A fire broke out on Friday evening in the historic mosque-turned-cathedral in Córdoba, a monument of deep Islamic significance that was constructed between the 8th and 10th centuries under the Umayyad dynasty before being converted into a cathedral following the Christian conquest in the 13th century.
The structure, built on the site of an earlier church, is celebrated as a jewel of Islamic architecture and attracts around two million visitors each year. Flames and smoke were seen billowing from inside the building, raising alarm for the preservation of the early medieval masterpiece and drawing parallels to the 2019 blaze that devastated Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
The fire began at about 9 pm local time, corresponding to 8 pm in the UK, and was reportedly caused by a mechanical sweeping machine catching fire on the site, according to Spanish media outlets including ABC.
Firefighters quickly responded, containing the blaze before it could cause widespread destruction, though it remained under control rather than fully extinguished in the immediate aftermath.
Local officials confirmed that the monument had been saved from catastrophe, preventing irreversible loss to a site that reflects centuries of architectural transformation and religious history in southern Spain.