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Cordoba, the Jewish Quarter

The Jewish quarter of Cordoba is an area of the Spanish city of Cordoba that was, between the 13th and 15th centuries, the neighborhood in which the Jews lived.
The area that is currently known by that name is located northwest of the Mosque-Cathedral.
It is part of the historic center of Córdoba that was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1994.
It is one of the most visited areas by tourists since, in addition to the Mosque-Cathedral, you can see monuments such as the Synagogue, the Municipal Souk or the Mudejar Chapel of San Bartolomé, as well as museums such as the Casa de Sefarad.
Although there is evidence that there was a Jewish presence in Córdoba since Roman times, the Jewish quarter of Córdoba has not always been located in the same place.
In fact, after the Muslim invasion, the Jews were expelled outside the walls, mainly in the north, between the gardens of La Merced and the church of Santa Marina.
The only Jewish tombstone found in the city, referring to Yehudá bar Akon, dated in the year 845, was found from this time in the neighborhood of Zumbacón; as well as the funerary square inside the church of San Miguel, which show the presence of a Jewish necropolis in the area.
The destruction of this first Jewish quarter came after the fall of the Cordovan Caliphate and the sacking of the city at the hands of Suleiman in 1013, for which many Hebrew families were forced into exile. However, the definitive repression and annihilation took place with the arrival of the Almohads in 1148, Berber radicals from North Africa, who prohibited the Jewish presence in the region.
After Fernando III recovered the city during the conquest of Córdoba in 1236, the Jews returned to settle there, while his son Alfonso X the Wise closed and delimited the Jewish quarter in 1272, in the northwestern area of the Mosque-cathedral , as it is currently known.
In 1315 what is probably the most representative building of the Jewish quarter was built: the Synagogue of Cordoba, made by the architect Isaac Moheb.
Cordoba lived a splendorous time when three peoples (Christian, Jewish and Muslim) with their corresponding religions coexisted, although not peacefully since the expeditions of punishment of the emirs and caliphs towards the suburbs where the non-Muslim population was located were periodic.
In the street of the Jews we now find a bronze statue dedicated to Maimonides, the great Jewish philosopher and doctor from Cordoba, whose family was forced to convert to Islam and in the end he himself had to leave the city during the Almohad persecution.
During the 10th century, Cordoba was, after Byzantium, the largest economic and cultural center in Europe, and although the Muslim, Jewish and Christian population coexisted in the city, this coexistence was far from peaceful.

Chefchaouen, the blue city

Chefchaouen in  Morocco is often called the blue city or the blue pearl.
In the north of Morocco, in one of the most beautiful places in the Rif mountains, this city of narrow streets and houses painted white and blue emerges. Indigo stains the streets of the medina of the city of Chefchaouen.
The city was founded in 1471 on the site of a small Berber population. Its original population consisted mainly of exiles from Al-Andalus, both Muslims and Jews, which is why the old part of the city has an appearance very similar to that of the Andalusian towns, with small streets of irregular layout and whitewashed houses.
The city was founded as a small kasbah (fortress) by Moulay Ali ibn Rashid al-Alami, a descendant of Abd as-Salam al-Alami and Idris I, and through them, of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Al-Alami founded the city to fight the Portuguese invasions of northern Morocco.
Along with the Ghomara tribes of the region, many Moriscos and Jews settled here after the Spanish Reconquista in medieval times.
After eight years of the creation of the Spanish Protectorate in Morocco the Spanish Army could effectively take Chaouen, when General Dámaso Berenguer occupied the city on 14 October 1920.
Following the 1924 retreat of the Spanish army from the city  Chaouen was part of the Republic of the Rif (led by Abd el-Krim el-Khattabi) from 1924 to 1926.
In September 1925, in the middle of the Rif War, a rogue squadron of American volunteer pilots, including veterans of World War I, bombarded civilians in Chaouen.
Colonel Charles Sweeney had proposed the idea to French Prime Minister Paul Painlevé, who «warmly welcomed the Colonel’s request.
After al-Khattabi was defeated with the help of the French, he was deported to Réunion. The Spanish Army retook the city in 1926.
The city’s oldest and historically most important mosque is the Great Mosque located at Place Uta Hammam at the heart of the medina.
On a hill overlooking the town to the east there is also a disaffected mosque built by the Spanish in the 1920s, now a popular lookout point.
Also of great historical and religious importance to the city is the mausoleum dedicated to the patron saint of northern Morocco’s Jebalah region, Moulay Abdessalam Ben Mshish al-Alami. His tomb and the village surrounding it is roughly 50 kilometers northwest of from Chefchaouen on the old road to Larache.

