DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.7431#0013
A DESCRIPTION OF ANT
IQUITIES AT CORDOVA.
3
differs from the other, by its height and ornaments. Our view
presents a correct elevation of the building: the massive
structure of the walls, and the crescent or horse-shoe form of
the arch, which mark the first of the three periods into which
the Moorish architecture is divided, are here seen to consi-
derable advantage ; while the solidity of the whole is relieved
by the light appearance imparted by the battlements.
plate iv.
a view in the garden belonging to the mosque at cordova.
The garden, attached to the mosque, occupies an inclosure
of about two hundred and ten feet in front of the building,—
nearly one-fourth of the entire space appropriated to it.
This garden is surrounded, on three sides, by a portico
supported by seventy-two columns: and a refreshing cool-
ness is constantly maintained here by the water of three
fountains, with which the Moslems anciently performed their
ablutions, as well as by the delightful shade afforded by a
great number of cypress, palm, and orange trees. It is, in
fact, a kind of garden in the air, raised over a vast cistern.
Four or five feet of earth suffice for the support and growth
of those beautiful trees; among which, there are numerous
orange trees, from thirty-five to forty feet in height, and palm
trees, sixty feet high. In the centre of this perpetual verdure,
and in front of the mosque itself, which forms the fourth or
northern face of the garden, stands a square tower, containing
numerous windows, and terminated by a cupola or rotunda.
It serves as a steeple. All the apertures in this kind of cloister
are erected in the Roman style of architecture, and are orna-
mented with upwards of one hundred columns.
This garden is the most agreeable promenade of Cordova:
its principal gate, termed the Gate of Pardon, is of modern
construction.
plate v.
a general view of the interior of the mosque at cordova.
Nothing can be more striking than the view presented to the
spectator, on his first entrance into this magnificent temple;
which has, not inaptly, been compared to a forest of columns
disposed in the form of a quincunx. The principal lines, or
features, of its internal distribution, are formed by the thirty-
eight aisles or naves, delineated in Plate I. and described in
page 1.
An eye, accustomed to the lofty and imposing appearance
of our splendid churches, views with surprise the humility
of this mosque : for the height, from the floor to the ceiling,
is only thirty-five feet. In the language of fiction, the former
might be attributed to a race of giants, and the latter to a
generation of pigmies : but the same principle of attention to
the interior, regardless of the general external appearance,
which marks the other Moorish structures, is here distinctly
to be observed. While public utility has studiously been
provided for, all that was costly and curious has been reserved
for the interior: and the mind, upon examination and reflec-
tion, remains satisfied with the appearance of strength, con-
venience, and grand simplicity.
The columns at present are about eight hundred and fifty
in number; and are formed of granite, porphyry, jasper, and
other marbles, exhibiting an assemblage of various and bril-
liant colours. The whole, taken together, presents a scene
so truly unique, that the visitor is at a loss, whether to admire
most their number, or their richness: but, from the variety
of styles prevailing in the different parts of which these
columns are composed, it is evident that they originally
belonged to different nations and ages. Many of them were
taken from Roman edifices;" which being of various lengths,
the Arabian architect supplied the want of a sufficient quan-
tity of capitals and bases, by imitating those which were before
his eyes.
The columns are all nearly of an equal length, being about
nine feet between the base and the capital: the thickness of
the shaft is pretty equal throughout, being about eighteen
inches in diameter. The Capitals were, originally, of the
Corinthian order, and were beautifully sculptured, as would
appear by the few that are still entire; and such capitals, as
were supplied by the Arabian architect, are for the most part
imitations of the same order. From these capitals rise arches,
which spring from one inter-columniation to another; and,
from their crescent, or horse-shoe form, as well as the ara-
besques, inscriptions, and other embellishments, present an
entirely Oriental character. Above the first arch is placed a
second, considerably narrower, and connecting it with the
square pillars that support the timber-work of the rool, which
is not less curious in its execution than the other parts of the
building. It was put together in the time of Abdurrahman I.,
and subsists to this day unimpaired, though partially con-
cealed by the plaster-work of the modern arches. The beams
contain many thousands of cubit feet: the bottoms and sides
of the cross-beams have been carved and painted of various
colours, principally red, and with different figures; the rafters
also are painted red. Such parts as retain the paint, are un-
touched by worms: the other parts, where the paint no
longer remains, are so little affected that the decay of a thou-
sand years is scarcely perceptible; and, what is rarely to be
seen in an edifice of such antiquity, no cobwebs whatever are
to be traced here. The wood employed for the timber-work,
is that of the alerce, a species between the cedar and the pine
(the Firms Larix or White Larch, we believe), which is re-
puted to be incorruptible. The vicinity of Cordova formerly
abounded with this kind of trees, a forest of which is said to
have stood on the west bank of the Guadalquivir; though
not the smallest vestige of it is now to be found. The timber
* Some of these were brought from the ruins of Carthage ; and by one of those remarkable
instances of mutability, which occur in the history of nations, vestiges of the colony founded by
Dido are to be seen, in the nineteenth century, supporting an Arabian temple in Spain!
