The vegetation and water in the Patio de los Naranjos

The vegetation

Andl called Patio de los Naranjos of the Great Mosque of Cordoba is considered the oldest living garden Europe, and according to some sources cited, the presence of trees and garden area may originate in their own backyard Cordoba. Cordoba is the eleventh century chronicler Ibn Hayyan who tells us that it was the Imam of Syrian origin who lived Sa'sa'ah ibn Sallam late eighth century who defended the need for a garden structure against the opinion of other fuqaha. This entailed another controversy, of who should reap the rewards, if the muezzin or against all the faithful had that right since it was God who gave.

When the Christians conquered the city and quote us chronicles the existence of palm trees inside, although probably, and in the tenth century, after enlargement of Abd al-Rahman III had planted orange and lemon. Although considering that the courtyard was used as a place of prayer in days of heavy influx of faithful, surely the number of trees was much lower.

Some relate to the various quotations from the Koran which speak of the garden as a refuge:

He had already seen [a Gabriel] at a second descent,
along the boundary of jujube,
next to which is the Garden of Abode [Paradise]
when the jujube was covered by that.

Or the garden where dwell those who receive the reward of paradise once they leave the underworld:

¡Fear not nor grieve!
Rejoice, rather, by the Garden which you were promised!

From the arrival of the Christians to the site regularly planted various species such as orange, palms, cypresses, cinamomos the seeded. What is clear is that from 1495 tells us the German traveler Jerome Munzer, the courtyards of mosques were Andalusian gardens where people could enjoy their coolness on hot summer days, or as a place of meditation and relaxation. Currently holds Ninety-eight orange trees planted in rows that were planted around the end of the eighteenth century, ten palm and cypress trees and some olive arbitrarily placed.

Water

Andn the Patio de los Naranjos in the Great Mosque of Cordoba was in the days of Al-haken II "distributed by him different sources, four of them superb, with magnificent marble basins, one-piece, brought away in carts 70 oxen ". "From these sources (al-midhas) two were for men and two for women; these should be the closest to makasir, or place intended to them during prayer, or vessels are more extreme; Almanzor increased its number with four, one luxurious perhaps sheltered pavilion. Three of the Almanzor remain; the others have disappeared Al-Haken "

Stood around numerous public baths built expressly for ablutions in moments of great geographical density. Today we enjoy a built-in street Conquistador hotel Magistral González Francés, built by Almanzor in the year 999. These places are called What and consisted of bathrooms, sources, batteries and latrines. These are supplied water from the mountains of Cordoba which was brought by stone and lead pipes. Sometimes pipelines ancient Roman used.

Almanzor, in the last enlargement of the mosque and its courtyard, built a new large underground cistern in the east that replaced the one destroyed in this expansion.

At the moment the site is divided into three parts, each with a source. The center is a Baroque fountain called Santa Maria or olive Caño, its construction is dated to 1741 . It is a monumental fountain whose style influences arquitectónias denotes the time, as its rectangular pylon, built in black stone with four artistic pillars at the corners and a pipe in each. One of these pipes is popularly known as Caño del Olivo by almost ancient specimen of this tree that is next to it and that has been a source of inspiration for legends and popular songs and a fragment of literary prose “Hours in Cordoba” Azorin. “I have come to the Cathedral. I transposed the door and I entered the Patio de los Naranjos. Four or six bask beggars. The courtyard is wide, paved with pebbles; orange in rows extending; high, stout tower stands aside. Only some travelers crossing at this time the yard and head towards the Cathedral. The very silence of the city enjoying yourself here in this room. A source drops a trickle. Every half hour, a girl with a pitcher and fill it appears in the source; the water makes a grunt and precipitate are falling into the pitcher. The girl still waiting by the fountain. Sparrows chirp and jump on the orange…” According to another legend, single women who wanted an early marriage had come to drink from the spout to see their dreams realized. This source is accompanied by three Mudejar suppliers.

In addition to these sources, no other, smaller but also baroque, built in 1.752, source called Cinnamon, it had once planted in its proximity a tree of that species, which was built by Thomas Jerome Pedraja in 1726

Between the orange we see on the ground that the culverts or pipes through which water flows, which are intended to irrigate them and added symmetry.

From outside sources, we recorded in 1241 of the one at the door of Santa Catalina or source of mocosillo, leaving the old supply network donated by Fernando III and enters the current network 1961. Of the fat pipe or source located outside quatrain in its eastern wall there are references since the orange trees 1265.El.