Page 6 - Triangle December 2007 Issue 3

Masons During my holiday in Spain this Mecca, which possesses a blinding decoration of marble
year I was determined to visit one
and sculpted Byzantine mosaics.
Marks of the most impressive Spanish
in the Great Cities in Andalusia that of Cordoba
Mosque at which is situated north of Malaga.
Cordoba, Spain. Considering that a car drive
from the coast would take about
by David Nelson 3 hours we decided to travel to
Cordoba by train which is a story
in its self. To add some interest
to the photographs I have added a very short history to
put the city into historical perspective. The great city of
Cordoba was the capital of the Spanish Muslim dynasty
of the Ummayads (756-1031). The Great Mosque of
Cordoba (La Mezquita) was founded about 785 AD. It
was added to and expanded over the next two hundred
years to make it the third largest structure in the Islamic
world. The prayer hall (approx 23,400 square yards) In the museum there was a very large display of the
imprints of the builders marks which I was able to
photograph and show in this article. These Marks as can
been seen are quite different to those we have seen in
the English Churches and Cathedrals.When Cordoba
was captured by the Christian Spanish king of Castile,
Ferdinand III, in the 13th century, the mosque reverted
to a Christian sanctuary. Then in 1523, the local clergy,
with the support of Emperor Charles V, built a cathedral
in the middle of the mosque. Cordoba is said to be
the City where Columbus planned his voyage to the
Americas after securing funds from King Ferdinand and
Queen Isabella. My visit to Cordoba was quite inspiring
but in the heat of the day at approx 42 degrees it was
refreshing for Catherine and I to visit the cool interior of
this magnif cent building previously a Mosque and quite
expertly converted to a truly wonderful Cathedral.
is f lled with almost 500 hundred slender columns and
superimposed striped arches; it just looked like a forest The annual meeting of Provincial
sprouting from the marble f oor. Previously the site had Grand Lodge of Somerset will be held
been occupied by a Christian church dedicated to Saint at the Webbington Hotel on Saturday
Vincent that had been built by the Visigoths around
500 AD. Before that, when Cordoba was a provincial 3rd May 2008 at 3.30pm.
capital in the Roman Empire, the site was occupied by
a temple dedicated to Janus, the double-headed god of ALL Mark Master Masons are welcome
doorways and gates. In this great Muslim temple, I was
impressed by the enormous size of the building and did Provincial Off cers, your attendance at
appreciate its magnif cence in each corner and the detail Lodge Installations is appreciated by the
Provincial Grand Master
Mark Lodge Installation Programme 2007/8
Principal
Lodge No Date Off cer

Portal 155 28-Feb-08 Pr.DC
Quantock 749 5-Mar-08 PGM
Royal Cumberland TI 12-Mar-08 DPGM
Somerdale 1608 20-Mar-08 PGM
Royal Sussex 177 25- Mar-08 Pr SEC
Mendip 781 25- Mar-08 PGM
Carnarvon 119 21-Apr-08 PGM
of the f nely sculptured patterns around the arches. Hallam 730 23-Apr-08 PGM
The examples of the central octagonal dome, richly Exmoor 697 8-May-08 PGM
decorated with polychrome mosaics; the Mihrab, or the Somerset Instl. 1652 2-Jun-08 PGM
place to which a Muslim must look for it faces Masters
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