In the city of Córdoba, province in the north-central section of Andalusia, southern Spain

 “I have seen dawn and sunset on moors and windy hills

Coming in solemn beauty like slow old tunes of Spain.”
-- John Edward Masefield
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(in Andalusia, southern Spain) The city of Córdoba is the capital of Córdoba province in the north-central section of Andalusia. It lies at the southern foot of the Morena Mountains and on the right bank of the Guadalquivir River.

+ Occupied by the Romans in 152 BCE, under Augustus, the city became the capital of the prosperous Roman province of Baetica. In 711 Córdoba was captured by the Muslims. Its recovery was impeded by tribal rivalries until ʿAbd al-Raḥmān I made Córdoba his capital in 756. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān I founded the Great Mosque of Córdoba, which was enlarged by his successors and completed about 976 by Abū ʿĀmir al-Manṣūr. Córdoba grew rapidly under Umayyad rule; and after ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III proclaimed himself caliph of the West in 929, it became the largest city in Europe.

+ Under Umayyad rule, Córdoba was enlarged and filled with palaces and mosques. The city’s woven silks and elaborate brocades, leatherwork, and jewelry were prized throughout Europe and the East, and its copyists rivaled Christian monks in the production of religious works. When the caliphate was dismembered by civil war early in the 11th century, Córdoba became the center of a contest for power among the Muslim kingdoms of Spain. It fell to the Castilian king Ferdinand III in 1236 and became part of Christian Spain.

+ Today, Córdoba remains a typical Moorish city with narrow, winding streets, especially in the older quarter of the center and, farther west, the Judería (Jewish quarter). A Moorish bridge with 16 arches on Roman bases connects Córdoba with its suburbs across the river. The bridge is guarded at its southern end by the Calahorra fortress. West of the bridge, near the river, lies the Alcázar, or palace, which was the residence of the caliphs and is now in ruins. Other important buildings include monasteries and churches, the City Hall, schools and colleges, and museums of fine arts and archaeology.

+ One building alone may be reason enough to put Córdoba high on your itinerary: the mesmerizing multiarched Mezquita. One of the world's greatest Islamic buildings, the Mezquita is still a symbol of the worldly, sophisticated culture that flourished here more than a millennium ago when Córdoba was capital of Islamic Spain and western Europe's most cultured city. Yet, today's Córdoba is much more than the Mezquita. With a lot to see and do, some charming accommodation, and excellent restaurants and bars, it merits more than a fleeting visit. Córdoba's real charms unfold as you explore the stone-paved lanes of the medieval city to the west, north, and east of the touristic area immediately around the Mezquita, wandering between wrought-iron balconies and lamps, potted plants, overhanging trees, golden-stone buildings, and verdant interior patios emerging every few minutes on yet another little hidden plaza.