Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba

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Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba

Mezquita de Córdoba, a World Heritage Site.
Basic information
Location Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain
Geographic coordinates Coordinates: 37°52′45.1″N 04°46′47″W / 37.879194°N 4.77972°W / 37.879194; -4.77972
Affiliation
Region Iberian Peninsula
District Diocese of Córdoba
Heritage designation UNESCO World Heritage Site
Architectural description
Architectural type Cathedral, mosque
Architectural style Moorish, Renaissance
Groundbreaking 784
Completed 987
Specifications

Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba (Spanish: Mezquita–catedral de Córdoba, Mezquita de Córdoba), also called the Mezquita and the Great Mosque of Córdoba,[2] is now a Catholic Christian cathedral and formerly a medieval Islamic mosque.[2] It is located in the Spanish city of Córdoba, Andalusia.

The Cathedral is regarded as the one of the most accomplished monuments of Renaissance and Moorish architecture. Since the early 2000s (decade), Spanish Muslims have lobbied the Roman Catholic Church to allow them to pray in the cathedral.[3][4] The Muslim campaign has been rejected on multiple occasions, by both Spanish Catholic authorities, and the Vatican.[3][5]

Contents

Origins [edit]

The Cathedral of Cordoba rises out of the surrounding Islamic prayer hall, beyond the Patio de las Naranjas.
Stages of extension of the Great Mosque of Córdoba, 784 – 1236

The building was begun around the year 600 as the Christian Visigothic church of St. Vincent.[6]

After the occupation of Islam to the Visigothic kingdom, the church was divided between the Muslims and Christians. When the exiled Umayyad prince Abd al-Rahman I escaped to Spain and defeated the Andalusian governor Yusuf al-Fihri, he allowed the Christians to rebuild their ruined churches, and purchased the Christian half of the church of St. Vincent.[7][8] Abd al-Rahman I and his descendants reworked it over two centuries to refashion it as a mosque, starting in 784. Additionally, Abd al-Rahman I used the mosque (originally called Aljama Mosque) as an adjunct to his palace and named it to honor his wife. Traditionally, the apse of a mosque faces in the direction of Mecca; by facing the apse, worshipers pray towards Mecca. Mecca is east-southeast of the mosque, but the mihrab points south.[9]

The mosque underwent numerous subsequent changes: Abd al-Rahman II ordered a new minaret, while Al-Hakam II, in 961, enlarged the building and enriched the apse. The last of the reforms was carried out by Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir in 987. It was connected to the Blaterant Caliph's palace by a raised walk-way, mosques within the palaces being the tradition for the Islamic rulers of all times. The Mezquita reached its current dimensions in 987 with the completion of the outer naves and courtyard.

Design [edit]

Further information: Moorish architecture

The Great Mosque of Córdoba held a place of importance amongst the Islamic community of al-Andalus for three centuries. In Córdoba, the capital, the Mosque was seen as the heart and central focus.[10] Muhammad Iqbal described its hypostyle hall as having "countless pillars like rows of palm trees in the oases of Syria".[11] To the people of al-Andalus “the beauty of the mosque was so dazzling that it defied any description.”[12]

The main hall of the mosque was used for a variety of purposes. It served as a central hall for teaching and to manage law and order within al-Andalus during the rule of Abd al-Rahman.[13]

The Great Mosque of Córdoba exhibited features, and an architectural appearance, similar to the Great Mosque of Damascus,[14] therefore it is evident that it was used as a model by Abd al-Rahman for the creation of the Great Mosque in Córdoba.

The prayer hall
Columns of the mosque

Features [edit]

The building is most notable for its arcaded hypostyle hall, with 856 columns of jasper, onyx, marble, and granite. These were made from pieces of the Roman temple which had occupied the site previously, as well as other destroyed Roman buildings, such as the Mérida amphitheatre. The double arches were a new introduction to architecture, permitting higher ceilings than would otherwise be possible with relatively low columns. The double arches consist of a lower horseshoe arch and an upper semi-circular arch. The famous alternating red and white voussoirs of the arches were inspired by those in the Dome of the Rock.[12] and also resemble those of the Aachen Cathedral, which were built almost at the same time. A centrally located honey-combed dome has blue tiles decorated with stars.