IQUITIES AT CORDOVA.
3
differs from the other, by its height and ornaments. Our view
presents a correct elevation of the building: the massive
structure of the walls, and the crescent or horse-shoe form of
the arch, which mark the first of the three periods into which
the Moorish architecture is divided, are here seen to consi-
derable advantage ; while the solidity of the whole is relieved
by the light appearance imparted by the battlements.
plate iv.
a view in the garden belonging to the mosque at cordova.
The garden, attached to the mosque, occupies an inclosure
of about two hundred and ten feet in front of the building,—
nearly one-fourth of the entire space appropriated to it.
This garden is surrounded, on three sides, by a portico
supported by seventy-two columns: and a refreshing cool-
ness is constantly maintained here by the water of three
fountains, with which the Moslems anciently performed their
ablutions, as well as by the delightful shade afforded by a
great number of cypress, palm, and orange trees. It is, in
fact, a kind of garden in the air, raised over a vast cistern.
Four or five feet of earth suffice for the support and growth
of those beautiful trees; among which, there are numerous
orange trees, from thirty-five to forty feet in height, and palm
trees, sixty feet high. In the centre of this perpetual verdure,
and in front of the mosque itself, which forms the fourth or
northern face of the garden, stands a square tower, containing
numerous windows, and terminated by a cupola or rotunda.
It serves as a steeple. All the apertures in this kind of cloister
are erected in the Roman style of architecture, and are orna-
mented with upwards of one hundred columns.
This garden is the most agreeable promenade of Cordova:
its principal gate, termed the Gate of Pardon, is of modern
construction.
plate v.
a general view of the interior of the mosque at cordova.
Nothing can be more striking than the view presented to the
spectator, on his first entrance into this magnificent temple;
which has, not inaptly, been compared to a forest of columns
disposed in the form of a quincunx. The principal lines, or
features, of its internal distribution, are formed by the thirty-
eight aisles or naves, delineated in Plate I. and described in
page 1.
An eye, accustomed to the lofty and imposing appearance
of our splendid churches, views with surprise the humility
of this mosque : for the height, from the floor to the ceiling,
is only thirty-five feet. In the language of fiction, the former
might be attributed to a race of giants, and the latter to a
generation of pigmies : but the same principle of attention to
the interior, regardless of the general external appearance,
which marks the other Moorish structures, is here distinctly
to be observed. While public utility has studiously been
provided for, all that was costly and curious has been reserved
for the interior: and the mind, upon examination and reflec-
tion, remains satisfied with the appearance of strength, con-
venience, and grand simplicity.
The columns at present are about eight hundred and fifty
in number; and are formed of granite, porphyry, jasper, and
other marbles, exhibiting an assemblage of various and bril-
liant colours. The whole, taken together, presents a scene
so truly unique, that the visitor is at a loss, whether to admire
most their number, or their richness: but, from the variety
of styles prevailing in the different parts of which these
columns are composed, it is evident that they originally
belonged to different nations and ages. Many of them were
taken from Roman edifices;" which being of various lengths,
the Arabian architect supplied the want of a sufficient quan-
tity of capitals and bases, by imitating those which were before
his eyes.
The columns are all nearly of an equal length, being about
nine feet between the base and the capital: the thickness of
the shaft is pretty equal throughout, being about eighteen
inches in diameter. The Capitals were, originally, of the
Corinthian order, and were beautifully sculptured, as would
appear by the few that are still entire; and such capitals, as
were supplied by the Arabian architect, are for the most part
imitations of the same order. From these capitals rise arches,
which spring from one inter-columniation to another; and,
from their crescent, or horse-shoe form, as well as the ara-
besques, inscriptions, and other embellishments, present an
entirely Oriental character. Above the first arch is placed a
second, considerably narrower, and connecting it with the
square pillars that support the timber-work of the rool, which
is not less curious in its execution than the other parts of the
building. It was put together in the time of Abdurrahman I.,
and subsists to this day unimpaired, though partially con-
cealed by the plaster-work of the modern arches. The beams
contain many thousands of cubit feet: the bottoms and sides
of the cross-beams have been carved and painted of various
colours, principally red, and with different figures; the rafters
also are painted red. Such parts as retain the paint, are un-
touched by worms: the other parts, where the paint no
longer remains, are so little affected that the decay of a thou-
sand years is scarcely perceptible; and, what is rarely to be
seen in an edifice of such antiquity, no cobwebs whatever are
to be traced here. The wood employed for the timber-work,
is that of the alerce, a species between the cedar and the pine
(the Firms Larix or White Larch, we believe), which is re-
puted to be incorruptible. The vicinity of Cordova formerly
abounded with this kind of trees, a forest of which is said to
have stood on the west bank of the Guadalquivir; though
not the smallest vestige of it is now to be found. The timber
* Some of these were brought from the ruins of Carthage ; and by one of those remarkable
instances of mutability, which occur in the history of nations, vestiges of the colony founded by
Dido are to be seen, in the nineteenth century, supporting an Arabian temple in Spain!