Written 8:30AM, Saturday July 4, Posted mid-day Sunday July 5
Originally, I’d planned to hit four major Spanish cities from the time of the Muslim caliphate: Cordoba, Malaga, Grenada and Sevilla. But given my still-tempermental stomach, and the fact that it makes more sense now when I’m here on the ground to actually slow down, breathe and feel a place than just stop, snap photos, sleep and go, I’ve decided to only visit Cordoba and Sevilla -- spending two nights in each.
Last night was my first night in Cordoba. I found a website compiling inexpensive Spanish hostels, and managed to snag a small apt. with bathroom all to myself only a block from the Mezquita Catedral (Mosque Cathedral). Yes, that’s what it is: It was a major mosque during the time of the caliphate, but after the Christian re-conquest they built a big cathedral right in the center of the mosque. Very Jerusalem, eh?
Actually, it’s not so much Jerusalem-ish as it is just plain human, or so I’ve learned from Karen Armstrong’s books that I’ve been lugging around (for a guy who only brought 2 pair pants, 1 shorts, 2 pair socks, 3 boxers and 4 shirts, my luggage is irritatingly heavy – but I think it’s the books). When a new religion takes hold, it often subsumes and supersedes the physical structures, mythical symbols, and special holy days of prior religions.
For example, she writes, “Abraham’s God was probably El, the High God of Canaan.” What eventually became monotheist Judaism began by picking the most helpful of local pagan gods. Christianity in turn not only built on Judaism, of course, but probably wouldn’t have survived without the support of the Roman empire, which included the practicality of taking on favorite pagan celebrations. I remember when for a couple years of my youth we weren’t allowed to have a Christmas tree, because it was a vestige of the pre-Christian pagan Roman celebrations. And Islam has done its share of building on what was previously sacred to other faiths. You know how Muslims are tasked to make a hajj to Mecca at least once (if possible), and while there they circle cube-shaped Kabah? Well, according to Armstrong, “The Kabah was of extreme antiquity even in Muhammad’s day and may originally have been dedicated to Al-Lah, the High God of the Arabian pagan pantheon. Muhammad Islamized the ancient rites of the annual pilgrimage to the Kabah and gave them a monotheistic significance…”
Back to Cordoba. So at its heart is a combination Mosque and Cathedral, which I’m off to visit in a little bit. Mostly, though, I’m just soaking up the ambience of the town, and, stomach issues as they are, catching up on my reading and reflecting. I’ve moved on from Armstrong’s A History of God to another of hers, The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism which is proving particularly helpful as I continue to sort through my conflicted reactions to the Israeli-Palestinian situation.
