FULL NAME: ADAM MOHAMMED PANDOR

STUDENT ID: 0322743

MODULE: EFFECTIVE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION (COM 30103)
INTAKE: SEPTEMBER 2015

TOPIC 2: Religious buildings around the world

THE GREAT MOSQUE CATHEDRAL OF CORDOBA, SPAIN.

PROVINCE OF CORDOBA

THE GREAT MOSQUE CATHEDRAL OF CORDOBA

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Founded by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. They built a Pagan Temple on the site.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Visigoths replaced the Temple with the Christian Church of
Saint Vincent.
Muslims conquered the peninsula in the early 8th century.
The Great Mosque was begun by Prince Abd al Rahman I in 785.
The Great Mosque was added to by Abd al Rahman II in 833 before being completed by Al Hakam II
and Al Mansur in the second half of the 10th century.
Mosque took 200 years and four distinct phases to complete.

THE GREAT MOSQUE CATHEDRAL OF CORDOBA

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
When the Christians re-conquered Cordoba in 1236, they simply converted the building to
Christianity.
King Alfonso X oversaw the construction of the Royal Chapel within the mosque.
Kings who followed added further Christian features.
Artisans and Architects continued to add to the existing structure until the late 18 th century.

Abd al Rahman I
King Alfonso X

King Henry II

THE GREAT MOSQUE CATHEDRAL OF CORDOBA

STRUCTURE AND LAYOUT

THE GREAT MOSQUE CATHEDRAL OF CORDOBA

STRUCTURE
Exterior walls were made using stones and bricks.
Architects incorporated a number of Roman columns.
Some columns were already in the Gothic structure.
Ivory, jasper, gold, silver, copper and brass were used in the decorations.

THE GREAT MOSQUE CATHEDRAL OF CORDOBA

LAYOUT
The buildings floor plan is parallel to some of the earliest mosques built from the very beginning of
Islam.
It had a rectangular prayer hall with aisles arranged perpendicular to the qibla.
Prayer hall was large, flat, with timber ceilings held up by arches of horseshoe-like appearance.
150 years following its creation, a staircase to the roof was added, along with a southward
extention to the mosque itself.
A bridge linking the prayer hall to the Caliphs palace was built.
Later expanded even further south, with a courtyard.
Built in four stages, with each Caliph contributing to it.
One of the largest mosques in the world, measuring some 180 by 130 metres (23,400 sq metres or
about 250,000 sq. ft).

THE GREAT MOSQUE CATHEDRAL OF CORDOBA

TYPES OF ORNAMENTATION AND MATERIALS USED
The building is most notable for its arcaded hypostyle hall, with 856 columns of jasper, onyx,
marble, and granite.
Famous alternating red and white voussoirs of the arches.
A centrally located honey-combed dome has blue tile decorated with stars.
The edifice also has a richly gilded prayer niche or mihrab.
Walls of the mosque had Quranic inscriptions written on them.
Marbles of spotless white were chosen for the columns.

REFERENCES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque%E2%80%93Cathedral_of_C%C3%B3rdoba
http://www.andalucia.com/cities/cordoba/mosque2.htm
http://
www.spainthenandnow.com/spanish-architecture/the-great-mosque-of-cordoba-la-mezquita/defaul
t_42.aspx
http://www.learn.columbia.edu/ma/htm/dj_islam/ma_dji_discuss_cordoba.htm