Cordoba Synagogue

This synagogue is one of only a few remaining medieval synagogues in Spain today, it’s also the only one which remains in Andalusian Spain with the other two in Toledo. The building was repurposed several times throughout history before the original synagogue was discovered and restored in the 19^th century. I found the style of the recovered walls reminiscent of Islamic architecture, especially the arches and carved scripture. I suppose it makes sense that these two religions would both use geometric and script as decoration, as both have varying prohibitions on depicting human and animal forms. The renowned Jewish scholar Maimonides would not have seen this synagogue built, since it was after his time. However, he was born and raised in Cordoba’s Jewish quarter. I would have liked to hear more about him during the trip. His writings and compendium of Jewish law are still referenced today despite being around 900 years old. Both times we visited this space our guides mentioned how the synagogue had been claimed by the shoemaker’s guild after the expulsion of the Jews. This was noted to be significant because the guild consisted of many Jews who chose to convert to Christianity rather than leave Spain. I thought it was intriguing how this building seems to return over time to the Jewish community.