Day 16: Cordoba

On our last morning in Cordoba, we had breakfast on the patio in the hostel, before checking out. 

We then explored the city for a while before it got too hot out. These are typical scenes in Cordoba - narrow streets with many flower boxes hanging from windows and balconies, and small plazas with trees, gardens, and fountains. 

These are the ruins of a Roman temple, from 1 A.D.

Through this archway is Plaza de la Corredera, where bullfighting used to take place. Now there is a market here on the weekends.

Next we visited some patios! Patios are a very typical part of Cordoban architecture. Patio refers to the central courtyard in a house, with rooms all around the outside. The roof is open, but often there is a screen that can be pulled across to block the sun during the hottest part of the day. The tradition of patios goes back as far as the Romans. We were lucky to be in Cordoba during the Fiesta de los Patios de Cordoba - the Patios Festival. This is when many patios - mostly in private homes - are opened to the public. These are beautiful spaces, filled with flowers and gardens. We took lots of pictures!

In the hot afternoon, when many of the stores and patios were closed, we visited the Casa Andalusi, which is a museum showing some of Cordoba's history from the Roman and Moorish occupation of the city.

Patio in Casa Andalusi

Demonstration of paper making from cloth

Map of Cordoba during the Roman occupation

The last place that we visited were the Banos del Alcazar, the royal baths. These are currently several meters underground, as the ground level has changed. 

Heating system in the baths

 In the evening we took the train to Madrid, to meet with Jon!