The Mezquita in Córdoba is one of the most impressive and bizarre structures on earth. It is the Aljama Mosque, started by Abd al-Rahman I in 784, and expanded through the early eleventh century by his successors. It was built over the Visigothic Christian church of San Vincente, and was apparently sold by the local Christian community to Abd al-Rahman.
When the Castillians captured Córdoba in 1232, the Mezquita was consecrated as a church. A Christian altar was added, and the minaret was rebuilt into a bell tower, but the structure of the building was not heavily modified. This all changed during the middle of the sixteenth century, when a perfectly hideous plateresque/late-Gothic cathedral was built in the middle of the Mosque. While the architects did take care to integrate the new and existing structure, the outcome was wholly bizarre.
Nonetheless, enough of the original, impressive structure remains to truly impress. It is a genuine wonder.
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