The mosque also has richly gilded prayer niches. The mihrab is a masterpiece of architectural art, with geometric and flowing designs of plants. Other prominent features were: an open court (sahn) surrounded by arcades, screens of wood, minarets, colourful mosaics, and windows of coloured glass.[12] The walls of the mosque had Quranic inscriptions written on them.

Layout [edit]

The mosque’s floor plan is seen to be parallel to some of the earliest mosques built from the very beginning of Islam.[10] It had a rectangular prayer hall with aisles arranged perpendicular to the qibla, the direction towards which Muslims pray.[15] The prayer hall was large in size, flat, with timber ceilings held up by arches of horseshoe-like appearance.[10]

One hundred fifty years following its creation, a staircase to the roof was added, along with a southward extension of the mosque itself. A bridge was built linking the prayer hall with the Caliph’s palace.[14] The mosque was later expanded even further south, as was the courtyard which surrounded it. The mosque was built in four stages, with each Caliph and his elite contributing to it.[16]

Until the 11th century, the courtyard was unpaved earth with citrus and palm trees irrigated - at first by rainwater cisterns, and later by aqueduct. Excavation indicates the trees were planted in a pattern, with surface irrigation channels. The stone channels visible today are not original.[17]

Reconquista [edit]

Main article: Reconquista
This painting by Edwin Lord Weeks (circa 1880) depicts an old Moor preaching the holy war against the Christians at the mosque in Spain.[18] The Walters Art Museum.

In 1236, Córdoba was conquered by King Ferdinand III of Castile in the Reconquista, and the mosque was returned into a Catholic church. Alfonso X oversaw the construction of the Villaviciosa Chapel and the Royal Chapel within the mosque. The kings who followed added further Christian features, such as King Henry II rebuilding the chapel in the 14th century. The minaret of the mosque was also converted to the bell tower of the cathedral. It was adorned with Santiago de Compostela’s captured cathedral bells.[19]

The most significant alteration was the building of a Renaissance cathedral nave right in the middle of the expansive structure. The insertion was constructed by permission of El Libertador Charles V, king of Castile and Aragon. However, when Charles V visited the completed cathedral he was displeased by the result and famously commented, "they have taken something unique in all the world and destroyed it to build something you can find in any city."

The mosque's reconversion to a Christian Catholic church, the Cathedral de Córdoba, may have helped to preserve it when the Spanish Inquisition was most active.[citation needed] Artisans and architects continued to add to the existing structure until the late 18th century.

Current Muslim campaign [edit]

Main article: Muslim campaign at Córdoba Cathedral
Bell tower surrounding the minaret.

Muslims across Spain are lobbying the Roman Catholic Church to allow them to pray in the complex, with the Islamic Council of Spain lodging a formal request with the Vatican.[3][4] However, Spanish church authorities and the Vatican oppose this move.[5][5] These battles over the cathedral reflect the contested view of what constitutes Spanish history and Spanish identity.[20]

2010 violence [edit]

In April 2010, two Muslim tourists were arrested at the Cathedral, after an incident in which two security guards were seriously injured. The incident occurred when the building was filled with tourists visiting the cathedral during Holy Week.[21][22]

According to cathedral authorities, when half a dozen Austrian Muslims, who were part of a group of 118 people on an organized tour for young European Muslims, knelt to pray at the same time, security guards stepped in and “invited them to continue with their tour or leave the building”.[21][22] A fight took place between two of the tourists and the security guards. The security guards suffered serious injuries and had to be hospitalized and two Muslim men were detained.[21][22][23]

In popular culture [edit]

  • Muhammad Iqbal, who is considered as one of the founding fathers of Pakistan and its national poet, visited the Great Cathedral of Córdoba in 1931–32. He requested the authorities to offer adhan at the mosque. The deep emotional responses that the Mosque evoked in him found expression in the immortal poem called The Mosque of Cordoba. Iqbal saw it as a cultural landmark of Islam and described it as:[24]
"Sacred for lovers of art, you are the glory of faith,
You have made Andalusia pure as a holy land!"[11]

Gallery [edit]

Photos of the Mezquita architecture.

