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 CORDOBA
AND ITS PATIOS
By Catherine Girdler
Cordoba,
on the banks of the Guadalquivir River, is usually high on the
tourist list of "must see" places. Throughout the year
a steady stream of visitors will begin their visit on the opposite
side of the river to photograph the glorious golden stonework
of the ancient mosque and look down into the shallow waters to
see the remains of the Arab flourmills.
By the 10th Century Cordoba was a thriving city. Its streets were
paved; there were libraries, mosques and public baths, together
with a thriving University. In those days there were a million
inhabitants, today the figure is around 300,000.
Much has been written about the Grand Mosque, its pillars like
some endless forest and the simple loveliness of the Mihrab. There
are the tranquil gardens of the Alcazar where Columbus convinced
Queen Isabella that she should back his voyage of discovery and
if you are planning a day out in Cordoba I expect you will be
taking a guidebook. I do not intend to add to this literature;
instead I want to share with you the secrets of the Patio Festival
- a pleasure only to be discovered during the month of May.
Patios can be found in many Andalusian houses, but the people
in the historic old town of Cordoba have taken a special pleasure
in creating beautiful patios. Each year, during the first two
weeks of May, these secret gardens are opened for the general
public to enjoy.
When you arrive in Cordoba it is best to go straight to the Tourist
Office, situated in the Episcopal Palace, just behind the Grand
Mosque. Here you can collect a small map of the town, which is
divided into routes to allow you to visit each group of streets
and their patios.
The old town is like a rabbit warren and all the white-painted
houses look very similar. The houses are numbered, but often not
consecutively, but once you have grasped this fact you can start
to enjoy the patio hunt! The participating patios also display
two potted conifers, placed each side of the entrance. When they
are placed on the pavement they are very helpful, but more usually
they were inside the house, at the patio entrance. As you look
inwards from the street the passage leading to the patio is dimly
lit, which makes the glorious planting even more stunning. Often
the patio walls are covered with beautifully decorated tiles and
the brightly coloured flowers compliment them. (Photo 1).
I remember the patio belonging to the Library. This was a peaceful
place with shady trees and green shrubs - a good place to curl
up with a book! There was another patio belonging to an artist.
Here the cream-painted house walls were about 30 feet high. They
were covered in pots of geraniums, trailing plants of all kinds
and the vivid purple of the Morning Glory vine. The sight was
breathtaking and none of the visitors could work out how the pots
were planted and maintained! Chairs were placed close to the wall
and on these were draped beautiful coloured fabrics, the work
of the artist.
Cordoba's modern town also joins in the Festival. They make up
for not having patios by having beautifully planted balconies.
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our day in Cordoba. We had
visited the town several times in the past but on this occasion
we felt we had really got to know it and found it delightful -
the more you look, the more there is to discover. Take a shady
hat and a comfortable pair of shoes and pause among the patios
of Cordoba. (Photo 2).
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