Cordoba

This is my first time in Sim City. I got here a few days ago after a long drive in the dark from Madrid, finally meeting Sue at the foot of the old Roman bridge in the centre of town at one in the morning, following a series of tired and fractious text messages.

Spanish and Italian are close relatives, so although I understand practically nothing of the language it feels familiar at the same time. This feeling of comfort and familiarity is reinforced by the fact that Sue is working here and so has a support network of colleagues. Added to this I now have a lot of experience of being in foreign cultures and so can relax and let it all wash over me, rather than agonise about not understanding things. Looking at the Spanish news North and South Korea are now at war and half of Spain is either flooded or covered in snow or maybe not.

Cordoba really is Sim City. It has a broad, meandering river, hills and big hotels. Wide boulevards intersect the City interspersed with ancient and modern bridges and fountains. At night men come out and wash the streets with fireman's hoses. Everything has an atmosphere of calm and order and there is a park on every corner. And at the heart of the City one of the most remarkable buildings I have ever seen - the Great Mosque, rededicated as a cathedral during the “reconquest” of Spain by Latin Christendom in the so-called Middle Ages. It is a vast rectangular space full of repetitive arches designed to create a sense of harmony. The proportions combined with the elaborate abstract decoration are hypnotic and leave one with a feeling that one could stroll around in circles for ever soaking in the atmosphere. There is something incredibly seductive about the place, like Islam itself it invites one to surrender to the powerful idea that God knows best and all one has to do is to follow his word and his design. Until that is I feel the need to go for a pee and a coffee at a nearby bar. God may be all-conquering, but possibly not over my prostate.