What was once the second largest mosque in the world, just behind Mecca, is currently the most important monument of Islam in the West. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984. Initially built by the Umayyad emir Ab al-Rahman I in 785, the mosque we know today is the result of successive enlargements and, finally, the Christian intervention, which turned part of it into a Cathedral. Here you'll feel an indescribable emotion.
Cardenal Herrero, 1, 14003 Córdoba.
mezquita-catedraldecordoba.es.
(+34) 957 470 512.
Daytime general visit: General: €13 / Children (10-14 years): € 7 . Under 10 years: Free / Senior (+65 years): € 10.
Bell Tower: € 3.
The soul of Cordoba (night visit): €20. Children under 7 years: Free / Children 7-14 years: € 14 / Seniors (+65 years): € 14.
Tickets are purchased at the ticket office of the monument, located in the Patio de los Naranjos (Orange Courtyard) or online: https://tickets.mezquita-catedraldecordoba.es
The monument can be visited for free from Monday to Saturday inclusive, from 08:30 to 09:30h (except on day of extraordinary celebration). Group visits are not allowed during this time.
The majority of the visits of the tourist groups are concentrated in the morning. If you want a quieter experience and you can choose, opt for an afternoon visit.
This charming courtyard, with its orange, palm and cypress trees, forms the entrance to the mosque. It was the site of ritual ablutions. From here spread the custom, imported from Damascus, of planting trees, especially orange trees, in the mosque's courtyards.
The arcades' simplicity and number give a sense of endlessness. These striped arches, suggestive of a forest of date palms, rested on, eventually, 1293 columns (of which 856 remain today). The final Mosque had 19 doors along its north side.
The mihrab and the maqsurah are the most beautifully and intricately decorated parts of the whole mosque. The maqsurah was the space intended for the Sultan. Its dome is considered one of the most beautiful in the world.
Caliph Alhakam II asked the Byzantine emperor to send him craftsmen capable of imitating the golden mosaics of the Great Mosque of Damascus. The Emperor sent not only the craftsmen but the different color tessera. The result was marvelous.
