Mezquita de Córdoba - Córdoba, Andalucía, España
Posted by: 
Ariberna
N 37° 52.754 W 004° 46.789
30S E 343474 N 4193908
Did you know that the Mosque of Córdoba is oriented to the southeast and not to Mecca?
Waymark Code: WM186HY
Location: Andalucía, Spain
Date Posted: 06/08/2023
Views: 4
"The anomalous orientation of the Mosque of Córdoba, towards the southeast and not towards Mecca like most Muslim religious sites, is due to its adaptation to the pre-existing urban limits in late Roman times. The archaeologist coordinator of the team of archaeologists carrying out the excavations on the north façade of the Cordoba Mosque, Pedro Marfil, revealed that "finally" the reason for this anomalous arrangement is known, which some theses attributed to an imitation of the orientation of the Muslim temple of Damascus. In the tastings carried out on the land adjacent to the east wall of the northern extension of the Mosque carried out by Abderramán III, archaeologists have found remains of a street from the 5th or 6th centuries that this caliph respected when increasing the capacity of the venue. Marfil assured that both the original work corresponding to Abderramán I and the later extensions of Abderramán III to the north and Almanzor to the east were adjusted to pre-existing urban limits. Pedro Marfil pointed out that the excavations have led to the discovery of the remains of two public buildings, also from the late Roman period, which must have been related to the episcopal seat of the old Basilica of San Vicente."
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