Day 2: March 15

We reached Corredera Square.
It is the only square of rectangular shape in Andalusia! Until the 19th century, it served as an arena for bullfights.
Now there are cafés here. And people live on the upper floors.

Bridge over the Guadalquivir River. It is said to have been built as early as the first century BC.

What is interesting is that for two thousand years it was the only bridge in the city over the river.

The second bridge was built only in the mid-20th century.

And so, the Mezquita. It was time to make a long-held dream come true and see the red-and-white arches.
Inside, the Mezquita is enormous. The approximate number of arches is 850 (there used to be even more; some of the arches were dismantled during the construction of the cathedral).

The mosque was built in the 8th century (at that time, Andalusia was under Moorish rule).

At that time, the mosque in Córdoba was one of the largest mosques in the world.

Instead of massive walls or thick columns that would block the space, the Moors came up with arches to support the roof.

The mosque was converted into a church as early as the 13th century, after the Spaniards recaptured Córdoba.
But the main part of the cathedral was built later, in the 16th century.

After the Mezquita, we went to dinner at a heavily promoted tourist restaurant with a very large number of good reviews - Bodegas Mezquita.

We ordered the traditional cold Andalusian soup salmorejo - made from tomatoes and white bread. It is usually topped with boiled egg and jamón.

In texture, salmorejo is a little like hummus or a thick puréed soup.

We also ordered a warm soup, something like broth, and the dish of the day (which consisted of lentils and potatoes).

Unfortunately, all the food was not tasty. Even the bread.

I also ordered a popular drink in Córdoba, fifty-fifty (50/50) - a mix of sherry and sweet red wine.

It was almost impossible to drink :) Serzhyk couldn’t either.