De l'Espagne au Portugal l'héritage d'Al Andalus

Pendant près de sept siècles, Al-Andalus a formé un foyer culturel incontournable de l'Europe médiévale. Nourries des traditions chrétiennes, juives et musulmanes, ces terres portent une histoire riche, que Patrick de Carolis invite à découvrir. De Cordoue à Grenade, en passant par Evora, Mértola, Tolède, Jerez de la Frontera, ou encore Séville, ce voyage permet de plonger au coeur de l'histoire de la péninsule ibérique.  ...

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Top Islamic 7 Must See Things in Granada

If you are a muslim traveller or an islamic architecture lover those are the 7 things you must see in Granada The Alhambra The Alhambra was a palace, citadel, fortress, and the home of the Nasrid sultans, high government Palace of Charles V, which houses the Alhambra Museum (with historical artifacts from the site) and the Fine Art Museum.  The Alhambra reflects the splendor of Moorish civilization in Andalusia and offers the visitor splendid...

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Top Five Must See Things in Cordoba, Spain

Cordoba قرطبة in the Andalucia province of southern Spain is a city with more than 2,500 years of developed history. Established around the 8th century BC, Cordoba at one point was probably the world’s most populous city. Today, with only around 325,000 inhabitants, it’s actually one of the smaller cities in Spain but that doesn’t stop it being one of Spain’s most visited cities. Cordoba is not only historic and beautiful, there are also...

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"Al-Andalus living museum" in the Calahorra Tower in Cordoba

The Al-Andalus living museum is located in an old Moorish fortress, and recreates the time of maximum splendour in this Andalusian city. The museum is in the Calahorra Tower, opposite the Great Mosque, at the end of the Roman Bridge. Its aim is to provide a recreation of the Cordoba of the period between the 9th-13th centuries, at a time of brilliant cultural, artistic and scientific achievement. Its modern facilities include a system of headphones...

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The Muslim Cordoba قرطبة

However, in the 8th century, something happened in Cordoba which was to radically change the course of history in the western world. A contingent of Arabic troops landed on the Mediterranean coast, and easily took over the weakened Visigoth kingdom. Cordoba was captured by Mugit, a deputy of Tariq, and Moslems settled in Cordoba side by side with their Christian counterparts. They lived in harmony, as is proved by the fact that the Moslems...

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مدينة الزهراء‎ Madīnat az-Zahrā The city of the flower

When you go to Córdoba, besides visiting the city, you must visit the archeological remains of Medina Azahara, one of the great works of Islamic art in Andalucía. Medina Azahara (Arabic: مدينة الزهراء‎ Madīnat az-Zahrā: literal meaning "city of the flower") is the ruins of a vast, fortified Arab Muslim medieval palace-city built by Abd-ar-Rahman III al-Nasir, (912–961) Umayyad Caliph of Córdoba, and located on the western outskirts of Córdoba,...

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The Partal palace, one of the oldest areas of the Alhambra de Granada

The Partal is one of the oldest areas of the Alhambra and it was probably built by order of the Sultan Mohammad III (1302-1309).  The name comes from an Arabic word meaning "the portico", and is the name given to the remains of the residence of Sultan Yusuf III, the northernmost of the Nasrid Palaces. It was built following the same design as the ‘Palacio de Comares’: a rectangular court with a central ‘alberca’ and opposing...

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The Alhambra and the city of Granada

The Alhambra The Alhambra was built on top of the Sabikah Hill, which cuts into a fertile valley and stands as the last bastion of the Sierra Nevada mountain mountains, in front of Albaycin and Sacromonte, between the Darro and Genil rivers.    Arab writers compared Granada, which is surrounded by mountains, to a crown, with the diadem of the Alhambra on top.  The history of the buildings of the Alhambra is closely...

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The Royal Hamman of The Alhambra of Granada

The Alhambra's Royal Baths are situated between the Tower of Comares and the Courtyard of the Lions. These are the only remaining baths of the eight which originally served the 2,000 or so inhabitants of the Alhambra. The baths are perfectly preserved, again left by the Christians as an example of Islamic heathenism. The royal bath is still functional but is not ornamentally decorated, as bathing was a religious and sanitary requirement,...

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The Hall of the Abencerages, Alhambra de Granada

Of the two residential areas surrounding the Court of the Lions, the rooms located at the south end of the Court developed around the Hall of the Abencerrages, which derived its name from a legend of the 16th century, according to which the members of this North-African family were invited to a banquet and then massacred in this hall. The main room stands up over the level of the Court, which can be seen from the inside through the only opening...

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The Hall of the Two Sisters, Alhambra of Granada

The Hall of the Two Sisters, the second main chamber of the Palace of the Lions, is structurally similar to that of the Hall of the Abencerrages. It is situated above the court, where the only entrance is located, the wooden door of which is lavishly decorated with geometric shapes.   Upon entering the hall several corridors to the left and the right lead respectively to the upper floor rooms and to the residence lavatory. The name...

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1609 The expulsion of Moriscos, the muslim andalusian people

In 1492, after 10 years of fighting, King Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil to the Spanish) surrendered the keys of the Alhambra Palace in Granada to Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. The last King of Granada and the Catholic Monarchs had signed the Capitulation of Granada at the end of 1491, a treaty which guaranteed rights to Muslims, including religious tolerance and fair treatment, in return for their unconditional surrender. However,...

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