August 20, 2014 -- Córdoba, Spain

Just seven more days until I fly back to Phoenix! I wish I could fly back saying I had completed the Camino, bit with this leg injury, there is no way that I can proceed at this time. I hope to come back next summer with a healthy leg and take up the Camino where I left off.

I spent a few hours walking around the Old City today. I followed one of the walking tours suggested on a city map that I was given.

One bit of information I read said that when touring the Old City, I should look in windows and walk in open doors. I soon discovered the reason for that advice. Behind the street doors of many buildings is an open courtyard. There is competition among building owners to have the prettiest courtyard and to show it off. I took the following picture through one of the open doorways along my route.

As I mentioned in yesterdays entry, the streets are very narrow. Some are so narrow that I can touch the walls on each side with my elbows without having to extend my arms. Here is one of the medium-width streets.

 

A good portion of the Old Jewish City is still surrounded by walls. Below is a photograph of the Gate of Almodóvar. I entered the old city by that gate yesterday after I got off the bus on my way to the youth hostel. Had I been smart enough to turn left immediately after passing through the gate, I would have co,e directly to the hostel instead of wandering around asking for directions.

In the foreground of the picture below is one of the old waterwheels in the Guadalquivir river. The waterwheels were once used to supply power for such tasks as pumping irrigation water. The bridge in the background is the restored old Roman bridge across the river. Some modern touches, such as electric lights, have been added to the bridge, so it almost certainly does not look the way it did in Roman times.

I walked across the bridge, naturally, and from the other side I took this shot looking back toward the Old City.