Deep dives into Córdoba's landmarks: the Mezquita-Catedral, the Roman bridge, Medina Azahara, the Roman temple, and the horseshoe arches that shape the skyline.https://www.explorecordoba.comhttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/janus-temple-mezquita-myth-cordobahttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/janus-temple-mezquita-myth-cordobaThe Temple of Janus under the Mezquita traces to a c. 1608 argument and a misread milestone. Here is what the inscriptions and excavations really show.Sat, 24 Oct 2026 04:45:01 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/valdepuentes-aqueduct-medina-azaharahttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/valdepuentes-aqueduct-medina-azaharaMedina Azahara drank from a Roman channel. How the Valdepuentes aqueduct, a caliphal bridge and 1,800 m of sewers kept the palace-city supplied and drained.Sat, 24 Oct 2026 03:33:34 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/almedinilla-iberian-roman-archaeologyhttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/almedinilla-iberian-roman-archaeologyAlmedinilla has an Iberian hill-town destroyed around 141 BC and the Roman villa of El Ruedo. Full combined 2024 ticket €10; hours differ, so phone ahead.Sun, 18 Oct 2026 03:25:07 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/puerta-del-puente-cordobahttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/puerta-del-puente-cordobaPuerta del Puente in Córdoba: a 16th-century Renaissance gate by Hernán Ruiz III, the older gates it replaced, a tripled budget, 1928 rebuild and San Rafael.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 07:09:04 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/calle-cairuan-almodovar-gate-cordobahttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/calle-cairuan-almodovar-gate-cordobaWalk Calle Cairuan in Córdoba from the Almodóvar Gate: a 14th-century rebuild, a 1968 Tunisian street name, Roman wall footings and the Judería lanes.Wed, 14 Oct 2026 18:43:17 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/mezquita-orange-courtyard-flora-2026https://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/mezquita-orange-courtyard-flora-2026How the Patio de los Naranjos went from a caliphal court of ablutions to a garden of orange trees, and how the Cabildo lends it to FLORA's living-flower art.Mon, 12 Oct 2026 17:16:42 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/zuheros-cliff-village-castlehttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/zuheros-cliff-village-castleZuheros castle sits on a limestone crag above a white village in Córdoba province. Moorish cistern, Renaissance palace wall, ticket prices and what to check.Fri, 09 Oct 2026 11:01:34 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/mezquita-spolia-columns-mismatchedhttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/mezquita-spolia-columns-mismatchedThe Mezquita's forest of roughly 850 columns looks uniform but isn't. Builders reused Roman and Visigothic spolia; new capitals came later. Where to look.Tue, 06 Oct 2026 16:51:27 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/belalcazar-castle-tallest-keep-spainhttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/belalcazar-castle-tallest-keep-spainBelalcázar Castle's 47 m keep is listed by the Junta de Andalucía as Spain's tallest. How it grew, what to see inside and how to book the free guided visit.Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:04:15 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/alcazar-of-the-caliphs-cordobahttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/alcazar-of-the-caliphs-cordobaThe Umayyad Alcázar stood beside Córdoba's Mezquita long before Medina Azahara. Here is how it vanished and how to trace its old footprint on foot today.Sat, 03 Oct 2026 18:35:58 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/almodovar-del-rio-castle-movie-set-historyhttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/almodovar-del-rio-castle-movie-set-historyLong before Game of Thrones, Almodóvar del Río Castle was already a film set — a vintage drinks ad, then, by most accounts, Ava Gardner's last film in 1986.Sun, 27 Sep 2026 19:10:26 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/medina-azahara-name-legend-vs-historyhttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/medina-azahara-name-legend-vs-historyLegend says a homesick wife inspired Medina Azahara's name; historians read it as Umayyad political branding aimed squarely at rivals in Baghdad and Cairo.Sun, 20 Sep 2026 08:19:44 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/mihrab-ribbed-dome-cordoba-mosquehttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/mihrab-ribbed-dome-cordoba-mosqueCórdoba's mihrab dome used a crossed-arch vault, raised 961–965 CE, predating medieval Europe's rib vaults by a century and read by some as Gothic's precursor.Sat, 19 Sep 2026 10:44:40 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/almunias-caliphal-gardens-cordobahttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/almunias-caliphal-gardens-cordobaLong before the Alhambra's Generalife, Córdoba's Umayyad caliphs built walled garden estates called almunias. Only al-Rummaniyya survives, mostly underground.Thu, 17 Sep 2026 07:29:11 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/roman-mausoleums-puerta-gallegos-cordobahttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/roman-mausoleums-puerta-gallegos-cordobaTwo 13-metre Roman mausoleums stand at Córdoba's Puerta Gallegos in the Jardines de la Victoria, hidden until a 1993 dig uncovered the Via Augusta necropolis.Wed, 16 Sep 2026 06:10:18 