Flamenco, a Fortress, and Farewell to Cordoba

Sunday March 15 was our last full day in Cordoba.  Another gorgeous day- blue sky and a high of 21C.  Alano went for his fourth run of the trip.  He ran 8km along the River.  We headed out at about noon and decided to first visit the Fosforito Flamenco Centre, as it closes at 2:30 p.m. on Sundays.

We walked through Plaza Corredera en route and noted the sign advertising "Exquisite Berenjenas a la Miel" (eggplant with honey).  This has been one of our favourite regional dishes in Cordoba.

In one corner of the square, there was a man preparing a large dish of paella.

Stirring the pot

The Fosforito Flamenco Centre is located at the Posada del Potro ( The Inn of the Colt) in Plaza Potro.  This inn has existed since 1435 and is the only remaining one of six medieval inns that were located in the Plaza Potro during the 16th century.  It had rooms arranged around a commercial courtyard with a well, and apparently became a meeting place for thieves and bandits in the 16th and 17th century. The Inn was mentioned in Cervantes' Don Quixote.  The Flamenco Centre opened in 2013.

The Inn of the Colt- now that Fosforito Flamenco Centre

We got to the Centre at about 1:00 p.m. and decided to start with the upstairs rooms.  As we got to the top of the stairs we heard flamenco music in a small room that was packed with people.  Luckily, two people left and we got seats for the remainder of the set which lasted until 1:30 p.m.   We later saw a brochure advertising 1 1/2 hour flamenco music concerts on Sundays from mid-February until the end of April.  Jose Planton (Jose del Calli) was the featured singer.   There were five people in the group--two guitarists, one singer and two accompanying backup singers/ hand clappers.  The crowd of mainly locals responded enthusiastically.  We only wish we had arrived sooner.

Jose Planton on the left and guitarists

Back ups

Jose getting into the rhythm

                               Taking their bows

Alano in the crowd after the concert

The other room upstairs was dedicated to Antonio Fernandez Diaz, known as Fosforito, whom the Centre is named after.  He was born in Cordoba in 1932 and in 2005 became only the 5th person to receive a Golden Key of Flamenco Singing, since the inception of the award in 1862.  The room had many artifacts, pictures and awards.  One wall featured all his recordings.

Fosforito with his Golden Key

His recordings

There were a number of small rooms in the lower level of the Centre.  One room was entirely interactive where one could try and capture various flamenco beats.

Alano trying to tap out the beat

Another room had about 50 drawers that could be pulled out to tell the history of flamenco in Spain.  The picture below and text told the story of La Argentinita, who was the daughter of Spanish immigrants to Argentina, and a famous flamenco dancer.  She was painted by Julio Romero de Torres.  We saw his portrait of her on Saturday.

There was also a wall of cast iron portraits of famous flamenco singers, dancers and guitarists.

Roman Montoya 1879-1949

    There was a video of an interview with Fosforito, filmed in the courtyard of the Flamenco Centre.

      

Fosforito in courtyard in video

Another section had information about the annual flamenco festivals.  In 2010, flamenco was declared an example of Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.  The Centre also holds conferences and other events.  It is well worth a visit.

Flamenco Festival posters

Alano's new career

After visiting the centre, we decided to have a late lunch.  We went to Casa Mazal- highly recommended by Lonely Planet and others.  The Sephardic dishes contained elements of Andalusian, Turkish and North African cuisine.  We ordered a rice dish with eggplant and amazing artichokes cooked in oil with garlic and paprika, that one could eat in its entirety.

                                                                 Entrance to Casa Mazal

Lovely patio where we ate- there was also an indoor dining room

Amazing artichokes in olive oil and paprika

Rice with eggplant

The service was excellent.  There was also home made bread and I had a lovely glass of Vino Verde.

Alano contemplating lunch

We continued our walk and came across a very small street called Calleja del Salmorejo Cordobes.  Salmorejo is the local gazpacho made with tomatoes, bread, olive oil and garlic, served with chopped ham and eggs.  There was a recipe written on the wall below the street sign.   

                                                      Definitely going to try this recipe 

Our destination for the rest of the afternoon was the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Castle of the Christian Monarchs). This had been the site of a Roman fortress and also the abode of the Umayyad caliphs.  Only ruins remain of their former palace.  There are some Moorish courtyards with ornamental basins and some baths in the lower level.  

The Alcazar was commissioned in 1328 by Alfonso XI.  His building retained only part of the Moorish ruins, but the structure appears Islamic since Alfonso used the Mudejar style.  It has an interesting history- Ferdinand II and Isabella I governed Castile from this fortress as they prepared to reconquer Granda, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain.  It was here that Ferdinand and Isabella bade Columbus farewell prior to his journey to America.  

The Alcazar was also the regional headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition from 1490-1821. A former Arab bathhouse in the basement was turned into an interrogation centre.  Franco used the fortress as a prison.  It became a tourist attraction and a national monument in the 1950s.

 

Entrance to Alcazar

The first thing we did was climb up one of the towers for some spectacular views of the city and the  Alcazar's amazing gardens.

                                                           Climbing up one of the towers

Inside one of the towers

View

We had a great view of the gardens and water features of the Alcazar.

Pools and beautiful trees

                         The pool in the front had large goldfish in it

On the tower with a view.

We climbed down from the tower and went into a large room with fabulous mosaics on the wall.  These mosaics dating back to Roman Emperor Augustus (3rd and 4th century A.D.) had been found under Plaza Corredera in 1959 and brought to the Alcazar for display.

Medusa               

Another beautiful mosaic

We climbed another tower.

Second tower we climbed

                              Vaulted ceiling

There was a portrait of Alfonso XIII in an alcove.

                             Alfonso XIII

We went into the basement where the old Arab baths were located.

Arab baths

Lovely pool in front of bath area

Separate area with ruins from former Moorish palace

We then went into the gardens where we sat in the sun for about 45 minutes.  It was very peaceful and quite beautiful.

Pools in gardens

Facing towards the towers from the gardens

 There was a wonderful statue commemorating Columbus's audience with Ferdinand and Isabella.

Columbus meeting Ferdinand and Isabella

We were going to drop in at Jazz Cafe, located at the top of our street.  There is music most nights, but usually it doesn't start until 10:30 p.m. (too late for us tired travellers).   There was music advertised on Sundays from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  Unfortunately, when we peaked in at about 

7:00 p.m. there was a not very good singer on the stage (must be amateur night).  We took a pass and headed back to the apartment to rest up before Alano made a delicious fish dinner.

We have both really enjoyed Cordoba-- the amazing weather helped, but it is a beautiful city (UNESCO Heritage Site) with lots to do and see and great food.  Our apartment was the best of our trip so far.  Our landlord has a website called Amazing Cordoba which noted that the apartment was in Casa Palacio and contained two courtyards of the historical epoch of Al-Andalus.  There were marble floors throughout the building.  It was almost like staying in a boutique hotel with larger rooms, a kitchen and a private terrace-- the common areas and inner courtyards were spotless and there are only 16 apartments in the building.  We could have stayed a day or two more.  

As I post this, we are about to head out to catch a train to Madrid for the next leg of our adventure.