La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
We spent Wednesday with Alyson and Nick, who took an early train up from Málaga. I met them at the train station, a 12-minute walk, and we all went to breakfast at La Sultana. San Geraldo had made reservations for us to see the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba at 1. I won’t go into the history of the site. If you’re interested, you can read all about it here. This was our fourth time there and our first since our move here. It doesn’t disappoint. Before becoming known by many as the Mosque-Cathedral, it was simply the Mosque, which was begun in 785 A.D. A grand cathedral, dedicated in 1236, was built in the centre of the enormous space. But the architecture (and the restoration) of the mosque is what I find truly fascinating. Today’s photos are mostly details of the mosque interior.
We plan to go to city hall this week to register as residents of Córdoba. It will also be another bit of bureaucracy to scratch off our long list. Once we have our new cards, this and many other historic and cultural sites will be free to us.
San Geraldo finished assembling the kitchen island this morning. I’m now trying to make some sense of the mess in the kitchen. We still have another piece of furniture to arrive in December. So this is only the start of the organizing, but it’s major progress.
Last night, we took the remaining flattened packing boxes down. I was about to take the large bulky kitchen island boxes and decided the two final move boxes would have to wait. San Geraldo the Magnanimous offered to take the remaining two boxes. I thanked him profusely saying, “You took the last two boxes! Thank you!” He reminded me that he had also taken the first three boxes, and that was all he had done. I already knew that. Magnanimous and honest. Still, they’re gone.
We have to un–bubble wrap all the artwork, and dump the old metal shelving units and a myriad of other things we don’t want. But, after a month, we can both sit in our offices, see the kitchen, sleep in our bed, and go out on the terrace (tightly). It’s getting better.
El miércoles lo pasamos con Alyson y Nick, que cogieron un tren temprano desde Málaga. Me reuní con ellos en la estación de tren, a 12 minutos andando, y todos fuimos a desayunar a La Sultana. San Geraldo había hecho reservas para que viéramos la Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba a la 1. No voy a entrar en detalles sobre la historia del lugar. Si te interesa, puedes leerlo todo aquí. Esta era la cuarta vez que íbamos allí y la primera desde que nos mudamos aquí. No decepciona. Antes de que muchos la conocieran como la Mezquita-Catedral, era simplemente la Mezquita, que se empezó a construir en el año 785 d. C. Una gran catedral, inaugurada en 1236, se construyó en el centro del enorme espacio. Pero lo que me parece verdaderamente fascinante es la arquitectura (y la restauración) de la mezquita. Las fotos de hoy son en su mayoría detalles del interior de la mezquita.
Tenemos previsto ir al ayuntamiento esta semana para registrarnos como residentes de Córdoba. También será otro asunto burocrático que tachar de nuestra larga lista. Una vez que tengamos nuestras nuevas tarjetas, este y muchos otros sitios históricos y culturales serán gratis para nosotros.
San Geraldo terminó de armar la isla de la cocina esta mañana. Ahora estoy tratando de darle algún sentido al desorden en la cocina. Todavía tenemos otro mueble que llegará en diciembre. Así que esto es solo el comienzo de la organización, pero es un gran progreso.
Anoche bajamos las cajas de embalaje aplastadas que quedaban. Estaba a punto de llevarme las grandes y voluminosas cajas de la isla de la cocina y decidí que las dos cajas finales para la mudanza tendrían que esperar. San Geraldo el Magnánimo se ofreció a llevarse las dos cajas restantes. Le agradecí efusivamente diciendo: “¡Te llevaste las dos últimas cajas! ¡Gracias!”. Me recordó que también se había llevado las tres primeras cajas y que eso era todo lo que había hecho. Eso ya lo sabía. Magnánimo y honesto. Aun así, se han ido.
Tenemos que quitar el plástico de burbujas de todas las obras de arte y deshacernos de las viejas estanterías de metal y una miríada de otras cosas que no queremos. Pero, después de un mes, ambos podemos sentarnos en nuestras oficinas, ver la cocina, dormir en nuestra cama y salir a la terraza (apretadamente). Está mejorando.
• Por encima del tejado de la mezquita se ve la catedral al fondo.
• Nick compartiendo su luz celestial.
• San Fernando el Rey. Tatarabuelo de San Geraldo. Se encuentra enterrado bajo vidriera en la Catedral de Sevilla.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
WOW! What a place!
And those oranges….as I look outside at the November rain and wind in atlantic Canada/Nova Scotia.
Jim:
And we’re complaining because it gets cold here in winter. It was already down to 11C the other day!
