Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: province of Córdoba

Medina Azahara (in Arab: Madinat al-Zahra) was a city built in the year of 936 by Abd al-Rahman III and was named after the most beautiful and favorite woman from harem of the caliph. The city was the secular counterpart of the Mezquita in Córdoba. Building material from Andalusia and North Africa was transported by 15.000 donkeys and 10.000 porters. The city was built on three levels with a mosque, the home of the caliph and beautiful gardens. Halls and homes were embellished with alabaster, ivory, jasper and marble decorations. The construction lasted forty years and during that time a complex of palaces, houses, kitchens, stables and bastions had been created. It had about 20.000 inhabitants, mostly military and court personnel with their families. The city had just been completed when it was sacked by the Berbers in 1013 and razed to the ground. In 1911 archaeologists started in Medina Azahara excavations. About one tenth of the walled city - with a total area of 112 hectares - is uncovered and partially reconstructed. They are still working on this place, which is considered being one of the most important medieval towns in Spain. Main picture: an arche of ‘La Casa de la Alberca’ (House of the Pool) PiP’s: some details of Medina Azahara

The ‘Puente Romano’ (Roman bridge) of Córdoba is a bridge in the centre of the city. It was built by the Romans in the early 1st century BC across the Guadalquivir river. The bridge was built under the command of the Roman emperor Augustus, in 918 the Moors extended the bridge to the state in which it appears today: 247 meters long and around 9 meters wide. ‘Puente Romano’ has – after the Islamic reconstruction - 16 arcades, which is one less than the original one. The present structure is a medieval reconstruction; in the year of 2006 the bridge was extensively restored. The ‘Roman Bridge’ connects the Torre de Calahorra with the old city centre with the Mezquita Cathedral/Mosque.

The richly gilded ‘mihrab’ (prayer niche) is commonly considered being the juwel in the crown of the Mezquita. The mihrab - a horseshoe arch supported by two marble columns - is a masterpiece of architectural art, with geometric and flowing designs of plants and ornamented in stucco, gold leaf and tile. The present mihrab came into being during the expansion of the mosque in the year of 961 !! Traditionally the mihrab of a mosque faces in the direction of Mecca, which would be east-southeast, but the mihrab of the Mezquita in Córdoba unusually points south. (during the expansion a number of domes with skylights over the area in front of the mihrab were built for extra light; didn’t make shooting perfect images easier for me)

Decorations above one of the entrance gates - Puerta de la Concepción Antigua - of the Mezquita in Córdoba.

Montoro is a typical Andalusian ‘pueblo blanco’ (white village) which is perched on a bluff above the Rio Guadalquivir with its whitewashed houses. It is a quite historical town, with an Iberian, Greek, Roman and Moslem past. In the Roman era the town was called Epora. It became an important fortified town under the Moors; after changing hands between Moorish and Castilian kingdoms the town was finally conquered by King Fernando III and became its present name Montoro. Montoro offers some fine historical sights (churches and city hall) around or nearby the central square Plaza de España. Another emblematic sight is the bridge over the Guadalquivir, connecting the old town with the neighbourhood of El Retamar. Its construction began in 1498 and took more than fifty years. The women of Montoro donated their jewelry and goods to raise money for the construction. That is why it is known as ‘Puente de las Donadas or Puente de las Donadas (Bridge of Donations or Damsels).