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/cercadilla-roman-palace-cordobahttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/cercadilla-roman-palace-cordobaCercadilla was the only Roman palace of its kind ever found in Hispania — until construction of Córdoba's AVE station bulldozed most of it in 1991 and 1992.Tue, 15 Sep 2026 17:09:45 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/mezquita-two-million-visitorshttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/mezquita-two-million-visitorsThe Mezquita-Catedral drew 2,191,731 visitors in 2025. How its queue flow, €15 ticket and new reception centre manage the crowd, and why its cap rarely bites.Sat, 29 Aug 2026 09:08:18 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/roman-houses-cordoba-colonia-patriciahttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/roman-houses-cordoba-colonia-patriciaRoman houses in Cordoba, Spain, had atriums, peristyle gardens, and hypocaust floors. Surviving mosaics, frescoes, and the patio tradition they started.Mon, 13 Jul 2026 08:40:36 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/abd-al-rahman-ii-cordobahttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/abd-al-rahman-ii-cordobaThe Albolafia waterwheel first appeared on Córdoba's coat of arms in the 1300s, vanished for centuries, and returned in 1983 — not Abd al-Rahman II's work.Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:07:02 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/medina-azahara-night-lightshttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/medina-azahara-night-lightsMedina Azahara night visits run Fri–Sat at 9 p.m. (€15). What chroniclers recorded about the mercury-pool throne room and what the ruins look like after dark.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 08:32:29 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/palacio-de-viana-twelve-patioshttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/palacio-de-viana-twelve-patiosThe Palacio de Viana's twelve patios weren't planned: they accumulated across 500 years and 18 aristocratic owners. How each era shaped a new courtyard.Mon, 15 Jun 2026 22:53:13 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/roman-amphitheatre-cordobahttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/roman-amphitheatre-cordobaCórdoba's Roman amphitheatre came to light in 2002 beneath the university's Rectorado. Its major axis is put at roughly 164-178m; no documented public access.Sat, 13 Jun 2026 23:11:58 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/alcazar-inquisition-cordobahttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/alcazar-inquisition-cordobaThe Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos was headquarters of the alcazar cordoba inquisition for 339 years. What happened inside, and what remains visible today.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 22:22:00 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/roman-temple-cordoba-discoveryhttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/roman-temple-cordoba-discoveryIn 1951, Córdoba's City Hall expansion broke through to a Roman temple buried for 1,900 years. What workers found, how it was identified, and what survives.Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:20:49 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/the-mezquita-conversion-what-1236-actually-looked-likehttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/the-mezquita-conversion-what-1236-actually-looked-likeIn 1236, Ferdinand III captured Córdoba and converted the Great Mosque into a cathedral, left untouched for three centuries until Charles V's architects.Fri, 29 May 2026 10:32:13 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/cordoba-synagoguehttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/cordoba-synagogueBuilt in 1315 as a private yeshiva, the Córdoba Synagogue survived pogroms, became a rabies hospital, then a cobblers' chapel, before rediscovery in 1885.Tue, 26 May 2026 12:39:45 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/medina-azahara-lost-palace-cityhttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/medina-azahara-lost-palace-cityBuilt by Abd al-Rahman III in 936 CE, sacked in 1010, and buried for nine centuries, Medina Azahara is now roughly 9% excavated and UNESCO listed since 2018.Mon, 25 May 2026 06:09:29 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/roman-bridge-cordoba-historyhttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/roman-bridge-cordoba-historyCórdoba's Roman Bridge has 16 arches, and only two are usually called Roman. From an emir's rebuild around 720 to the 2008 restoration, here is what you cross.Fri, 22 May 2026 09:17:45 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/the-horseshoe-arch-how-cordoba-gave-islam-its-signature-shapehttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/the-horseshoe-arch-how-cordoba-gave-islam-its-signature-shapeCórdoba's Mezquita holds nearly 850 columns, but its horseshoe arch is older than Islam itself. See how Abd al-Rahman I made it the world's most iconic arch.Tue, 19 May 2026 10:18:39 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/mezquita-mosque-cathedralhttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/mezquita-mosque-cathedralMezquita means mosque in Spanish, yet Córdoba's monument has been a Catholic cathedral since 1236. Why it carries three names and how its status is disputed.Fri, 15 May 2026 22:47:53 GMThttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/cordoba-patioshttps://www.explorecordoba.com/articles/cordoba-patiosCórdoba's patios stay 10–15°C cooler than the street. Two thousand years of Roman, Moorish and Christian engineering explain why, and why they still work.Fri, 15 May 2026 18:43:41 GMT