Patios De Cordoba

We flew down to the Malaga for a quick little getaway and we wanted to take advantage of a few other cities in the near by region. So after spending a few days in Malaga, we rented a car and headed out to explore!

The drive is about an hour north and it feels like you are stepping back in time. Cordoba was originally settled by the Romans then colonized by the Muslims armies in the 18th century. The Muslim influence is clear in the architecture and main structures of the city.

We didn’t have much of a plan, besides visiting La Mezquita, and we stumbled into the Patios of Cordoba or the “courtyards”. Due to the hot, dry Cordoban climate, the city’s first inhabitants, adapted the typical design of the popular house to their needs, making the home center around an inner courtyard, normally with a fountain in the middle and often a well to collect rainwater. The locals made further adjustments, giving the house an entrance from the street which passed through a porch, and filling the courtyard with plants to give the sensation of freshness.

To my surprise, there is even a yearly contest and festival around these patios! You can pay a small fee to take a mini tour through the winding neighborhoods. We visited at the end of summer and most of the plants had died by that point so I can only imagine how gorgeous they would be during the spring bloom! Oh and think of the smell!

What struck me was how kind the habitants were! Everyone of them was welcoming and excited to show to off their patio. I can imagine they hold such pride in maintaining the beauty and tradition!

If you are visiting the south of Spain I highly recommend Cordoba! If not for La Mezquita alone, Cordoba has so much to offer and is an “authentic” Spanish experience!

xoxo