The Mezquita of Cordoba is one of the world’s most impressive buildings making it one of the most remarkable tourist attractions both in Cordoba and Spain.
Each year approximately 1.5 million tourists marvel at this impressive landmark featuring several architectural styles and uniting religious elements of Islam and occidental culture.
The so called holy cathedral (former mosque of Cordoba) is not only the largest mosque in the entire world, but the largest temple in the world, as well. The building has mammoth dimensions: It stretches across 24,000 square meters and features as many as 856 esthetic columns made of marble, granite, jasper, and other fine materials.
Visiting the Mezquita gives you a glimpse of how it was at ancient times. The Mezquita looks back on more than one thousand years of history. The first beginnings date back to the 8th century, when Abd al-Rahman I planned to construct a mosque instead of Christian Saint Vincent Basilica. The year 785 marks the beginning of Mezquita’s construction that lasted for about 200 years. The first major enlargement of the mosque took place between 833 and 852 under the rule of Abd al-Rahman II. Abd al-Rahman III ordered subsequent reforms, including a new minaret, which was realized between 961 and 966. The third and last of the mosque’s expansions was ruled by Al-Mansur in 987. It was the most significant enlargement that lead, with completion of the orange tree courtyard and the outer naves, to Mezquita’s current dimensions.
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