Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, Islamic-Christian religious complex in central Cordoba, Spain.
The Mezquita-Catedral is a religious building in central Córdoba that combines a Moorish prayer hall with a Catholic cathedral. The interior spreads across a large area with more than 850 marble columns supporting two-tiered arches in red and white stone, forming a pattern of longitudinal and transverse aisles.
Construction began in 785 as a mosque under Emir Abd al-Rahman I and underwent several enlargements over the following centuries. After Christian forces recaptured the city in 1236, the building was converted into a cathedral, with a Renaissance nave added into the Moorish structure in the 16th century.
The name refers to the combination of Muslim prayer space and Catholic church interior visible today, which emerged after Christian forces took the city in the 13th century. Visitors see Moorish arches alongside Renaissance altars, while worshippers use the cathedral for services and tourists walk through the rows of columns.
The monument attracts many visitors each year and offers guided tours in several languages that can be booked in advance through the official website. Early morning or late afternoon tends to be quieter, and wheelchair access is available for part of the interior, though some areas have steps.
The prayer niche displays Byzantine mosaics and geometric patterns created by Islamic craftsmen in the 10th century. Many columns and capitals were taken from Roman and Visigothic buildings scattered across the Mediterranean region and reused for this structure.
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