Anyway, the four of them, along with some other students from their program, were headed to see the Mezquita as well so we all went together. One of their teachers was with them too, and she was very nice and interesting to talk to. She’s American, but lives in Madrid now with her husband - who she met when she was a student studying in Sevilla! Actually, I think she said she met him at the Feria, which starts this upcoming Monday night! (I guess I should keep my eyes open for potential prospects..?)
Anyway, the Mezquita was awesome.. It is a mosque, originally built by Abd a Rahman but added upon throughout the reigns of other Moorish emperors. When the Christians conquered the moors, they destroyed most Moorish architecture, but they didn’t want to destroy the Mezquita because it was so beautiful. Instead, they decided to use it as their own place of worship and build cathedral inside of the mosque. Therefore, it really should be called the Mexcla-ita (mix) because it is just that; a visual mix of Christianity and Islam. The majority of the architecture is very Moorish- high arches, Arabic writing engraved in the walls, use of the color red – but then there are sculptures and artwork of Christian saints distributed throughout the mosque. And its interesting to note that the the altar and prayer pews of the Christian cathedral part of the mosque are just feet away from the Muslim prayer niche facing Mecca.
Here are some pics from the Mezquita.....
The Ripon Girls outside the Mezquita....
The arches....
The cathedral part of the mosque....
The Muslim prayer niche...
Me in front of the altar....
Saint Antonio...
After the Mezquita, the girls left to head back to Sevilla but my train wasn’t until later so I stayed back and walked around the main area trying to find somewhere to eat. I eventually found a café, but I was somewhat disappointed because I was hoping to find a quaint little hole in the wall type place with great, real, freshly made Andalusian food. But this place only really had boccadillos and I was so hungry by this point I just gave up looking and ate there. Then I walked across the street to a park area where I saw a bunch of tents set up. I assumed it was a market of some sort, but when I got there, I realized it was a science fair. (See picture below).
Some more pics from Cordoba...
Science Fair...
Puente Romano...
Anyway the day was fun, and I was going to go out last night to this salsa bar with Meagan, but my feet hurt and its raining so we just decided to do it another night. Friday night, she and I celebrated the completion of our international business projects with drinks at the Friday’s in the Niervon Mall. Then we saw Shopaholic in Spanish (or rather Confensiones de una compradora compulisva…” . It was really cute, and I was ecstatic that I could understand it!!!! I was also pretty excited because that’s one more thing I accomplished on my “Semester Abroad To Do List” – seeing a movie in Spanish. I mean I saw Gran Torino when Steve was here, but that was at the Plaza de Armas theater so it was in English with Spanish subtitles.
Anyway, this morning we were going to go Triana market but its raining so we didn’t. This afternoon I’m meeting up with Hugo. This might be the last time I get to meet with him since we really can only meet on weekends, and next Sunday I will be in Portugal. I’m so glad he was my intercambio; I really lucked out. He really loves his city and has been a great guide. Plus not every tour guide buys you ice cream.
Well anyway, I have a phone call to make to a Miss Hannah Montana. She apparently came to Spain this past week but didn’t even think to tell me…even after I dedicated a blog post to referencing her songs and show….
¡Dios míos, niños hoy en día!
- Kirsten
No comments:
Post a Comment