Chefchaouen – or Chaouen, as it is often called by Moroccans – is a popular tourist destination because of its proximity to Tangier and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
The beauty of Chefchaouen’s mountainous surroundings are enhanced by the contrast of the brightly painted medina (old town). The main square in the medina is lined with cafes and filled to the brim with locals and tourist mingling easily.
Chefchaouen is a popular shopping destination as well, as it offers many native handicrafts that are not available elsewhere in Morocco, such as wool garments and woven blankets. The goat cheese native to the area is also popular with tourists.

Málaga. Ronda

Ronda is a magical little town balanced on the edge of an escarpment in the Málaga province.
One of the most impressive sights in Spain
Visit a have a chance to take a picture of the Puente Nuevo, an 18th-century structure that spans the 120-metre-deep El Tajo Gorge between the citadel and newer part of the town..

Within the old citadel there are lots of intriguing fragments of Ronda’s 700-year occupation by the Moors to be discovered,
Ronda is also the Costa del Sol’s top wine town, with more than 20 wineries open for visitors in the local countryside. A must during tour culinary trip through Spain

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Burgos. Cathedral

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos (Santa Iglesia Basílica Catedral Metropolitana de Santa María de Burgos) is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in the historical center of the Spanish city of Burgos. Its official name is Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de Santa María de Burgos.

Its construction began in 1221, in the style of French Gothic architecture and is based on a Latin Cross.
The design of the main facade is related to the purest French Gothic style such as found in the contemporary great cathedrals of Paris and Reims, while the interior elevation refers to Bourges Cathedral.

The cathedral was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on October 31, 1984. It is the only Spanish cathedral that has this distinction independently, without being joined to the historic center of a city (as in Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Ávila, Córdoba, Toledo, Alcalá de Henares or Cuenca) or in union with other buildings, as in Seville. It is similar in design to Brussels Cathedral.

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The Wall of Avila

The city of Ávila strips its charms before the eyes of the curious on May 10 and 11. Two days a year, the wall hosts open days, a unique opportunity to enjoy the most emblematic monuments of the city. The wall of Ávila is the only one that he knows convincingly since his perpetual embrace shelters the capital of Avila. The beginning and end of its construction continues to create controversy among historians. The date popularly accepted specifically points to May 3, 1090 as the beginning of the works of the emblem of the capital of Avila and marks its end nine years later, in 1099.
The city is a National Historic-Artistic Complex since 1884 and is included in the list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO since 1985. City of height, Ávila rises to 1,182 meters, on a rocky promontory, a privileged observer of the riverside. River Adaja, tributary of the Duero. It is the highest provincial capital of Spain, and the fourth largest city in Europe in this sense.

Zaragoza

Cradle of illustrious geniuses such as Goya and a crossroads of roads and cultures on the banks of the Ebro, Zaragoza is a city with character that has managed to create its own personality.
The Alfajería de Zaragoza was the residence of the Hudi kings and later, it was not only Christianized but inhabited by the Catholic Monarchs. Today it is the seat of the Cortes de Aragón and still reflects the splendor of the Taifa kingdom.
But if there is something that undeniably marks the profile of Zaragoza is its Basilica del Pilar. This baroque temple to which many pilgrims congregate, gathers one of the most remarkable artistic collections in Spain, such as the frescoes by Goya, located in the vault of the Coreto and the dome of Regina Martyrium, the main altarpiece (from the 16th century), the choir mayor, the organ and its museum.

Flamenco, a dance style of Andalucia.

Flamenco is one of the most characteristic elements of Spanish culture.
An art that integrates dance, singing and guitar music.
Flamenco is an artistic expression born of the mixture of many cultures: the Arab, the Jewish, the gypsies (who came to Spain in the fifteenth century and many stayed in Andalusia). And with the Andalusian culture.
From that cultural hodgepodge that occurred in Andalusia came Flamenco.
The cradle of flamenco was Andalusia. This art began and developed, which, over time, has spread, becoming a universal artistic manifestation.
Its main facets are singing, playing and dancing, also counting on its own traditions and rules.
As we know it today dates from the eighteenth century, and there is controversy about its origin, because although there are different opinions and aspects, none of them could be proven in a historical way.
Although the dictionary of the RAE associates it especially to the gypsy ethnic group, it is more than perceptible the fusion of the different cultures that coincided in the Andalusia of the time.
Of all the hypotheses about its origin, the most widespread thesis is that which exposes the Moorish origin, only that the cultural miscegenation that occurred then in Andalusia: natives, Muslims, Gypsies, Castilians and Jews; propitiated its creation.
In fact, it already existed in the region of Andalusia its germ long before the gypsies arrived, also taking into account that there were gypsies in other regions of Spain and Europe, but flamenco was only cultivated by those who were in Andalusia.
In November 2010, UNESCO declared it Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Discover and enojoy it during your trip to Spain!

