Calleja de las Flores (Alley of the Flowers), Cordoba

Near the Mosque-Cathedral, in the old Jewish Quarter of Cordoba, on the street named for archeologist and architect Ricardo Velazquez Bosco, is a worn Arabesque capital symbol. It marks the opening of the Alley of the Flowers (Calleja de las Flores.) The narrow passage, wide enough for two abreast, lined with red flowers, is wending its way to a small square.

Vines and cascades of greenery adorn the window grilles on either side of Alley's buildings. The Cathedral's looming bell tower is framed in the distance. The little plaza at the end of the path is a neighborhood courtyard. A small working fountain made by Rafael Bernier, a former resident, graces one side of the square.

The fountain has an octagonal pedestal. Mounted on the pedestal is a simple granite column holding an old Roman Corinthian capital. The alley and the square are not new, but they were refurbished in the last century by architect Victor Escribano Ucelay.

Ucelay replaced the old pavement with Cordoba river stones and granite plaques. He also installed a series of small rounded arches over the alley. Then he whitewashed the fronts of the houses, creating a striking contrast with the red flowers and green pots.

In Cordoba, in early May, when blooming flowers take over the city, silence descends on the Alley of the Flowers. The only sounds heard in the square are twittering birds, the occasional bells of the Cathedral, and the gentle burbling of the fountain.