The Great Mosque of La Mezquita is an impressive architectural complex located in the Spanish city of Cordoba. Patio de los Naranjos is a courtyard that is 130 meters long and 50 meters wide, on which ritual ablutions were performed before crossing the threshold of the Islamic temple. The spacious square is decorated with Renaissance fountains, palm trees, cypresses and over ninety orange trees, to which the Patio de los Naranjos owes its name. The first small courtyard in this place was built as early as in the 8th century, over time – due to the expansion of the mosque – occupied an increasingly larger area.
