Cordoba - Festival de Patios (Patio Festival)

To offer an escape from the hot weather into a cool, shady and tranquil oasis, many of the houses in Cordoba have their own central patios/courtyards filled with plants and water features. For one week every May these gems are open to the public (rather like the Open Gardens scheme in England) to display their hidden wonders - and it has become quite competitive over the years with everyone fighting for the first prize! It's very well organised with maps readily available with routes marked out covering all the patios and courtyards to help you see as many as possible without continually retracing your footsteps in this labyrinthine city!

It was rather like a treasure hunt - the fun of exploring such a variety of styles and sizes and every now and then the thrill of discovering an even greater 'wow'!



It also took us in and around so many little streets we may otherwise have missed including one so narrow I'm sure if 2 opposite front doors opened up simultaneously they would collide - Calleja de Panuelo (Alley of the Handkerchief).



The patios were a feast of colourful flowers, heady scents, the gentle sound of trickling tinkling water, some with caged songbirds and some with gentle background music. Then there were the balconies with cascades of waterfall-like displays of colourful geraniums that virtually touched the ground below. The traditional homes around these patios, many with the typical cordoban arches and pillars, and interesting staircases from the patio up to the first floor of the houses, were a fascination in themselves. It was a fantastic opportunity to take a peek behind the scenes into what otherwise remain hidden from the general public. It was a most unusual experience and the thought of watering all those pots (must be hundreds in many cases) sometimes so many hanging on a wall the wall was almost hidden from sight, is quite mind-boggling! In fact they closed from 2 pm to 7 pm each day just to give the owners time to do some watering and give them a chance of a little siesta!


This week draws in the top musicians and dancers with performances either in the plazas or the larger communal courtyard. One particular evening Michael and I stumbled across the most brilliant traditional flamenco group - 2 guitarists, singers and a dancer. This was a new and exciting experience - we saw for the first time the true flamenco style - very unlike the shows staged for tourists this was the gutsy raw gypsy song and dance, deep rooted in the tradition of flamenco - it quite took my breath away and the sheer savage power and emotion pouring from the singers sent tingles down my spine - I was totally transfixed and so grateful for such an opportunity - that evening will linger long in my memory of that fascinating city.