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Córdoba, Spain / Spain

Córdoba , also spelled Cordova in English, is a city in Andalusia, southern Spain, and the capital of the province of Córdoba. It is the largest city in the province, 3rd largest in Andalusia, after Sevilla and Málaga, and the 12th largest in Spain. It was a Roman settlement, taken over by the Visigoths, followed by the Muslim conquests in the eighth century and later becoming the capital of the Caliphate of Córdoba. The city served as the capital in exile of the Umayyad Caliphate and various other emirates. During these Muslim periods, Córdoba was transformed into a world leading center of education and learning, producing notable figures such as Averroes, Ibn Hazm, and Al-Zahrawi, and by the 10th century it had grown to be the second-largest city in Europe. It was conquered by the Kingdom of Castile through the Christian Reconquista in 1236. Today, Córdoba is still home to many notable pieces of Moorish architecture such as The Mezquita-Catedral, which was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 and is now a cathedral. The UNESCO status has since been expanded to encompass the whole historic centre of Córdoba. Much of this architecture, such as the Alcázar and the Roman bridge has been reworked or reconstructed by the city's successive inhabitants. Córdoba has the highest summer temperatures in Spain and Europe, with average high temperatures around 37 °C in July and August.

Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba

Córdoba, Spain / Spain

The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba , officially known by its ecclesiastical name, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Córdoba dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and located in the Spanish region of Andalusia. Due to its status as a former Islamic place of worship, it is also known as the Great Mosque of Córdoba , or the Mezquita. The structure is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of Moorish architecture built by the European Moors. According to traditional accounts, the Catholic basilica of Vincent of Lérins was built by the Visigoths during the rule of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula; they officially converted to Nicene Christianity in 586 and the kingdom fell in 711.During the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, the basilica was originally divided in half for Christian and Muslim worship in 711. In 784, Abd al-Rahman I ordered the conversion of the church into a mosque and further construction, which was considerably expanded by later Muslim rulers.The Grand Mosque of Córdoba was seized in 1236 during the Reconquista and converted to a church, culminating in the insertion of a Renaissance cathedral nave in the 16th century.