Day 9 - Fair enough

Córdoba 

Looks better in real life

We joined another "free" walking tour, they are kind of free as you don't have to pay if you don't want to but you would feel pretty lousy when the guides work so hard. This girl was much better than the one in Madrid and took us to many interesting sites, the tours are a good way to get the feel of a city when you arrive.

In the afternoon we visited the Mezquita, the original grand mosque which has a cathedral built inside it, apparently the number one European Tripadvisor site for 2015. It was certainly impressive, especially in the way it mixed Christian & Muslim devotion and religious iconography. There is this continual theme in Córdoba of the successful combination of Jewish, Muslim & Christian religions living together harmoniously.

Córdoba is a very pretty city with lots of narrow alleyways and cascading flowers from lovely balconies. We are finally getting used to the Spanish way of life, doing little in the afternoon heat and then heading out again later in the evening. 

I quite like this one

Tonight we headed for the fair that does the round of the Andalusian cities and happens to be in Córdoba this week, maybe we will see it elsewhere in the south of Spain. The fair (as well as all around town) is filled with women and children in traditional dress, we are not sure if its because of the fair or if it's normal, but they all do look so pretty.
Between the Mezquita and the fair (which was over the other side of the river) we clocked up a lot of k's walking, around 17kms today!