Everyone who visits the city of Córdoba is captivated by the exoticism that emanates from its people, its streets and its architecture. Exoticism that has traces and smells of a grandiloquent past that made Córdoba the epicenter of old medieval Europe. The memory of Ál-Ándalus still resounds in the corners of Córdoba, which proudly shows it to the delight of all those who are lucky enough to put their feet in the old Caliphate capital. The inhabitants of Córdoba, like most of the Andalusians, have good talent in the art of comics and legend, those cartoons that were told in the taverns and patios, which were decorated with wit and popular folklore for become authentic signs of the idiosyncrasy of Cordoba. On this occasion we will focus on a famous legend related to the most representative building in this city, the Mosque of Cordoba.
While most of the visitors to this Mosque-Cathedral, are enraptured with the labyrinth of marble columns, jasper and granite, and that Andalusian magnetism that impresses and delights all those who pose their eyes on that imposing structure, other curious eyes they realize a small detail in one of the columns located between the chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary and the chapel of Epiphany. This detail is a small engraved cross that tells one of the most beloved medieval legends by the people of Cordoba.
The legend tells of a young and good-looking Christian worker in the Caliphate gardens who fell madly in love with a beautiful young Arab woman. This young man in love and envalentado by that bravery that grants the youth, asked him to marry him. History tells us that she agreed, but unfortunately the goddess fortune was not on the side of these unhappy lovers. According to the young woman, just the night of her baptism, she was stopped by soldiers who ended her life and disposed of her body by throwing him into the river. The young man was also arrested, but instead of being executed he was chained to one of the columns of the Mosque, to bend it, expose it and shame to fall on him. The legend tells us that in order not to lose hope he took refuge in the only thing he had left, his faith, thus beginning to scratch the surface of the marble column, leaving the symbol of the cross there and stay there forever.
This story with a marked oral character and influenced by fantasy, popular knowledge and seasoned with the narrative gifts of those who told it, is remembered by a small poster painted in the distant XVIII century in which it reads the following: "the cutivo with great faith / in marble hard aqueste / with the fingernail I point to crucified Christ / being this mosque church / where they martyred him ".
Unfortunately the reality is sometimes a jug of cold water that breaks the highest illusions, in this case, most likely is that the cross was one of those marks that the master stonemasons made in the stone to distinguish them and know which It was going to be his place in the structure. Even so it is undeniable the weight that this story has for the city and the inhabitants of Córdoba who repeat and tell this story with that shine in the eyes so characteristic of the one who is telling a consummate truth.
If you want to know the legends and secrets that make Cordoba a unique place, do not hesitate to join our guided tours. We are Córdoba Tips Tour and we offer a Free Tour through the Historic Quarter (Puerta de Almodóvar at 11am - in Spanish - and at 13:30 - in English) and a Free Tour on the Legends of the Jewish Quarter (Puerta de Almodóvar at 17 : 30). Remember that it is necessary to previously book our free tours, through the web https://cordobafreetour.es. The experts of the yellow umbrella await you!