  • Cathedral of Córdoba

  • Mezquita4.jpg

  • Bell tower or minaret of the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba

  • Present appearance of the mihrab, built during the expansion of Alheken II

  • Inside of the dome

  • Cordoba moscheefassade.jpg

  • Chapel in the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba

  • The Mihrab of the Cathedral

  • The Woodwork in the Choir in the Cathedral

  • The Organ in the Cathedral

  • Poly-lobed arches and intertwined in the Chapel of Villaviciosa.

  • Exterior arches of the east wall

  • Dome of the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba

  • Exterior, south-west corner

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Fichner-Rathus, Lois (2012). Understanding Art (with Art Coursemate with EBook Printed Access Card). Cengage Learning. p. 336. ISBN 1111836957. Retrieved December 14, 2012. 
  2. ^ a b "Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba". Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 4 November 2012. 
  3. ^ a b c Sills, Ben (2004-04-19). "Cathedral may see return of Muslims". The Guardian (London). 
  4. ^ a b Thomson, Muslims ask Pope to OK worship in ex-mosque, Reuters, (2011), [1]
  5. ^ a b c Fuchs, Dale (2006-12-28). "Pope asked to let Muslims pray in cathedral". The Guardian (London). 
  6. ^ David Levering Lewis, God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570 to 1215, W. W. Norton & Company, (2008) p. 272 ff.
  7. ^ Josef W. Meri and Jere L. Bacharach, Medieval Islamic Civilization, Routledge, (2005), p. 176 ff.
  8. ^ Irving, T. B. (1962). The Falcon of Spain. Ashraf Press, Lahore. p. 82. 
  9. ^ Lapunzina, Alejandro (2005). Architecture of Spain. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 82–83. 
  10. ^ a b c Jayyusi, Salma Khadra, ed. The Legacy of Muslim Spain, 2 Vols.. Leiden: BRILL, p.599.
  11. ^ a b Muhammad Iqbal,The Mosque of Cordoba
  12. ^ a b c Anwar, G. Chejne, Muslim Spain: Its History and Culture, MINNE ed. Minnesota: University Of Minnesota Press, p.364.
  13. ^ Jan, Read. The Moors in Spain and Portugal. London: Rowman & Littlefield Pub Inc, p.56.
  14. ^ a b The Literature of Al-Andalus (The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature). New Ed ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 161.
  15. ^ The Literature of Al-Andalus, p.159
  16. ^ The Literature of Al-Andalus p.162
  17. ^ Ruggles, D. Fairchild (2008). Islamic Gardens and Landscapes. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 152. ISBN 0-8122-4025-1. 
  18. ^ "Interior of a Mosque at Cordova". The Walters Art Museum. 
  19. ^ Chris, Lowney A Vanished World: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Spain. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 11.
  20. ^ D. Fairchild Ruggles, “The Stratigraphy of Forgetting: The Great Cathedral of Cordoba and Its Contested Legacy,” in Contested Cultural Heritage, ed. Helaine Silverman. New York: Springer, 2011, pp. 51-67. Spanish translation in the journal Antípoda:Revista de Antropología y Arqueología (Bogotá, Colombia) 12 (2011): 19-38.
  21. ^ a b c Tremlett, Giles (2010-04-01). "Two arrested after fight in Cordoba's former mosque". The Guardian (London). 
  22. ^ a b c Keeley, Graham (2010-04-03). "Muslims arrested for trying to pray in Cordobas former Mosque". The Times (London). 
  23. ^ "Muslims in Spain campaign to worship alongside Christians". CNN. 2010-09-07. 
  24. ^ http://www.allamaiqbal.com/webcont/406/web_pages/cordova_mosque.htm

External links [edit]

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