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Before you read, discuss with a partner what you know about the Great Mosque of Córdoba? Can you guess the answers to these questions?When was its construction started? A. 8th Century; B. 12th Century; C. 17th Century? In which country is the city of Córdoba? Cordoba was the capital city of which region? With another student, make a list of 10 words you might expect to read in this book.Now read the text and check if you guessed correctly:The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, also known as the Great Mosque of Córdoba or the Mezquite, is currently a cathedral located in the Spanish region of Andalusia. The site of the Mezquite was originally a small Christian temple. When Muslims conquered Spain in 711, the church was first divided into Muslim and Christian halves and the building was shared by both religions. This sharing arrangement of the site lasted until 784, when the Christian half was purchased by the Emir 'Abd al-Rahman I, who later demolished the original building and constructed the Great Mosque of Córdoba in its place. The Great Mosque of Córdoba held a place of importance amongst the Islamic community of al-Andalus for three centuries. When the city of Córdoba returned to Christian rule in 1236, the building was converted to a Christian church. Abd al-Rahman I arrived in Cordoba, the principle city of Al-Andalus, in his early 20’s. He defeated the governor of Al-Andalus and became the region’s ruler. He encouraged the sharing of knowledge and valued the contributions of many scholars of a variety of religions. As the city of Cordoba developed, Abd al-Rahman I had ambitions to build a mosque to reflect the importance and growing wealth of the region he ruled. He arranged for the building of the mosque to begin in 784 CE. The Grand Mosque of Cordoba that can be seen today was developed over hundreds of years, with various rulers making additions and changes. Halls were enlarged and extended, gateways remodeled and decorations added to the many rooms, the minarets and the courtyard of the mosque. It reached its current size in 987. When Christian rulers regained power of Andalusia in the 13th Century, the mosque became a church. Although alterations were made since that time, the beautiful interior design and decorations were left mostly unchanged. The Grand Mosque of Cordoba has become a famous and very popular tourist site. It attracts more than a million visitors each year, who come to admire its architecture and beautiful decor. Particularly admired are its golden dome, the calligraphy, colourful tiles and mosaics that decorate the doorways, rooms and the orange-tree courtyard. Another striking feature of the mosque are the hundreds of black marble and granite pillars that support red and white striped arches of its hall. After reading:Annotate the text, identifying the main idea of each paragraph.Find words in the text which refer to changes in a building.Find the following features in the photos: a domecolumnsarchescalligraphytilesdoorwayscourtyardstripesmarble4. Now use the pictures (only) to describe the features and design of the Grand Mosque of Córdoba to another student. ................
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