The Cordoba Mosque and the old town surrounding it, the neighbourhood of Juderias (the Jewish quarter) with its white coloured walls, cobblestone streets is very well preserved and have lots of interesting points of visit. In order to picture Cordoba in its heydays, its multicultural atmosphere, one can visit the museums in the old town. One of them is the Sephardic Museum; the Sephardics, the name for Jewish people during the time of Al Andalus, at that time, had a certain liberty and could...

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Where can you find a minbar and a mihrab, a chorus and a cross, all at one place? Maybe only in Cordoba Mosque. The Cordoba Mosque, built at the peak of the Muslim Iberia in tenth century, during the 1st Abd al-Rahman dynasty, was a symbol of Cordoba, which, at that time, after Baghdad and Cairo it was the most advanced city in terms of education, multiculturalism, civilisation. When in the fifteenth century the Iberian peninsula was again the land of the Catholic Kings after ‘reconquista’,...

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Sevilla Cathedral is known for being the biggest Gothic Cathedral of the world, also world’s third biggest cathedral, home of Cristopher Colombus’ tomb. The Cathedral along with the Alcazar and the General Archive of Indies are cited as Unesco sites.The Cathedral was constructed on the site of the Almohad Mosque dating from eleventh century and lasted more than hundred years. One can see the remains of the mosque like the fountain and the patio with orange trees; the tower, Giralda, is also...

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Streets lined up with orange trees, a little square that appears suddenly as you walk a narrow road, little shops with hand made ‘abanicos’ (fans) and ceramics, cafés, tablaos, the old town of Seville has been one of our top places during our visit to Spain. Our hotel Petit Palace Canalejas has a perfect location to discover the old town of Seville.We start walking to the Cathedral, as we reach to the Plaza Nueva we stop by the book stalls, we then follow the tram line and see this café on...

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An hour drive from Madrid, you reach to Toledo; a picturesque, historical, mystical town, an important city to all rulers of these lands since Roman times. The capital of the Visigoths, the first town conquered by Arabs, today’s capital of Castilla La Mancha state of Spain, the birth places of Don Quijote. The city is located on a hill aprox. six hundred above sea level and surrounded by Tajo river that make it look like an island at first site. Its narrow steep roads, famous Gothic Cathedral...

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If someone asked me ‘What is the most beautiful human made structure you have ever seen?’ I would answer ‘The Alhambra Palace’. A masterpiece of architecture and Islamic art, it is one of the main reasons people come to Andalusia; even the story has a sad ending it hasn’t lost its elegance during all these years. The legend says that when the last ruler of Andalusia, Boabdil, retreated to exile and turned to have one final look at Granada he cried and his mother said “You weep like a woman...

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You may have visited the magnificent Alhambra; yet do not miss to see the old town of Granda where the Royal Chapel and the Cathedral are located. Around the squares of Plaza Bib Rambla and Plaza Isabel La Catolica you will find an area of beautiful gothic structures. One of them that looks more Andalusian style with its wooden windows; it is indeed a building from the Arab era: Palacio de la Madraza, which was used as a religious school in Andalusia is today a part of the Granada University....

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If you are making a road trip to Andalusia, do not skip Ronda. The road between Sevilla and Malaga will be the most pleasant one: winding roads along the valleys surrounded by mountains and lined trees, hardly any industrial zones, for a couple of hours you will see this beautiful view until you reach to the magnificent mountain city of Ronda.Since pre-historic times, from Visigoths to Celts, from Romans to Arabs, several communities lived in Ronda. Its strategic location on top of a hill,...

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