Chosen among some two thousand recommendations, Cordoba has been selected among the 52 destinations around the world to travel to this year, according to the traditional list published each year by the U.S. newspaper “The New York Times”, for being the city where “you can touch history”.

The Cordovan capital thus rubs shoulders with locations such as India, the medina of Marrakech, Lake Michigan and Siberia. Only the Camino de Santiago shares with the Caliphate city this distinction in which both Spanish locations stand out.

Its gastronomy, the smell of jasmine and orange blossom in its streets and courtyards or the beauty of its buildings have made Cordoba, “the great forgotten” among those who visit Spain and Andalusia, stand out and become, this year, one of the favorite tourist destinations around the world.

Visit Cordoba to “touch history”, discover its Arab, Jewish and Christian vestiges or admire the cultural and monumental legacy that these cultures left in their wake. The Caliphate city is a place for those who want to travel and dream.

“People do not know the history of Cordoba”, says the publication of “The New York Times”. And the fact is that, apart from its enclave, the beauty described, its well-known salmorejo or its spring aroma, few know that the capital of Cordoba is also the city in the world with more places declared World Heritage by Unesco and it is not easy to obtain this recognition.

Its World Heritage

Heritage is, according to Unesco, “the legacy we receive from the past, we live it in the present and we transmit it to the future” and Cordoba treasures it with care because it is not only considered an incentive for its visitors, but it emanates and constitutes the essence and identity of a city marked by the complexity of history and the cultures that coexisted in it.

The Andalusian city has four Unesco awards that place it at the top of the world’s heritage.

In 1984 the Mosque-Cathedral was recognized, one of the best examples of this mixture of cultures and historical stages that characterize the capital of Cordoba. A building that integrates each and every one of these eras, past the remains of a Visigothic Basilica of the sixth century, the Aljama Mosque founded by Abderramán I, dated between 786 and 788, its continuous extensions in successive centuries or its first use as a cathedral in the year 1146.

The surrounding urban complex, the historic center of Cordoba, joined this list of protected areas in 1992, thus reinforcing the cultural, historical and architectural value of the city.

Twenty years later, Cordoba achieved the same status as Rome or Paris with the inscription of Medina-Azahara, “the city that shines”, in the UNESCO’s esteemed register. This caliphal city, located in the mountain range of the capital of Cordoba, was, according to legend, the most beautiful example of the splendor of Al-Andalus. It is also one of the few remaining medieval palatine cities in the world, the only one in a European country.

Its world hegemony would come from the hand of its intangible heritage in 2012, thanks to its famous Patios. Another historical, cultural and architectural legacy that stands out for its beauty, smell and color, walking through the popular patios, those located in stately palaces, convents or old hospitals, among the smell of jasmine and orange blossom, is a unique experience.

After this tour, it is easy to understand why history in Cordoba can be touched. Now it’s your turn to live the experience.