CORDOBA, MOSQUE-CATHEDRAL OF

Spanish Mezquita-catedral De Crdoba, also called Great Mosque Of Crdoba, Islamic mosque in Crdoba, Spain, which was converted into a Christian cathedral in the 13th century. The original structure was built by the Umayyad ruler 'Abd ar-Rahman I in 784786 with extensions in the 9th and 10th centuries that doubled its size, ultimately making it one of the largest sacred buildings in the Islamic world. The ground plan of the completed building forms a vast rectangle measuring 590 by 425 feet (180 by 130 m), or little less than St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. About one-third of this area is occupied by the Patio de los Naranjos (Court of the Oranges) and the cloisters that surround it on the north, east, and west. Passing through the courtyard, one enters on the south a deep sanctuary whose roof is supported by a forest of pillars made of porphyry, jasper, and many-coloured marbles. Some 850 pillars divide this interior into 19 north-to-south and 29 east-to-west aisles, with each row of pillars supporting a tier of open horseshoe arches upon which a third and similar tier is superimposed. The most exquisite decoration in the whole complex is found in the third mihrab, or prayer niche, a small octagonal recess roofed with a single block of white marble that is carved in the form of a shell and has walls inlaid with Byzantine-style mosaics and gold. Since 1236 the former mosque has served as a Christian cathedral, and its Moorish character was altered in the 16th century with the erection in the interior of a central high altar and cruciform choir, numerous chapels along the sides of the vast quadrangle, and a belfry 300 feet (90 m) high in place of the old minaret.