Today we are off the bikes. During the morning a local guide from Córdoba takes us on a walking tour of town. We start out along the narrow streets.

We pass by a statue of Maimonides, a famous Jewish philosopher and Torah scholar born in Córdoba around 1135. When Córdoba was conquered by the Berbers, Maimohides chose exile over converting to Islam and eventually died in Egypt.

Looking ahead we see the Mezquita, the highlight of our tour.

Today it is considered one of the world’s best examples of Moorish architecture.

Once the second largest mosque in the world, it was consecrated as a Christian church after Córdoba was captured by the Spanish in the 12th century. Inside, we see the arcaded main hall/prayer hall. The red and white arches were inspired by those in the Dome of the Rock. These arches were frequently constructed on top of original columns from the Roman temple which previously existed here.

This is one of the archways into another area.

This exhibit on the wall showed the distinctive marks or tacherons used by stone masons to identify their work.

Another view of the red and white arches.

And another look inside the mosque.

After the tour, we checked out a local market.

Then we made our way to a nearby plaza for lunch.

Tapas.

Later we met up with our guides under a cloudy sky. They brought jars of olives for us to sample. Wonderful. So much better than anything we could get at home.

Wandering around on our own, we passed by a church where a wedding was just getting underway. Both tourists and guests here.

Another narrow street.

On the way back to the hotel, this nice Andalusian horse passed by. He was gray, like the majority of Andalusians.

Dinner in Spain, as in most European countries, is considerably later than in the U.S. So here we are, cleaned up and ready to eat, but we are too early so we have to go have a glass of wine and wait for the restaurant to open.

Walking back to our hotel, and well after dark, we see the lighted tower of the Mezquita.