travelswithalice

September 10, 2007

La Mesquita, Cordoba

I am enamored with the architecture of the Mesquita. I tell Stuart I’m converting to Islam. He is not amused.

I have never seen ceilings this glorious. Or walls or pillars.

Not in any Christian church- Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Modern, whatever. This is seriously beautiful stuff; no matter the accidental nature of its beauty.

I am told its builders had to make architectural compromises to accommodate the use of diverse materials appropriated from ancient buildings including the original Christian cathedral on whose foundations this very mosque was built.

These magnificent double arches owe their magical, floating special effect to the haphazard collection of salvaged columns of various materials and sizes that hold them high up to those exalted ceilings.

Even so, I’m slightly embarrassed by the garish Christian images that have impinged on what seems to me a more sophisticated form of sacred art.

Gilded statuary, sentimental paintings, and the elaborate accoutrement of the clergy seem all too brash when juxtaposed against arabesques, calligraphy, and pure architectural decoration.

Labels: Cordoba, double arches, La Mesquita, Spain