This may sound a little obvious to say at first, but there are SO MANY people in the world. I found myself laughing as I made this comment to myself as Julie and I were walking down the cobblestone streets of Paris for the last time before making our early morning departure to Southern Spain. But for all the talk of the world becomming a smaller place, the Global Village and all that, I couldnīt help but feel the distance between me and all the people in France who looked like I should just be able to walk up to them and have a conversation. The truth is that my French is all but non existant, and when I saw a kid drinking a full glass of wine with his parents at dinner, I was a bit taken aback.
The same thought occured to me last night, as Julie and I sat listening to the beautiful sounds of Spanish Flamenco. It was a warm night, in a large courtyard, filled to the brink with appreciative Spaniards, drinking their cervecas, and singing along to this heart breaking music. Once again, we didnīt really understand a word. The language of Flamenco has developed over who knows how long, with influences from how many different sources, that have accumulated into a repitoir of instuments and songs which were played last night. It was so beautiful that the trees seemed to sway along with the music. And there we were, in the same physical space, but cultures apart.
Cordoba, the place that we are currently staying, is steeped in history. The Moors, a Muslim culture, came in 771 C.E. and built a fantastic kingdom. While Christian Europe was in the last throws of the Dark Ages, the Golden Age of spain was taking off. It was during this time that many innovations came about in the fields of medicine and science. The believe at the time was that Science and Religion were totally complementary, and that all discoveries were meerly the deeper understanding of Gods Creations. It was in the age that the Jewish community of Spain flourished. It was one of the largest and most innovative communities in all the world, with the academies eclipsing those in Babylonia in importance. Moses Ben Maimonidies, one of Judaismīs greatest philosphers was born in this town, and spent his childhood here.
All the Goldenness faded of couse during the famous year of 1492, when Chris sailed the Ocean blue, the Jews got their walking papers by the Inquisition. Not a pretty sight.
Julie and I are actually staying around the corner from one of three synagogues that still exist in Spain from that period. We went in today, and it was truely breathtaking. Not only because it was beautiful, but you could feel the history hanging heavy in the air. To visit it alone was worth the trip to Cordoba.
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