Toledo and Cordoba

Rainy skies on Thursday.  We arrived in Toledo before noon.

Toledo is located in central Spain, south of Madrid.  It is the capital of the Province of Toledo.  Many famous people are from Toledo, including the artist El Greco.  We visited the El Greco museum, but photographs were not allowed.

This is part of the ceiling of the Jewish Temple.  The Temple was designed by Muslim architects. The structure is no longer used for religious services.  A cooperative between the Jewish community and Roman Catholics are preserving the building.  

 These windmills of La Mancha were used to grind grain.  The ownership was passed from father to sons.  Most consisted of two rooms or levels. They fell into disuse in the early 1980s.

Our hotel

Richard was surprised with this beautiful birthday cake!

 The walled city of Cordoba.  The Roman Bridge is the main entry.

Saint Rafael is the Patron Saint of Cordoba.  Numerous statues in his honor are found throughout the old city.

The Great Mosque of Cordoba was considered a wonder of the medieval world by both Muslims and Christians.  Built on a Visigothic site, which was probably the site of an earlier Roman temple, the Great Mosque of Cordoba was begun between 784 and 786 during the reign of  'Abd al-Rahman I, who escaped Syria to the Iberian Peninsula after his family was massacred by a rival political dynasty. This photo is one of the most important sites in the Great Mosque, which is now the current Roman Catholic cathedral.  It's been under Catholic control longer than Muslim.  Today only a small portion of the mosque is used for Catholic religious services.