Cordoba, Spain
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See Cordoba for other places with the same name.
Cordoba is a city in Andalusia, southern Spain, and the capital of the province of Cordoba. Located at 37.88° North, 4.77° West, on the Guadalquivir river, it was founded in ancient Roman times as Corduba by Claudio Marcelo. Its population is about 306,000 as of 2004.
View across the old Roman Bridge towards the Mesquita
Cordoba was the birthplace of three famous philosophers: the Roman Stoic, Seneca, the Arab, Averroes, and the Jewish Maimonides. Cordoba was also the birthplace of the Roman poet, Lucan and (more recently) of several flamenco artists including Paco Peña, Paco de Lucia, Vicente Amigo and Joaquin Cortes.
In Roman times, the city had more culturals buildings than Rome. It was the Baetica's capital. Remains of the Roman Temple (Claudio Marcelo's temple), the Roman Bridge, Maximilian palace and many others ruins can still be seen distributed around the city.
Cordoba was conquered by the Moors in 711, and Moorish influence can still be felt in the city. During the time of Islamic rule it became the largest and most cultural city in Europe. It was the see of the Muawiya Caliphs. In s.X, it was the largest, cultural and important city in all Europe. There were more than 1,000 mosques and 600 baths houses. It was retaken for Christianity as part of the Reconquista in 1236, and became a centre of activity against the remaining Islamic population.
The most important monument in the city is the Mosque (the 3rd largest mosque in the world), known as the Mesquita. After the conquest, the Christians built a cathedral in the middle of this large complex, so it is two temples in one.
Another splendid monument is the city (in ruins) Madinat Al-Zahira. Important monuments are also the Alcazar, where in 1492, Christopher Columbus got the permission to travel to the "Indies". The califal baths and its churchs and typical streets of the Jewish quarter Juderia.
Also of interest is the Renaissance era Palacio de Viana, the city's Ducal Palace.
It is currently the only major Spanish city with a Communist mayor.