The gastronomy of Spain

The Spanish cuisine is rich and varied as the country itself.
Spanish cuisine is more fashionable than ever
Spanish cuisine is one of the most recognized in the world.
Although paella, gazpacho and ham are still the best-known dishes, little by little, Spanish cuisine is being given the value it deserves
Some of the most amazing facts and facts about Spanish gastronomy and cuisine:

• Spain is the largest producer of olive oil in the world. Double the production of Italy and four times that of Greece!
• Spain is the country with the largest wine growing area in the world. More than 15.5% of the world’s vineyards are in Spain!
• Approximately 75% of the world production of saffron (saffron) is carried out in Spain. Saffron is one of the key ingredients for cooking a paella.
• The most famous Spanish wines are red wines, but most of the vineyards are white grapes.
• Tomatoes, potatoes, cocoa and tobacco were imported to Europe by the Spaniards.
• Tapas are not a group of typical dishes, but rather a way of eating. The word tapas comes from the habit of covering the drink in the bars with a piece of cheese or ham to avoid getting flies or mosquitoes.

Try the typical dishes of Spain with its “jamon” and “patatas bravas”, the omelet and Valencian paella and much much more…

Your must when you visit Spain

To know Spain is to know a spectacular country, full of beautiful landscapes, wonderful cities and corners full of history. Magical and unforgettable places that are scattered throughout its geography. If you have trouble deciding what to visit, we tell you what those essential sites are.

GRANADA. The Alhambra in Granada.
It is one of the most visited monuments in Spain. The Alhambra in Granada not only has a long history, but it is one of the most charming places you can meet. Its exquisite Andalusian architecture and its perfect location make the whole an extraordinary landscape.
BARCELONA. Sagrada Familia
The Sagrada Familia is the most visited monument in all of Spain. It is a symbol of Barcelona and is a legacy of one of its geniuses, Gaudí. Construction began in 1882, but the death of Gaudí prevented this great monument from being finished. In fact, it is still being built today.
SEVILLA. Plaza de España
Although all of Seville is beautiful, the Plaza de España is one of its most spectacular places. This emblem of the city was built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929.
Its characteristic crescent shape has appeared in world-class films. It is bordered by banks in which the Spanish provinces are represented with tiles. While in Seville, take advantage of knowing the Giralda and the Torre del Oro and the María Luisa Park.
CORDOBA. Mosque of Cordoba
This exquisite work of Andalusian architecture is one of the most important monuments in Spain. Its beautiful striped arches represent one of the most beautiful prints of Andalusia.
This beautiful monument was declared a World Heritage Site in 1984. It was the largest mosque in the world, until the construction of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Visiting the Mosque of Cordoba is connecting with its past and witnessing a balance between Catholicism and Islamism in all its details.
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Mosque of Cordoba

It is a cultural prodigy. City with an impressive monumental legacy, was the birthplace of countless philosophers, doctors, mystics and poets. To get lost in its corners is to enter the time tunnel and cross the bridge between East and West.
The city, beyond its famous tourist attractions, invites you to simply walk through its streets and see the spectacle of its whitewashed houses, full of flowers, pots and vegetation everywhere; an authentic spectacle of a garden city.
The undisputed jewel of the city, the Mosque, considered the most important monument of all the Islamic West and one of the most amazing in the world. Its construction began in the year 780, where the Visigothic church of San Vicente was located, and it was extended several times until, in the year 987, it acquired its current dimensions.
The most disastrous reform of all its history was carried out in the sixteenth century, under the reign of Charles V, when part of the expansion works of Abderramán II and Almanzor were eliminated (not without controversy) to build the Christian cathedral.
In its history, the complete evolution of the Umayyad style in Spain is summarized, as well as the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles of Christian construction. We can spend hours walking through it and as soon as we seem to be in a huge mosque, as inside a bright cathedral.

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