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¡Estoy en España!
Jun. 14th, 2009 11:41 pmMy travel buddy Ryan and I spent the afternoon in Córdoba, former capital of Al Andalus and once the largest city in Western Europe. Its main claim to fame is the Mezquita, which is the opposite of the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul: an enormous, beautiful medieval mosque that was later turned into a church.
Al Andalus, Moorish Spain, is often held up as a high point on religious tolerance between the three Abrahamic faiths. Churches, mosques and synagogues coexisted, and Maimonedes and Averroes both called this city home. But Al Andalus also had its share of low points in interreligious dialogue, too. I'll be interested to learn more during our remaining two days in Andalucia, before we head up to Cataluña, where I am longingly anticipating sub-100-degree weather. (At 6:20 this evening we passed a thermometer reading 42. That's 107 Fahrenheit. At 6:20 pm.)
My high school/college Spanish is gradually returning, but not without some hiccups. Today at an ice cream store I asked for a scoop of mente chocolate, which actually means "chocolate mind." I'm pretty sure I already have one of those...
Al Andalus, Moorish Spain, is often held up as a high point on religious tolerance between the three Abrahamic faiths. Churches, mosques and synagogues coexisted, and Maimonedes and Averroes both called this city home. But Al Andalus also had its share of low points in interreligious dialogue, too. I'll be interested to learn more during our remaining two days in Andalucia, before we head up to Cataluña, where I am longingly anticipating sub-100-degree weather. (At 6:20 this evening we passed a thermometer reading 42. That's 107 Fahrenheit. At 6:20 pm.)
My high school/college Spanish is gradually returning, but not without some hiccups. Today at an ice cream store I asked for a scoop of mente chocolate, which actually means "chocolate mind." I'm pretty sure I already have one of those...
