We managed to get our bikes on the high speed train from Madrid Atocha to Córdoba but just by the skin of our teeth. High speed trains have little space for baggage, and so bikes must be disassembled enough to fit into the luggage racks, a task that takes about an hour per bike on each end. And then, there’s always some issue that crops up at the last minute that you have to overcome. This time, it was that while the packed bikes were the correct size and in bags, that we had the wrong type of bags. Heavy duty plastic trash bags are not allowed. Pressed to find that information on their own website, the train manager relented and let us on. From all the travels, I’ve learned to just politely hold my ground and eventually the gatekeeper will let us and our bikes on. We’ve seen some amazing demonstrations of this tactic from other travelers in the last few years.
Córdoba is amazing. We stayed in a lovely apartment on Plaza de las Tendillas for a couple nights. The first full day we took a 4-hour guided walking tour of the town, including the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Castle of the Christian), the Jewish quarter and the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba.
One reason that Córdoba is amazing is the melding of so many different civilizations’ architectures. Córdoba was founded by the Carthaginians in the 3rd century BC. Then, from the 206 BC, Córdoba was ruled by the Romans, then the Visigoths from 418-711 AD, then the Moors, and then the Christians from 1236 until the present time. You can see the motifs and evidences of each culture as you explore Córdoba, as well as experiencing the Jewish quarter. Jews were expelled from Spain during the time of the Inquisition in 1492. The entire city is well maintained and so it’s a pleasure to explore.
The Jews had been living in Spain for centuries, and they had made significant contributions to Spanish society. However, they were also often persecuted, and they were forced to convert to Christianity in 1391. The expulsion of 1492 was the culmination of this persecution, and it forced hundreds of thousands of Jews to flee Spain.
The most amazing place in Córdoba to me was the Mosque-Cathedral. The mosque is a sprawling multi-columned and arched space built in the 8th century for Muslim prayer, and then expanded several times until it was the largest building in the Islamic world. It’s one level, lit dimly since the Christians took over to make it less inviting. The Christians built the cathedral starting in the 13th century after they conquered Córdoba. What’s interesting is that the practice in those days was to destroy and/or build on top of prior houses of worship to really show dominance, but in this case the two were allowed to co-exist.
Our guide made sure to tell us that we were not to lay or sit on the floor in the Mosque since it might be construed as praying prostrate, and I thought it was sad that Muslims were not be allowed to use their own mosque. But it’s a Muslim choice. Muslims believe that it is disrespectful to pray in a place that has been dedicated to another religion. They also believe that it is important to maintain the sanctity of the mosque-cathedral. For these reasons, Muslims are not allowed to pray prostrate in the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba.
Anyway, its a lovely and awe inspiring place, but seems mostly filled with tourists and their guides. And it’s completely understandable since it’s amazing.
After our couple days in Córdoba, Chris and I took to our bikes to Seville. We’ve been sitting on our butts for 10 days now, and we were both ready to get on the road again.
The ride was about 115 miles (185km), done over 2 days. The first day we took a Via Verde (an old railroad grade) from Córdoba to Fuentes de Andalusia, which was a mixed experience. In the beginning, the route had been freshly graveled with deep gravel in sections, making it very difficult to ride. And so, after a mile or two of that, we turned back and took a road for about 15 miles until we could intersect the Via Verde again, at which place the path was much improved. We had a stiff, steady headwind for much of the day, and it was harder than expected. It was Sunday and so no cafes or stores were open along the way, so when we happened onto an open cafe, we ordered a big lunch since we were starving!
Fuentes was nothing special as a town but our lodging was nice. The next day we veered north to a route Chris had found and thought would be better, but it was equally not-nice but in a different way. This time, it was traffic and uninteresting landscape that were the issues, and we also had a steady headwind. Chris’ bike also got its second flat tire.
Our last miles into Seville were on nice bike paths and so the day redeemed itself. Katherine and Andrew were arriving a couple hours after us and so we did a bit of shopping and settled in to wait for them.
Seville at first glance seems amazing.
Leave a Reply