Cordoba, one of Andalucia’s loveliest cities, has just added one more reason to spend the night.

A new initiative has been introduced in Cordoba promoting night-time visits to their Mosque-turned-Cathedral. Its called the Soul of Cordoba “El Alma de Cordoba” and allows a limited number of visitors each evening to experience an extra special illuminated autoguided visit to one of the most singular religious buildings in the world. The “Mezquita-Catedral” is a UNESCO ‘World Heritage Monument and in our opinion one of the must see sites in Europe. 

Cordoba’s period of greatest glory began in the 8th century after the Moorish conquest, and by the 11^th century the city had had become the centre of a great realm renowned for its artistic and intellectual predominance and its liberal tolerance of other religions. After the Christian conquest, In the 13th century, under Ferdinand III, Cordoba’s Great Mosque was turned into a cathedral. The structure was maintained and several chapels were built. Later the heavy, incongruous Baroque choir was sanctioned in the very heart of the mosque by Charles V in the 1520s. Artists and architects continued to add to the existing structure until the late 18th century, making the Mezquita an intriguing architectural oddity with styles spanning 8 centuries.

The Alma de Cordoba night-time visit costs 18 Euros and begins from 8pm to 10:30 depending on the time of year. The visits  last approximately one hour. Ask us to include this in your next customized trip plan for Southern Spain.

www.elalmadecordoba.com

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 Morocco has a number of historic medersas, once used as schools for teaching the Koran. One of the most celebrated is the Attarine Medersa in Fez,  built around 1325 and marking a high point in the decorative arts of the Merinid dynasty, based on delicate mosaics created from fragments of glazed tiles, carved cedar wood and chiseled plaster work. Under the direction of the UNESCO and Morocco’s Religious Affairs Ministry, the medersa has undergone a 3-year restoration employing the same materials and techniques used to create the original nearly 7 centuries ago. Visitors can now enjoy this building’s beauty as it was intended to look by its creators.

Toledo is one of Spain’s most historic cities and is less than a one-hour journey from Madrid. For those already familiar with its main sites, Valesa Cultural Services can now offer more visits to previously unexplored sites. Among the newly opened sites are the fascinating archaeological remains of Roman baths, the so-called ‘Caves of Hercules’ that figure in legends associated with Toledo’s foundation and early history, the Jewish House (with an area possibly used long ago for ritual purification baths), the Church of El Salvador with remains from an earlier mosque, and preserved architectural and archaeological remains of Islamic baths.  Another possibility is to climb a recently-restored Mudéjar church towers in order to appreciate their construction techniques, as well as the view when you reach the top!

Spain’s newest museum,  The Museum of Human Evolution is due to open in the northern city of Burgos on July 13, 2010. The location of this museum is important as it is located just 10 miles/15,km from the world famous archaeological site of Atapuerca. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Atapuerca’s excavations have revealed remains of one of the most significant settlements of the first Europeans. The human fossils recovered from Atapuerca so far constitute 85% of all the world’s fossils from the period known as the Middle Pleistocene.( 781—126 thousand years ago)

Undoubtedly the Museum will be a global reference point for prehistory, both on a scientific level and in terms of education and dissemination. Atapuerca Palaeontologist Juan Luis Arsuaga stated to El Pais Seminal “This is a unique museum in the world. There is nothing like it. During its conception, our team had decided that we did not want a museum of prehistory, of fossils and bones. We wanted a museum of the living, not of the dead. For this reason the building is very bright, the architecture is very open, like a huge glass box..”  The museum will also have exhibits which will interpret what the findings at Atapuerca can help us understand about ourselves. It will also be a center for research.

Another important factor in differentiating this museum from others is that the museum will show authentic fossils, contrary to many museums which exhibit copies while the original pieces are kept in safes. Among several, one of the treasures of the museum is Skull 5 known as ‘Miguelon’. It is one of the most complete human fossil skulls in the world, found in 1992 at Atapuerca and dated at 400,000 years old. 

Burgos is a plesasant city to visit, along with its charming old quarter with its many churches and convents, it is home to an extraordinary Cathedral, considered one of the finest examples of Spanish Gothic art.  A visit to Burgos would fit nicely into a route including Madrid, the Rioja wine region and the northern cities of Bilbao and San Sebastian or even west to Galicia. For those interested in pre-history, we also recommend visiting the Altamira cave museum (near Santillana del Mar and Santander).

Atapuerca Links:

Museo de la Evolución Humana – http://www.museoevolucionhumana.com

Palaeontologist Juan Luis Arsuaga’s website:  http://www.atapuerca.tv/

Atapuerca Foundation: http://www.atapuerca.org/

http://www.fundacionsiglo.com/atapuerca/datos_en.html

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/atapuerca.html

In early June the Culture Ministry and the Altamira board of directors unanimously approved the reopening of the Altamira Cave which has been closed to visitors since 2002. The cave, located in northern Spain near Santander is known as the “Sistine Chapel of Prehistoric Art”. It is decorated with vivid depictions of bison and other animals dating back 15,000 years, a testament to the artists’ skill in using rock formations to accentuate perspective.

The cave was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985 and is considered a masterpiece of Palaeolithic art, along with the Lascaux cave in France.

The Spanish authorities suggest that while the cave may not adapt to touristic uses, it is a heritage sight for all of humanity, a museum and a place for research. They request patience for the moment as requests to visit the museum are not being taken until after the summer. Currently it is being decided how many visitors would be allowed per day in order to protect the paintings. As reported by USA Today, the Spanish scientific research body has recommended that the caves remain closed.

We recommend visiting Altamira II, an exact replica of the cave that opened in 2001 and is located near the original. At the same location there is the Altamira Museum, with its highly informative exhibits on Cantabrian prehistory and cave art.

In the area, we suggest visiting the delightful medieval town of Santillana del Mar, just a couple of kilometres away. For those interested in visiting more caves we suggest a visit to Puente Viesgo, the “Prehistoric Capital of Cantabria.” Visit the Las Monedas Caves and the Cueva del Castillo, where 180 images of  horses, bison, deer, goats and mammoth, dating back 12,000-14,000 years cavort on the walls.

Ask us about private tours with expert guides throughout northern Spain. As an example we are organizing a special cave focused tour of the Archaeology Institute of America. This October the group will be led by world-renowned archaeological author Paul Bahn.