I am not converting to Islam, but mosques are cool

I went to Cordoba, Spain just to see the great mosque that was begun in the 10th century.  Little did I know that that mosque was inside the medieval walls of an amazing city that has been there since Roman times (totally dorking out on history here).

View of medieval wall that separates old Cordoba from new Cordoba.

There are intricate old streets that weave their way though a city that has a history that includes some of the most important Jewish and Islamic scholars in history.  

 

Medieval street with perfect drainage (I am totally a nerd for observing these things, but the Muslims were so precise with their engineering that every, single stone in the street is diagonal to promote the fast flow of water away from living quarters).

The leaders of Cordoba built a large fortress to protect the city.  The Alcazar of Cordoba keeps watch for invaders.

View out over the fortress (it was a beautiful day).

Of course the Christians came and overtook the town, but in the case of Cordoba, they altered very little of the already existing monuments.  They made themselves known though.

 Statues of Ferdinand and Isabela giving Columbus the power to "discover" the New World in the garden of the Cordoba Alcazar.

Next is the mosque.  I have been teaching this building for the past 8 years and I was so excited to finally see it in person.  I was truly moved at how much history the building has.

 

 Partial exterior of the mosque.  It is so decorated because it is made to make you feel like you are entering heaven on earth.

Entering into the mosque you make your way to the Mihrab, which is like the altar of a church.  The endless, towering columns, overwhelm you and make you feel like you have entered into another world.

The Mihrab is a gold and glass tile and is perfectly radially symmetrical.  There are no images of god, yet it represents his presence through the writing of his name in calligraphy, Allah.  It towers over the viewer by 20 feet.

In the Christian era the king did not have the heart to tear down this beautiful building (like so many other mosques in reconquista Spain), so he built his cathedral in the center of the mosque.  Even though there is a cathedral at the center the rest of the structure, like the colonnade (seen above), is not considered part of the cathedral. 

 

16th century Renaissance cathedral emerging out of a 10th century mosque surrounded by 17th century paintings and sculptures; this is an art historical dream!

Oh yeah, and we were there when the town was celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation in all of their flamenco finery (two adorable girls dressed up in the courtyard of the mosque/cathedral).  What an amazing combination of things!

Now your boring history lesson is done.  Don't worry, I'm drinking too much wine and dancing to house music every night too.

Hasta luego Cordoba.

A Day at the Museum

I went to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya and discovered a whole different world of art.  The art of Catalan is strange compared to the other art of Europe.  It is not that it is bad or weird, it is that is it so unique.  Catalan art has its own identity compared to other arts of Europe.  It seems to borrow from more powerful art influences, but it maintains its own style, I guess much like Catalunya in general.  I was so happy to learn about new art and artists.

The museum at Placa de Espanya, at the bottom of Montjuic.

View from the museum steps.  The strange cranes are for the European Athletic Championships opening ceremony.

Have to have lunch before I see the art.  The view from the restaurant was amazing and so was the gazpacho.

The Neo-Classical dome of the second floor galleries.

I won't bore you with too much information or photography here, but this museum has an amazing collection of Catalunyan Medieval art.  I was amazed to learn about art and this time period from the perspective of Catalunya.

In order to keep the original frescoes preserved the museum dismantled the original church paintings and reconstructed them in the museum.  Frescoes disintegrate in uncontrolled conditions and this preserves them, plus gives you a context -- so the museum is filled with a dozen or so medieval churches.  Catalan was one of the only places to paint the inside of their churches in the middle ages.

I loved the Gothic sculpture room.

Amazing art from the Netherlands.

Amazing ancient Hellenistic sculpture.

There were also countless amazing modernist works, but I couldn't take a pictures of them.  I snuck this one.  I found a new favorite artist Ramon Casas (his name is linked, click on it to see his work).  Me encanta.

There were awful paintings too.  I have a hard time explaining what bad art looks like, so from now on I am just going to show this painting.

There were creepy Baroque sculptures of Jesus (example).

There was an amazing view from the museum steps -- Sarria in the distance.

There were sweet reminders of how wonderful this place is: share this moment.

The Beach, a View, and a Champagne Cocktail

The beach in Barcelona is full of tourists and pickpockets.  If you want to go to the beach, go to another city.  If you want to spend a ton of money on mediocre restaurants that appear really cool or have your bag stolen, go to the beach in Barcelona.  It sounds like every other beach in the world, except t it is not that nice.  The W Hotel is an attraction unto itself in Barcelona.  It is on the beach in Barcelona, in an area called Barceloneta.  There is a bar on the 26th floor that overlooks most of the city.  I went there to watch the sunset. 

Barceloneta.

La playa.

It is windy on the beach, just like home.

View from the 26th floor.

Sun setting behind Barcelona.

Beach at sunset.

Lovely view.

Lovely Veuve-Cliquot cocktail.

The view was amazing, but on the whole the W felt like Las Vegas and I want to be in Barcelona.  Next time I'll stay at Le Meridian.  Hahaha, yeah right.

Mi Casa Es Esta Casa

I finally went to Casa Mila (or La Pedrera), one of Gaudi's amazing designs that make up Barcelona's landscape.  I have no words for how amazing it was.  I welt up when I was on the terrace just like I did when I was standing in the middle of Parc Guell on my second day here.  I remember looking at slides in art history class and I remember being interested, but nothing takes the place of being there.  The atmosphere of the city puts the work into a context that I cannot explain. 

Casa Mila is in the neighborhood of Exiample on the Passeig de Gracia in the middle of a very busy commercial and residential area.

Waiting along the outside of the building.  Gaudi was inspired by organic things like the spine and tortoise shells -- you can really see it.

I never forgot the image of the entrance I saw in art history class.  It always stayed in my mind as this spider web, dark, almost Gothic like building.  This could not be further from the truth; this building is alive and beautiful and glowing.

The courtyard.

There are no straight lines in the building.

I went straight to the terrace.

The Mediterranean is in the distance.

Montjuic in the distance.

Mosaic and terracotta.

I guess its the chimney -- art historical guess.

It is its own landscape -- amazing.

Inside.

Invierno, anyone with me?  See you in December.

My new bedroom set.

My new view.

My feet on a Gaudi designed tile floor.

The exit.

Al final.