For those of you who prefer to slowly savor each image, here’s an alternative to the video journal.

Cordoba, Spain is known as the city of three cultures. At the height of its power, Cordoba was a great center of commerce and education and was the largest city in Western Europe. The population was made up of people from many regions who practiced Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

According to historical accounts, it was one of the world’s earliest melting pots where these diverse groups mixed easily and peace and harmony reigned for two hundred years. It was this ethnic diversity–a place where new ideas were welcomed–that created the high level of prosperity and social integration enjoyed by Cordobans of that age.