Andalucia day 6 part 1: the Mezquita

I've obviously fallen behind on posting about Andalucia; there are still a few more little adventures to go. Today: the Mezquita! Ahhhhh, the Mezquita. So bizarre and so beautiful. Here are the Cliff's Notes: around 600 AD the building was started as a Christian church. In 784, it was built in earnest as a mosque. Leaders added on and on and on to it over the following centuries until it reached its current dimensions in 987, filling it with giant arches of granite, jasper, onyx, and marble. It was turned back into a Christian church in 1236.Then the weird part starts. In the early 1500s, a Renaissance cathedral was built right in the middle of the existing structure. So, there's a completely bizarre transition - or rather, lack of transition - where you're wandering around in a mosque and then with absolutely no warning, find yourself in a Renaissance nave. Since I like things that are weird, this suits me.The mosque...Light was streaming in a stained glass window and hitting the wall on the other side of the hall...From another angle, the light from different windows delineated the different architectural styles and periods. So cool.And then we found the nave. This is one of my favorite photos I've ever taken.All churches have fancy ropes, I guess.As usual, I love a good lock.Earlier:Day 5: SevillaDay 4: GibraltarDay 3 part 2: MoroccoDay 3 part 1: Algeciras port and ferryDay 2: the mountains and the coastDay 1 part 2: GranadaDay 1 part 1: AlhambraLater: Day 6 part 2: Cordoba