inSPIREd Sunday

Sally and Beth host inSPIREd Sunday!


November 2018 - Cordoba Spain

Click on the word Cordoba above for our day.

Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, Spanish Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba, also called Great Mosque of Córdoba, Islamic mosque in Córdoba, Spain, which was converted into a Christian cathedral in the 13th century.

The original structure was built by the Umayyad ruler ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān I in 784–786 with extensions in the 9th and 10th centuries that doubled its size, ultimately making it one of the largest sacred buildings in the Islamic world. The ground plan of the completed building forms a vast rectangle measuring 590 by 425 feet (180 by 130 metres), or little less than St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. About one-third of this area is occupied by the Patio de los Naranjos (“Court of the Oranges”) and the cloisters that surround it on the north, east, and west. 

Passing through the courtyard, one enters on the south a deep sanctuary whose roof is supported by a forest of pillars made of porphyry, jasper, and many-coloured marbles. Some 850 pillars divide this interior into 19 north-to-south and 29 east-to-west aisles, with each row of pillars supporting a tier of open horseshoe arches upon which a third and similar tier is superimposed. 

The most exquisite decoration in the whole complex is found in the third mihrab, or prayer niche, a small octagonal recess roofed with a single block of white marble that is carved in the form of a shell and has walls inlaid with Byzantine-style mosaics and gold.

Since 1236 the former mosque has served as a Christian cathedral, and its Moorish character was altered in the 16th century with the erection in the interior of a central high altar and cruciform choir, numerous chapels along the sides of the vast quadrangle, and a belfry 300 feet (90 metres) high in place of the old minaret.

Here is a Youtube video on a much sunnier day than we had!

inSPIREd Sunday

Sally and Beth host inSPIREd Sunday!  


November 2018 - Toledo Spain

This was simply stunning!

The Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca (literally Synagogue of Saint Mary the White, originally known as the Ibn Shushan Synagogue, or commonly the Congregational Synagogue of Toledo) is a museum and former synagogue in Toledo. Erected in 1180, according to an inscription on a beam, it is disputably considered the oldest synagogue building in Europe still standing. It is now owned and preserved by the Catholic Church.

Its stylistic and cultural classification is unique among surviving buildings as it was constructed under the Christian Kingdom of Castile by Islamic architects for Jewish use. It is considered a symbol of the cooperation that existed among the three cultures that populated the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages.

The synagogue is a Mudéjar construction, created by Moorish architects for non-Islamic purposes. But it can also be considered one of the finest example of Almohad architecture because of its construction elements and style. The plain white interior walls as well as the use of brick and of pillars instead of columns are characteristics of Almohad architecture. There are also nuances in its architectural classification, because although it was constructed as a synagogue, its hypostyle room and the lack of a women's gallery make it closer in character to a mosque. Though it does not have a women's gallery today, an early twentieth century architect suggested that it did at one time have a one

The focal point of the synagogue is the scallop-shell-topped arch at the center of the building. This was the location of the Torah ark. In many synagogues found throughout the Jewish Diaspora and what is now Israel, the scallop shell motif is a marker for the location where a portable ark should be placed. Evidence from Catholic altarpieces depicts the ark as a tall, movable structure that would fit nicely in this particular niche. It is torpedo shaped, much like a traditional Sephardic Torah scroll case.

The synagogue was turned into a church in 1405 or 1411, but without any major renovations. It took at that time the name of Santa María la Blanca (Saint Mary the White) and today it is most commonly known by this name.

The interior features a series of arcades supported on a network of twenty-four octagonal piers and eight engaged piers. These octagonal supports line the central aisle of the synagogue and support the large arcade of horseshoe arches above. The arches rest on intricately detailed capitals with finely carved pinecones and other vegetal imagery. These capitals are Mudéjar in style and are derived from classical, Corinthian antecedents as well as Byzantine concepts.

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