LA MEZQUITA

 

by: Anthony Cao and Matt (A3)

 

 

1. Name - How did La Mezquita get its name?  La Mezquita literally means 'mosque'.So, because of La Mezquita's great fame caused it to have the nickname 'The Mosque' rather than another name.
2. Time Period - What time period was La Mezquita built? The mosque began being built sometime in about 784 A.D. It took over 200 years to complete, and was finished sometime in the tenth century.
3. Architecture – What was the architecture like in La Mezquita that makes it so unique? The ceiling of La Mezquita is made of one slab of solid marble, and the sides of the rooms are all decorated with gold mosaics. Also, the Torre de Alminar, or the Bell Tower, is 93 meters tall and possible to climb to the top. It also has many horse-shoe arches connected to pillars. The white and red striped pillars, made from alternating brick and stone, make it unique, attractive, and different. There are more than 850 colored pillars of marble supporting the structure. The mosque also includes many small oil lamps and windows for letting in sunlight to help illuminate the mosque.
4. Influence – Any other cultures, styles influenced in its construction? La Mezquita is obviously of Moorish influence: it uses all of their architecture, and the purpose of the building itself is to serve Moorish religion—Islam.
5. Regional Importance - How does this landmark reflect or help define the culture of this region and/or Spain as a whole? This Mosque once served the people of Cordoba as a religious center of Islam. When it was re-conquered, it was used as a Christian cathedral. Now, it’s used as a great tourist attraction and museum as a symbol of the once great city Cordoba. 

 

 

 Geography of Andalucía 

Andalucía is well known for its colorful geography. In this southern region of Spain lies tall, beautiful mountains to long fantastic beaches. Even deserts and volcanic landscapes can be found here. It also has about 900 kilometers of coastline, and hundreds of beaches. Some landscapes in Andalucía even include gently rolling hills with forest and pastureland with various agriculture, and great limestone cliffs with caverns and caves. Andalucía is truly great and extremely diverse in its beauty.

 

 

 

     Andalucía beach. (On-line image). Available <http://www.anda

lucia.com/beaches/image/mvc04048-0028boloniabeach.jpg> March 1st, 2007

 

 

 

                                                                                                  

 

 

  Jaén. (On-line image). Available <http://www.coloursofspain.com/travelguidedetail/13/andalucia_andalusia/geography_and_maps/> March 1st, 2007.

 

Marinated salmon - Ceviche de salmon recipe

Ingredients Serves 10

• 1lb salmon fillet, skinned

• 1 medium red onion, very thinly sliced

• Juice of 2 lemons

• 1 tbsp light olive oil

• ½ teaspoon hot smoked paprika, chilli or cayenne pepper

• 1 hot red chilli, finely chopped

• 1 small pepper, deseeded and cut into 1-inch triangles

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

• Wrap the salmon in foil or plastic wrap and put in the freezer for up to one hour this makes slicing the fish much easier.

• Slice the fish very thinly, using a good sharp knife.

• Place the fish in a shallow, wide non-metallic dish, and coat all over with lemon juice, oil, paprika and chili.

• Leave to marinate in the fridge if you wish, for minutes or for several hours, depending how ‘rare’ you want the fish. This will also depend on how thinly you have sliced it.

• Add your choice of herb minutes before you assemble the pincho.

• Sandwich one or two slices of the fish between a tomato halt and a pepper triangle and serve immediately

 

 

 

Ceviche de Salmon. (On-line image). Available <http://www.muchogusto.net/img/ceviche-salmon.jpg> February 26th, 2007

 

 

Pescaíto Frito

 

(Fried Fish)

This is really "pescadito frito", but with the coastal southern accent it ends up sounding like "pescaíto" and is now commonly referred to as such.

There isn´t really a proper recipe, you just need to take a trip over to the local produce and meat/fish market one morning. Mondays and the first day after any holiday are not especially good days to go, since the fish that is out then was not caught just the day before, but rather whatever was leftover from the last market day, or frozen goods. (Keep in mind, however, that deep sea fish will almost always be previously frozen since the boats cannot come back each day, and have to freeze it on board.) Look out for whatever you like best, or boquerones (fresh anchovies), calamaritos (baby calamari) or calamares(calamari), salmonetes (small red mullet), cazón (dogfish; first marinate in a spice mixture available in markets, usually to be mixed with a little white wine and olive oil), rosada or mero (grouper).

The way to prepare the fish would simply be to first put a skillet of olive oil on to heat, enough to be able to submerge or at least partially submerge whatever it is you will be frying. (The oil doesn´t have to be extra virgen for frying, there are less expensive pure olive oils that are more appropriate, but do make sure it is olive oil). The oil should get quite hot but not begin to smoke. While you are waiting for the oil to heat, lightly rinse the fish and pat it dry. Pour some flour onto a plate (be generous). Sprinkle the fish with salt, to taste. Just before frying, cover the fish with the flour and shake off any excess.

Fry each type of fish separately, but you can use the same oil, as long as it is allowed to get hot enough before you put in the next batch (though once used to fry fish, the oil will not be useable for anything else other than fish, or to be thrown away once cooled). Fry just until the fish appears cooked or becomes golden (you may want to try a piece to be sure it is just right), remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. The ideal way to eat this is as soon as it is done, while it is still hot. Having a nice salad ready to go with it makes a complete meal.

The above goes for fried fish, but often one wants to avoid the frying or simply feels like having fish prepared a different way. "A la plancha", or grilled, is also very popular. Again, go to the market, and look for the freshest you can find: calamar, atún (tuna), pez espada (swordfish) all come out nicely. Rinse and dry the fish, and then just put on a large skillet with a little bit of olive oil to heat. When hot, place the fish in the pan, salt to taste, and add a little minced garlic and parsley if desired. Cook on high just until done and serve immediately.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interior Arches of La Mezquita. (On-line image). Available < http://jeenybeen.typepad.com/gingko_leaves/images/mezquita_interior_1.jpg> February 15th, 2007

 

 

La Mezquita. (On-line image). Available <http://marksquires.com/Images_Photos/mezroof.jpg> February 26th, 2007

Works Cited

 "Andalucía." Colours of Spain. Colours of Spain. 1 Mar 2007 <http://www.coloursofspain.com/>.

 

Andalucia Com S.L, "Cordoba City - Mosque." Andalucia.com . Andalucia Com S.L . 13 Feb 2007  

< http://www.andalucia.com/cities/cordoba/mosque.htm>. 

 

O'Neill, Katie. "Living in Andalucia - Main Courses." Andalucia.com. Andalucia Com S.L. 26 Feb 2007 <http://www.andalucia.com/living/familyfood_maincourses.htm>.