Photos from Cordoba

I just returned from a quick weekend trip to Cordoba, the medieval political, cultural, and social center of the Omayyad Caliphate that ruled Spain between the 9th and 12th centuries CE as well as a major Roman fort during the reign of the Roman Empire. Simply put, the city hosted one of the most dynamic cities in Europe during the dark ages, a place where music, philosophy, and the social and natural sciences made incredible progress under an administrative system that allowed three cultures - Jewish, Christian, and Muslim - to live alongside each other in relative peace. The Caliphate promoted this culture in other cities throughout Al-Andalus (the region known as Spain), most notably Toledo, Granada, and Sevilla. The influence of this culture not only impacted the Spanish language - ojala, "hopefully," comes from O Allah, "god willing," for instance - but also impacted the course of intellectual as scholars from these cities translated classic philosophical texts into Arabic to preserve the intellectual foundations of Western civilization. It is a truly fascinating time in Spanish history.

Check out the photos here