Islam originated in the Arabian peninsula in the 7th century. After the internal disputes settled and the entire peninsula was under a central government, the new Muslims started expanding their territory by attacking the lands that form the current day Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Egypt. If there was a news network back in the 7th century, there would have likely been hundreds of hours of expert panels discussing the future of the world with a completely new geopolitical map due to the fall of the Persian empire within a short two years. 29 years after Muhammad’s passing, Mu’awiyeh, the man who was the governor of Syria became the next Caliph, continued on the expansion, and started the Umayyad dynasty. The Umayyad dynasty at its peak covered a huge geographical area from today’s Pakistan on the east all the way to Spain and Portugal on the west. The Umayyad dynasty flexed its muscles until the Abbasid were able to defeat and wipe them out. Or … that is what I read in our history textbooks growing up in Iran. What I did not know was that the heir to the throne fled the uprising of the Abbasid in Damascus and moved to Cordoba. The Umayyad then ruled in current-day Spain and Portugal for almost 300 years after they were kicked out of their originally claimed lands.
The heir to the throne was Abd-al-Rahman I who moved to Cordoba, Spain and started the construction of Mezquita, or the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba. That was the main site we wanted to visit in Cordoba, even though Alcazar and Madinat al Zahra were also on the list. Mezquita had multiple construction phases over 200 years and when fully built, it fit over 40,000 people. There are multiple estimates of the population of Cordoba at the time, which vary from 100,000 to one million people. However, the size of the Grand Mosque shows that it was a lively, prosperous, and populous city.
The mosque was turned into a cathedral in the 13th century and major alterations were done to the original mosque from the 16th to the 18th century. One fascinating topic of discussion during our visit to Mezquita was the Muslims’ interest in building a very wide, though Christians’ interest in building a very tall structure. With the exception of the minaret, which had a slight height increase to become a bell tower, the rest of the architecture of the mosque was focused on comfortably fitting in more people where they can each dissolve within the crowd and operate as one unit. The height of the later cathedral structure, on the other hand, inspired a feeling of a higher power who’s watching those who pray. Both feelings are essential parts of both religions, but the Islamic architecture likely follows the movement around Ka’baa while the Christian architecture follows the design at the Sistine chapel.
I let the views from the bell tower conclude this post. Mezquita can be researched for a long time and Cordoba has a lot to offer. I can simply say that I consider myself lucky to have been able to see the site, and just like Toledo: I’ll be back.
