Located about 45 minutes by train northeast of Sevilla, Córdoba was not only the capital of Moorish Spain, it was also an intellectual and cultural center known throughout Europe. There is a splendid 8th-century mosque, one of the most beautiful examples imaginable. After the Christians retook the city in the Reconquista, the central part of the great mosque was demolished in order to make room for a lavishly decorated cathedral. Córdoba also has a 14th-century castle-palace, a Roman bridge, and a picturesque old Jewish quarter with a medieval synagogue.