low, sprawling prayer hall whose
architectural vocabulary is rooted in the forms of classical antiquity.
Some pictures of the interior
Picture featuring Guadalquivir river, Roman bridge and Mezquita