Fire contained at Spain’s Córdoba mosque-cathedral; ‘won’t be a catastrophe’, says city mayor

Videos circulating online showed flames and thick smoke rising from inside the landmark, which draws around 2 million visitors each year, reported The Guardian.

Three fire crews brought the flames under control and extinguished them within a short time, as per reports by DW.

The fire broke out at about 9 pm local time, sparking fears for the early-medieval architectural treasure, while drawing comparisons to the 2019 Notre Dame Cathedral fire in Paris.

Spanish media, including ABC, reported that the flames may have started after a mechanical sweeping machine caught fire inside the site.

Built between the 8th and 10th centuries under Abd al-Rahman, an emir of the Umayyad dynasty, La Mezquita is regarded as a masterpiece of Islamic architecture. It was constructed on the site of an earlier church and served as a mosque until the Christian reconquest of Córdoba in the 13th century under King Ferdinand III of Castile.

Following its conversion into a cathedral, architectural modifications continued over the centuries, blending Islamic and Christian styles.

(With inputs from The Guardian, DW)

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