My heart tingled with emotion and excitement as I stepped into the fabled Great Mosque of Codoba. Five times I had journeyed to what was once the capital of western Islam to visit its Mezquita-Catedral. Yet for me, the magic of this former religious structure had not diminished with the passing years. Rather, its enchanting aura seemed to increase with every visit. Each time I entered this crowning glory of the European medieval world, I felt moved and inspired. Its haunting and majestic atmosphere would always enmesh my thoughts and elate my very soul.

This time as I walked through its forest of over 800 columns there appeared to be something quite different. Suddenly, it struck me. The darkness which had on our previous visits hidden from sight the inner beauty of the mosque was being penetrated by rays of light. It was as if a concealed treasure had been uncovered.

As I gazed at the enchanting atmosphere around me, my mind raced back to the days of the Moors when this renowned religious edifice was the pride of Muslims Spain, the most advanced country in the world of that era. Its capital Cordoba, only rivalled by Baghdad, had a population of one million literate inhabitants.

Miles of streets were paved and brightly lit. Sewers carried away the refuse and well-kept parks dotted the city, this at a time when the largest city in Christian Europe had a population of 10,000 with no sewers or lights and only streets of padded earth.

One of the most important cities in the Muslim world, Cordoba overloaded with grand buildings and houses of learning which defused knowledge to mankind. As befitting a queen of cities and a spring of enlightenment, poets and men of letters wrote in glowing terms when describing its splendor. An Arab poet from Cordoba once rhapsodized: "Do not talk about the court of Baghdad and its glittering magnificence, Do not praise Persia and China with their beauty and greatness, For there is no spot on earth like Cordoba."

The heart of this fabulous city was for centuries its Great Mosque which was the largest and foremost house of worship in the western Islamic world. Its construction was begun in 785 A.D. by Abd al-Rahman who was the first Arab to rule independently over most of the Iberian peninsula. He built the mosque on the site of St. Vincent, a church the Muslims had purchased from Cordoba's Christian community. In later centuries, succeeding rulers enlarged and beautified the mosque until it evolved into what became known as jewel of Islam. By the year 1000 A.D., it was considered to be one of the wonders of the medieval world.

The whole area of the mosque, 189m by 137m was enclosed with 18m high buttressed walls. These were pierced by 21 horseshoe arches having doors encrusted with shining brass. the roof was protected by 1 inch thick plates of lead and its outside was decorated with exquisite designs.

The mosque was divided into two parts: The courtyard and a prayer chamber. The courtyard had an arcaded path on three sides, while the prayer chamber had 19 arcades from east to west and 31 from north and south. Its 1,293 columns, made from jasper, marble and porphyry, were topped by capitals covered with gold leaf. They supported 360 horseshoe ornate arches and piers which carries another row of semicircular arches. These, added to the rich and elaborate decorations throughout the mosque, made this house of worship the most attractive structure to be found in the world of the Middle Ages. indo1.txt

Over 300 attendants worked around the clock to maintain the mosque. At night, 10,000 pots of oil were utilized to light 2,400 lamps which included 280 huge chandeliers, some carrying 1,000 lights. They were made from brass, copper or silver and covered every nook of the prayer chamber. The reflection of their light on the breath-taking ornamentation, which were the epitome of Moorish architectural art, gave the prayer hall an aura of awe-inspiring splendor.

The mosque was such a wonder of design that it became a model for Andalusian and North African mosques and even influenced the architecture of Christian churches. With its tall, richly colored pillars; carved wooden ceiling, painted in red, yellow and blue; bewildering arabesque designs, luxuriant rugs and its other splendid embellishment, its was a masterpiece human construction.

Historians have written that its harmony of lines and accuracy of detail were unmatched in any other structure of that age. They go on to assert that when the lamps were hit, especially during Ramazan, the vast throng of worshippers, clad in white robes, would marvel at this unparalleled creation of man.

When the Spaniards of the north in the 13th century occupied Cordoba, they converted the mosque into a Christian house of worship. In the process, they cemented most of the doors and archways and inside its walls built dozens of chapels. Later, the center of the mosque, along with over 400 columns, were removed and in this space a cathedral was erected. In addition, the minaret was partially dismantled and a belltower was constructed on its base. These changes, brought about through the years, have truly turned the building into a mosque-cathedral, the name by which it is known today.

In the last few decades, due to the lessening of intolerance and the thousands of tourists attracted to this Muslim/Christian edifice, its original character has in places been restored. Some of the chapels have been removed, sections of the ceiling renewed with hand-carved cedar and the cement from a number of the front archways has been replaced by tinted glass.

Now when one looks through these renovated arches, the striking mihrabs as it was in the Islamic age, can be seen majestically glimmering in the distance. It is as if this ancient structure is awaking after centuries of slumber.

For 755 years the mosque has been converted into a church, yet the aura of its former Muslim magnificence remains. Even though it retains today only a pale ghost of its former granFGHIWess is sill breathtaking to behold. Gone are its rich rugs and wall hangings and many of the once open archways are now clustered chapels of Christian saints. However, its magnificence has not been humbled.

The Spaniards are restoring much of what had been destroyed in the age of fanaticism. No more are the Moors viewed as conquering heathens. Rather, they are now considered one of the ancestors of the inhabitants of present-day Spain.