Oh, my gosh, I wish that you could have heard my yelps and exclamations of, “oh my!” and “oh, wow!” as I looked through today’s photos…. including the kitchen with that fantastic Isla de cocina / îlot central 🙂 I love the kitchen! And, now I remember your having told me previously, that the floor tiles are porcelain. Looks GRRRRREAT! (in my best Tony the Tiger voice)
Judy C:
The view in the other direction is still a mess. But we’re making progress. Thanks!
Those iconic stripey arches. I’ve seen these before, probably didn’t realize where they were. The arrogance, to shove a cathedral on top of a mosque! All these centuries later I’m still irate. Boud.
Boud:
Yes, those columns and arches ARE iconic. Cathedrals and churches on top of mosques and synagogues are all over Spain.
Thank you for the photo of my 21st great-grandpa, Ferdinand. I’ll put it in my family photo album. 🙂
TexasTrailerParkTrash:
Your great-grandfather is all over the place here. Have you ever seen his tomb? Check this out. https://movingwithmitchell.com/2023/02/28/i-see-dead-people-veo-a-gente-muerta-2/
The Mesquite is one of the most breath-taking and impressive places I have visited in my life! [And I’ve been to Egypt (twice), and to Carthage.]
Well done on the hard work you and SG have put in so far on that kitchen! Personally, I’d still be on the hunt for tile paint to cover up that bit behind the hob and extractor, but hey – everything in its own good time… Jx
Jon:
I agree with you about the mesquite. Yeah, that tile wouldn’t be our choice. But it’s not on the priority list.
Everything is so gorgeous — the Mosque arches, the Madonna shrine, Nick’s heavenly light, the kitchen island!
Debra:
Nick’s heavenly light, especially!
Love the kitchen island.
That mosque is gorgeous.
And nick is easy on the eyes, too!
Bob:
Nick is wonderful!
Wow, so much to see. I nice bright modern kitchen, that should be a joy to work in.
David:
The kitchen is becoming pleasant. The rest of the space is still a mess, but it’s getting there.
Oh Scoot, I LOVE your new kitchen! It’s compact, yet so functional, organized and beautiful. The green backsplash behind the stove blends in so well now with your greenery and black kitchen island that is far more pleasing to the eye. Now I can hardly wait to see the rest of your finished place!
Tundra Bunny:
We’d prefer if the green backsplash were all green, but the image isn’t overwhelming. There’s more to kitchen that you can’t see in the picture. A nice low cabinet. A tall chrome shelving unit. And a whole lot of stuffed stacked up. We’re getting there.
well done on the progress !
Urspo:
SO slow from my perspective, but it gets better every day.
What a beautiful place! I would love to visit it. Your kitchen looks good. It will come together the way you want it.
Love,
Janie
janiejunebug:
Well, the kitchen is at least usable now.
NO BOXES!!!!! And not one croc pictures either!!!! What an improvement!
I would go crazy at the mosque and the cathedral! I would love exploring that! What architecture!!!! Glorios pictures! I hope to one day get caught up reading blogs. After being back for three days I was off to Philly to meet up with another blogger…wiped out, but what a fun weekend.
Mistress Borghese:
I wish we could get to meet in person one of these days. The history and architecture here are incredible.
The kitchen looks great! No one would suspect that you had just moved in.
Walt the Fourth:
They’d know in a minute if I allowed them to see in other directions!
Despite the complete irony of religions spending untold fortunes in creating places of worship, it’s hard not to admire and feel great respect for the designs and craftsmanship involved in them.
The Cathedral in Mexico City was built on the site of an Aztec temple and they used the materials from the destroyed temple to build the cathedral. This too is ironic or perhaps just plain horrible.
Man, that Nick is surely a holy guy. What an aura he has!
And I like your kitchen. I could cook in there very happily.
Ms. Moon (sigh)
Ms. Moonsigh:
The kitchen really came together yesterday. A new tall cabinet arrived and I was able to make a first pass at putting everything away. So many churches were built atop other holy places. I would guess the majority of churches in Spain are either converted synagogues or built atop the foundations of mosques. Although I find the old church architecture and sculpture amazing, I find the riches appalling when their worshippers were (and are) mostly living hand to mouth. Nick is the holiest of the holies (and Alyson is truly a saint)!
Such beautiful pictures, I remember visiting such places in our trips to Spain and was always impressed by the architecture and style of towns.
Laurent:
The beauty and history is wonderful.
It’s remarkable that the Catholics didn’t tear down the mosque and start over. (Thank goodness they didn’t.) I love that picture of the window with the street scene below.
Steve:
I, too, wonder why they didn’t level it or completely rebuild as they did with so much else. Maybe they actually appreciated the beauty. Maybe it was too expensive. I’ll see what I can find out. I’ve never found anything online.