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Spain Revealed: Cordoba's Mezquita
RECENTLY UPDATED FOR 2017! With high-resolution images, maps and a detailed tour itinerary, this is the definitive guide to the Great Mosque of Cordoba in Andalucia, Spain.
The Mezquita — the great mosque built from 785-988 by the Umayyads in the city of Córdoba — stands as one of the earliest and greatest monuments of Islamic Spain, or Al-Andalus. Still remarkably well preserved, the mosque’s art and architecture tells the story of early Al-Andalus: how the Umayyads, the Arabs who first rose to power, legitimized their regime and established the ruler as the rightful heir to leadership of the Islamic world from their new western outpost. Even after the Umayyads had fallen, the Mezquita survived to shape the consciousness of subsequent Islamic empires for another 700 years. It is yours to discover.
What’s in this guidebook
* A mosque in six stages. The Mezquita was built in six stages, the final stage of which involved its conversion to a Christian cathedral. We trace this evolution stage by stage, so you can appreciate how the layout and appearance of the mosque changed over time.
* Comprehensive look at the Mezquita’s art and architecture. We examine the defining characteristics of the Spanish Umayyad style, isolating key features and concepts that you will see again and again as you make your way through the Mezquita. Along the way, we consider the contribution of Middle Eastern prototypes.
* A tour that goes deeper on the most important sites. Following our tradition of being the most valuable resource for culture-focused travelers, we provide a unique, detailed tour of the Mezquita. The tour walks you through the highlights, aided by high-resolution images and a discussion that ties it all together.
* Advice for getting the best cultural experience. To help you plan your visit, this guidebook offers logistical advice and provides links to online resources. Plus, we provide our personal tips for getting the most from your experience while on location.
* Information the way you like it. As with all of our guides, this book is optimized for intuitive, quick navigation; information is organized into bullet points to make absorption easy; and images are mocked up with text that explains important features.
* NEW! Customers can now print this guidebook with our new PDF-on-Demand service. See the final chapter in the book for details.
ABOUT APPROACH GUIDES
Travel guidebooks for the ultra curious, Approach Guides reveal a destination’s essence by exploring a compelling aspect of its cultural heritage: art, architecture, history, food, or wine.
PRAISE FOR APPROACH GUIDES
Compulsive (and compulsively informed) travelers, the Raezers are the masterminds behind the downloadable Approach Guides, which are filled with a university course-worth of history and insights for 62 destinations worldwide. WHY WE LOVE IT: The Raezers share our desire for deep, well-researched information on the wonders of the world.
- Travel + Leisure
What started as one couple’s travel notes aimed at filling in the gaps in guidebooks has become ApproachGuides.com — a menu of downloadable travel guides that cover cultural and historical topics of interest to thoughtful travelers. What’s hot: Bite-sized travel guides that specialize in topics ranging from 29 pages on the foods of Italy to one that helps you explore the historical and architectural significance of Angkor’s famous temple structures in Cambodia.
- LA Times
The Mezquita — the great mosque built from 785-988 by the Umayyads in the city of Córdoba — stands as one of the earliest and greatest monuments of Islamic Spain, or Al-Andalus. Still remarkably well preserved, the mosque’s art and architecture tells the story of early Al-Andalus: how the Umayyads, the Arabs who first rose to power, legitimized their regime and established the ruler as the rightful heir to leadership of the Islamic world from their new western outpost. Even after the Umayyads had fallen, the Mezquita survived to shape the consciousness of subsequent Islamic empires for another 700 years. It is yours to discover.
What’s in this guidebook
* A mosque in six stages. The Mezquita was built in six stages, the final stage of which involved its conversion to a Christian cathedral. We trace this evolution stage by stage, so you can appreciate how the layout and appearance of the mosque changed over time.
* Comprehensive look at the Mezquita’s art and architecture. We examine the defining characteristics of the Spanish Umayyad style, isolating key features and concepts that you will see again and again as you make your way through the Mezquita. Along the way, we consider the contribution of Middle Eastern prototypes.
* A tour that goes deeper on the most important sites. Following our tradition of being the most valuable resource for culture-focused travelers, we provide a unique, detailed tour of the Mezquita. The tour walks you through the highlights, aided by high-resolution images and a discussion that ties it all together.
* Advice for getting the best cultural experience. To help you plan your visit, this guidebook offers logistical advice and provides links to online resources. Plus, we provide our personal tips for getting the most from your experience while on location.
* Information the way you like it. As with all of our guides, this book is optimized for intuitive, quick navigation; information is organized into bullet points to make absorption easy; and images are mocked up with text that explains important features.
* NEW! Customers can now print this guidebook with our new PDF-on-Demand service. See the final chapter in the book for details.
ABOUT APPROACH GUIDES
Travel guidebooks for the ultra curious, Approach Guides reveal a destination’s essence by exploring a compelling aspect of its cultural heritage: art, architecture, history, food, or wine.
PRAISE FOR APPROACH GUIDES
Compulsive (and compulsively informed) travelers, the Raezers are the masterminds behind the downloadable Approach Guides, which are filled with a university course-worth of history and insights for 62 destinations worldwide. WHY WE LOVE IT: The Raezers share our desire for deep, well-researched information on the wonders of the world.
- Travel + Leisure
What started as one couple’s travel notes aimed at filling in the gaps in guidebooks has become ApproachGuides.com — a menu of downloadable travel guides that cover cultural and historical topics of interest to thoughtful travelers. What’s hot: Bite-sized travel guides that specialize in topics ranging from 29 pages on the foods of Italy to one that helps you explore the historical and architectural significance of Angkor’s famous temple structures in Cambodia.
- LA Times
130 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 10, 2014
12 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 27, 2018
A comprehensive guide
The visitor is provided with all the necessary historical and architectural information. The cathedral, however, is treated in a cursory way. Whether the decision to build it in the mosque was justified or not, it is there, and thankfully almost all of the mosque was preserved!
The visitor is provided with all the necessary historical and architectural information. The cathedral, however, is treated in a cursory way. Whether the decision to build it in the mosque was justified or not, it is there, and thankfully almost all of the mosque was preserved!
April 29, 2019
Another fine guide
In depth, well written, digital focus, handy, approachable, solid, thoughtful, insightful, almost as good as live person treat your self
In depth, well written, digital focus, handy, approachable, solid, thoughtful, insightful, almost as good as live person treat your self
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews