All About World Heritage Sites

Few destinations are as diverse as Spain, with something for every interest, be it shopping or outdoors, culture or luxury…

Source: Spain—A Destination Like No Other

Source: Explore the cities of Andalusia; Travel Weekly

Covered by the hills of the Sierra Morena, Córdoba is a wise and stoic city like few others. Its ancient beginnings followed by an extraordinary mix of cultures have made it a truly unique place, at the crossroads of history.

Source: CÓRDOBA, the Living City

The Santos Bar, across from Cordova’s celebrated mosque, would normally be groaning with tourists tucking into its trademark Spanish tortillas. The Mezquita, an eighth-century mosque later turned into a cathedral, is the most visited site in the Andalusian town in southern Spain. “It will take months to make that up,” said church spokesman Jose Juan Jimenez Gueto, although money set aside in previous years means staff have been kept busy with restoration projects.

Source: Coronavirus leaves Spain’s interior a tourist desert

 

From the Phoenicians vs the Romans to the Moors vs the Christians, Andalucia has been constantly fought over and has seen civilisations come and go…

Source: RANKED: The 5 best cities in Spain’s Andalucia to visit in 2020 – Olive Press News Spain

Located in southern Europe, this city has a population of only 325,000, yet it makes a big statement with its historic architecture…

Source: Cordoba, Spain Has the Most UNESCO World Heritage Sites | Architectural Digest

That is the most of any city in the world.

Source: This Little-Known City Now Has the Most UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Cordoba can get overlooked by tourists to Spain. But with more UNESCO Heritage Sites than any place in the world as of 2018, that should change. Here’s what to see before the crowds catch on.

Source: The city with the most UNESCO Heritage sites

Cordoba is an easy day trip from Seville and is home to one of the world’s greatest examples of religious diversity and tolerance—the incredible Mezquita. But there’s more to the town than that. Join me on a tour of the best that Cordoba has to offer.

Source: One Day in Córdoba, the Ultimate Day Trip From Seville

As a bridge between Europe and Africa, Andalusia has a rich and diverse history, though the cultures and religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have undeniably left the most important and lasting marks. They coexisted in relative harmony, and even supported one another in various ways for centuries; however, following the gradual and brutal Christian reconquest, Jews and Muslims in 1492 were forced to convert. The only other option was to leave the region or die.

Source: A Jewish heritage tour of Andalusia

The rich history of Andalusia is in many respects the history of its three most influential cultures and their defining religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Andalusia is a vast region of nearly 34 thousand square miles, with some cities established in excess of 3,000 years ago, some of the oldest in Europe. That’s a lot of history and a lot of geographical area to cover for the uninitiated; fortunately, Andalusia’s three cultures and many of the most important related UNESCO World Heritage sites can best be explored in and around just three of its capital cities: Granada, Cordoba and Seville.

Source: A UNESCO tour of Andalusia’s three cultures

Spain is one of those countries that’s constantly surprising. I mean, it’s a country that’s so different depending on what region you explore. And with so many beautiful places to visit in Spain, it’s an iconic country to you must hop over and experience.

From those green and lush fishing villages in the north, to the sun-kissed Mediterranean coastlines, Spain has loads of hidden gems and off-the-beaten-track haunts that’ll blow your mind. With none of them being the usual suspects of Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid. 

That’s not saying there’s anything wrong with those, but let’s be real – it’s always nice to find somewhere a little different. Best of all, if you’re willing to scratch the surface of this incredible country, I guarantee you’ll come across some stunning gems on your next trip. 

Take a look at the most beautiful places to visit.

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Ever since we’d seen pictures of the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, aka the Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba, we’d known that it would be at the top of our “must see” list when we returned to Spain.  Quite simply, there’s no other building like it in the world and if we had to describe it in less than ten words we’d say, “a sixteenth-century cathedral inside an eighth-century mosque.”  But that doesn’t even begin to convey the ten-plus wow factor of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, without a doubt the most stunning religious place we’ve ever seen.  Nor does it suggest the promising symbolism of two major religions, Islam and Christianity, coexisting in one shared space.

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