The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-04-22


about this ancient Capital, in which no
sound of wheel. or hammer, or human life
is heard, its narrow. dark and dirty streets
almost deserted by man and beast-you re-
call what Gautier said Of Cordova more
than half a century ago: 1T is city OF
whose once beautiful body nothing remains
but a bleached and calcined skeleton
Lying low in the sunny valley of the
Guadalquivir. in the very heart of Andalu-
STA. surrounded by grey olive groves and
villas crumbling with the weight of CEN
turtles. it has been appropriately called
1.-The City OF Venerable Tranquility.
Though its absolute silence and absence of
life are depressing, you find it extremely
Interesting 1t abounds with antiquities.
and at every step memories are awakened
of the old Roman emperors. of later Ara
biar Caliphs-of Queen SchehereZade S
marvellous tales, and the adventures of the
"gaunt country gentleman of la Mancha, -
whose home was close by. Antique gates
and sculptures and nail-studded doors,
mosques. towers. and minarets. the CALLER
led houses. with their azuelos, mulloned
windows and flower-filled patios, the great
Roman bridges and shrines in the outer
walis-all speak of times long, long gone
by.
So winding and shadowy are the streets
suddenly ending in blank walls, or con-
yerging into half a dozen other alleys
equally tortuous and obscure. you are sure
TO get lost in their labyrinthine windings.
If without a guide. Meeting nobody of
whom to enquire the way back to your no.
tel YOU are finally forced to pound upon
a closed door, which rends the venerable
tranquility with echoes, that seem as
sacriiegious as shouting in dim Cathe-
draI As visitors are never expected in
modern C0Tdova, it takes more than one
pounding TO bring anybody to the door;
and when at last the startled servant ap-
pears his directions are SO complicated,
concerning numerous turnings to be made,
that you feel more hopelessly lost than be-
fore. The better way is to engage a ma
tive cicerone at the outset Your hotel
will furnish man, who will shuttle along
side all day. for few cents, and tell you
more wild yarns than ever the bride of the
sanguinary Sultan invented in the Ara
bian Nights Entertainment.
In the widest of Cordova's streets 1t
would be impossible to swing the typical
cat without dashing its brains out; and in
many of them pedestrians are compelled
to fiatten themselves against the walls on
either side whenever donkey with bulg
ing panniers passes through. | suppose
that the idea of the ancient builders, In
thus cramping their quarters, when they
might just as well have spread the city
over the whole valley, was as much to Sc
cure safely from invaders as to keep their
casas cool by excluding the fervid sun.
Even without the wooden gates, which
close the streets at frequent intervals,
raid or riot could make small progress,
compelled to pass three or four abreast,
under the overhanging balconies, each
house well-defended fort.
The principal sight Of Cordova. and
also one of the chief show places in Spain,
is the splendid mosque, La MezqWta, lara
bice for masegad, meaning to worship
prostrate). which the Caliph Abur-rah-
man II. began about A. A. $50. A hun
bred years were consumed in the building,
and it was long the grandest Moslem tenn
pie In the world exceeding in beauty even
Mecca, the most sacred shrine of the Ko
ran.
1t stands close to the muddy bank of the
GuadalQuivir, in the heart of the crowded
Jewish quarter where the early Hebrews.
prosecuted by other nations, enjoyed COM
plete liberty of worship under the Saracen
rulers Directly opposite rises the once
gorgeous Alcazar. ("House of Caesar or
Royal Palace, of the Kalpha-which is
now a shabby military prison, without a
trace of its former splendor. 1t is hard to
realize that this spot-now so vilely odor-
Gus and filthy, the haunt of vice. disease
and misery, was once the abode of science
and art, the seat of the wealthiest court OF
medieval Europe, the refuge of the OPP
pressed Of every creed in Christendom.
and the home of the most polished society
Of Che age!
The most extraordinary feature of La
Mezquita is that to this day it is half
Moslem mosque and half Christian ca
thedral. Long long ago. the Romans had
a temple on the spot dedicated 10 Janus.
Afterward it was the Christians Basilica,
and when the Arabs entered Cord9va, in
the year III, they converted half of it into
a mosque. leaving the other half undis-
turbed to the Christians. This liberal ar
rangement on the part of the Moslems,
which l am afraid would not have been i'm
itated by the Christians. had the positions
been reversed, was also made in the Ba-
silica of st. John. at Damascus, which was
afterward converted into the great
mosque When Prince Abdu-r-rahman, TIE
last survivor of the line of Meyades. VINO
had fer years been a fugitive among the
wandering tribes of the Libyan Desert,
was called to the throne as the only hope
of the war desolated country, his first act
was to declare himself indepsStent OF the
Sultans of the East Having consolidated
his dominions by the subjugation of all
who ventured to dispute his sovereignty,
quelled internal feUds and restored peace
and prosperity-the sagacious monarch
next turned his attention TO rendering his
dynasty independent in all respects from
the influences and preiudices Of the East.
This was rot possible so long as the year
~ pilgrimage to the Holy City OF Arabia,
obligatory upon all good Moslems, impair
ed the feeling OF q distinct nationality
which he wished to foster, besides con-
Stunning so much OF the time and money Of
his subjects Therefore. ii was clear that
a shrine must be established at home,
which should Guido even the Tomb Of
the Prophet at Mecca. There was as yet
no Dialma. or Grand Mosque, in Spain,
the services OF Islam being everywhs re
held in eonfiseateG churches, and most of
these divided with worshipers of another
creed. In Cordoya, Christians and Mahom-
medans bowed beneath the same roof, al
most before the very affairs where the
earlier Romans had rendered homage to
their gods With considerable difficulty
but perfect fairness. Abdu-r-rahmau /
finally bought the whole structura--the
priests receiving their purchase money in
gold. and with it Immediately building an
other church. which they dedicated 10 SITS.
Faustus and Marcial. and then the Chris
tians quilted the cathedral, bearing in SOL
emn procession the images of the saints
and all their treasures.
A Wonderful Temple of Allah.
The ground was at once cleared for the
grand djalma, which was designed to be
one of the wonders Of the world. BY this