Sawt Falasteen - Fire extinguished, historic mosque-cathedral in southern Spain 'saved'

Widely shared videos had shown flames and smoke billowing from inside the major tourist attraction, visited by two million people per year.

"The monument is saved. There will be no spread, it will not be a catastrophe, let's put it that way," Mayor Jose Mara Bellido said on Cadena television.

Later, he said the fire, which the fire brigade had earlier described as under control, was now extinguished.

"Luckily, the rapid and magnificent intervention of the Cordoba firefighters averted a catastrophe. The fire is now out, and tonight firefighters and local police teams will remain on site to avoid any risk," the mayor posted on X.

The spectacular blaze had broken out around 9:00 PM (1900 GMT), raising fears for the early medieval architectural gem and evoking memories of the 2019 fire that ravaged Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

ABC and other newspapers reported that a mechanical sweeping machine had caught fire in the site.

Considered a jewel of Islamic architecture, the site was built as a mosque -- on the site of an earlier church -- between the 8th and 10th centuries by the southern city's then Muslim ruler, Abd ar-Rahman, an emir of the Umayyad dynasty.

After Christians reconquered Spain in the 13th century under King Ferdinand III of Castile, it was converted into a cathedral and architectural alterations were made over following centuries.

I.Matar--SF-PST