Following our day of touring Seville, we had two day trips. First day to Cordoba. It was only about a 45 minute ride by high-speed train from Seville to Cordoba where we were met by our guide, Elena. The main attraction for us was The Great Mosque of Cordoba. Don't be confused by this name as it is the Cordoba cathedral.
Historians believe the complex was first built as a temple to the Roman god Janus. Then the Visigoths changed the temple to a church. The church was then converted to a mosque during the Islamic dynasty and finally back to a church. It is an enormous complex and very interesting.
Our first view of The Great Mosque was from across the river. Even from that distance it was an impressive sight. On the way, Elena wanted to show us a patio that was decked out with potted flowers. Very pretty!
The minaret of the mosque has been converted to a bell tower for the cathedral. Inside is a VERY large "prayer hall" filled with columns of jasper, onyx, marble and granite. The columns were part of the early Roman temple.
The cathedral has about 40 different chapels. Pictured above are some of the decorations on one of the chapels. On the left and below left are pictures of the main chapel. The arch below is the mihrab which for a mosque is supposed to point the direction to Mecca. And below, right is the beautiful dome that is over the mihrab.
A small sample of the artwork in the Great Mosque.
After our tour of the Great Mosque, we visited the Jewish Quarter. There we saw the statue of Maimonides and then strolled through a bit of the old town, finally stopping for some lunch. Below is a picture of our guide, Elena.
Our second day trip was to Jerez. This was scheduled for Tuesday so we could attend the show at The Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art Foundation. For this trip, Javier Nunea was our excellent driver. Upon arrival at the Foundation, we had a private guide to show us around prior to the "show". The grounds are beautiful and the tour was interesting.
First stop on our tour of the Foundation was the training area. Here an instructor works with students who are learning to work with the horses. This is not everyday "joy" riding. It is exhibition riding as will be demonstrated in the show. All the horses need to be exercised. Some are placed in a "horse walker". In another area, horse AND rider are learning the various steps that will be demonstrated in the show.
We also got a tour of the tack area. Here they make all their tack. There are different configurations for different purposes.
The Foundation has a museum area where they display an assortmant of tack and riding costumes.
Of course the horses have to have their own shower area. How do you tell when a horse needs a shower? It always smells like a horse!
Below right is the ring where the show takes place. Unfortunately, photography is not permitted during the show. You will have to take our word for it, the show was excellent! Click HERE to see a video of our Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art tour.
After the horse show, we went for lunch and then it was on to visit a sherry producer. Jerez is known for its sherries. Gourmand Breaks had arranged for us to have a private visit with the owner of a small family owned and operated sherry producer - Bodegas Faustino Gonzalez. They produce a few sherries under the label Cruz Vieja.
Our host - Jaime Gonzalez
The full collection of the Cruz Vieja sherries. We tried the all and they were VERY good! This was a wonderful way to wind up our visit to Jerez.
It's back to Seville for the night and then off to Granada.
