Magazine
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, an Englishwoman in the harem
PART I
The aristocrat’s records of voyage reveal to us how she changed public attitudes towards women’s rights and other issues…
René Caillié, The Unveiling of Timbuktu
“Al fin llegamos felizmente a Tombuctú, en el momento en que el sol tocaba el horizonte. Veía por fin esta capital del Sudán que desde hacía tanto tiempo era objeto de todos mis deseos. […] Recuperado de mi entusiasmo, comprobé que el espectáculo que tenía ante mis ojos no respondía a mis expectativas”.
Voyage à Tombuctú. René Caillié
Between the Alhambra and Timbuktu.
Abu Ishaq al-Sahili, Desert Architect and Bridge Between Civilizations
In the medieval world, when maps still danced on the edge of myth and dunes seemed like natural walls between worlds, one man charted with his life an unexpected route between the red stones of the Alhambra and the earthen minarets of Timbuktu. That man was Abu Ishaq Ibrahim al-Sahili, also known…
Arab-Norman Palermo, a reflection of al-Andalus
Islamic culture left a vast legacy spread over different regions in the Mediterranean area, living with the local cultures and giving as a result new artistic forms.
Umar ibn Hafsun and Bobastro.
A character for a historic city
There are few people in history who have generated such a massive bibliography as Ibn Hafsun from the 19th century, due precisely to his eventful, hazardous life…
Ibn Arabi of Murcia: al-Shaykh al-Akbar.
The Greatest Master
Ibn Arabi of Murcia was the forerunner of what seven centuries later would be the philosophy of ecumenism. His doctrine, in force along the centuries, preached that the religion of love shall make of the human being a new man, tolerant and universal. Hence, “the universal man involves in himself every reality of existence”
A knight without sword.
Boabdil’s (three) swords
According to the Arabist don Basilio Pavón Maldonado, it is a Granadan work dating from the 15th century. As a curious fact, let us mention that among the preserved rapiers produced in Granada at that time, this one bears the closest resemblance to the one painted by El Greco in his work The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice that is housed in El Escorial.
Samarkand, in the heart of the Silk Route
In the portico of Aq Saray palace, a statement addresses the traveller: ‘If you have doubt about our power then look upon our buildings’. The exuberant architecture with which Tamerlane, the so-called “universal ruler”, honoured the cities of the barren Asian steppe, found in Samarkand its most magnificent aesthetic expression.
Ibn al Shaykh of Malaga dazzled by the Lighthouse of Alexandria
PART II
The Lighthouse of Alexandría, the Seventh Wonder of the Ancient World, was widely described by Arab authors. Among them, Ibn al-Shaykh of Malaga produced one of the most accurate descriptions of all.
Ibn al Shaykh of Malaga dazzled by the Lighthouse of Alexandria
PART I
The Lighthouse of Alexandría, the Seventh Wonder of the Ancient World, was widely described by Arab authors. Among them, Ibn al-Shaykh of Malaga produced one of the most accurate descriptions of all.
Leo Africanus: caravan was his homeland and his life the most unexpected crossing
“Leo Africanus may have been for al-Andalus a kind of a posthumous son. Born at the moment his mother civilization was fading, he learned from exile not only its suffering but also its amazing changes. At times ambassador, at times slave, adventurer and…
Al-Ghazal from Byzantium to the Viking country
PART II
By the mid-9th century travelling across the Mediterranean could be very dangerous, especially for an old man like al-Gazal, who had earned a position in the Cordoban court good enough to be put out on such a hazardous endeavour.
Al-Ghazal from Byzantium to the Viking country
PART I
By the mid-9th century travelling across the Mediterranean could be very dangerous, especially for an old man like al-Gazal, who had earned a position in the Cordoban court good enough to be put out on such a hazardous endeavour.
Ibn Battuta, the traveller of Islam
Ibn Battuta of Tangiers (1304-1368) and his world-famous rihla, or travelogue, linked to the notion of traveling in search of knowledge, provides us with interesting descriptions of his journey along a vast geographical spread, which began with his pilgrimage to Mecca.
The mystery of the Moor King’s Water Mine of Ronda
As in every border town, defence posed one of the greatest challenges both in times of peace and during armed conflicts. The important outspot of Ronda, along the Route of Almoravids and Almohads, encapsulates the secret of its awesome water mine, whose story is hardly known.
Alí Mandri, from Granada to the White Dove. The emigration of a free man.
Tetouan, a city with a tendency to fly over the Strait of Gibraltar in the direction of Andalusia, perched like a white dove on the skirts its hills. It is named so: the White Dove, founded or having been re-founded …
The alhóndigas of Granada
All that remains of the intense commercial activity that took place in Granada in Nasrid times is the Yadida alhóndiga. Known as the Corral del Carbón (Coal Yard), it is the only one that is preserved in Spain. Today it hosts, among other cultural institutions, the headquarters of the Fundación El legado andalusí (The Legacy of al-Andalus Foundation).
The story of the Arma, the Andalusi diaspora in sub-Saharan Africa
After the revolt of the Alpujarras (1568), second-generation Christians established themselves in today’s Morocco and other places along the African Mediterranean coast and sub-Saharan Africa.
Jaén, for whoever looks for it
From the stiff crests in mount Santa Catalina, its imposing castle guards a city which from the times of Carthaginian general Hannibal, has not stopped covering the brilliant pages of it history, illustrated by its superb architectural heritage.
The discovery of Granada by the French Romantics
The fact that Granada continues being one of the most dynamic European destinations today, has without doubt its origin in the 19th century, a time in which art is going to centre on this geography and be disseminated, in particular, through French literature. Spain, but specially Andalucía, have aroused …
Ignacio de las Casas, a morisco wise Jesuit a peacemaker between two worlds
PART II
The upheavals that Granadan society experienced in the 16th century, after the uncanny finding of the so-called Sacromonte Leaden Books, and the Morisco issue, gave voice to…
Ignacio de las Casas, a morisco wise Jesuit a peacemaker between two worlds
PART I
The upheavals that Granadan society experienced in the 16th century, after the uncanny finding of the so-called Sacromonte Leaden Books, and the Morisco issue, gave voice to…
Montefrío, the horizon as a limit
The area of Montefrío resounds with antiquity; its roots go deep into prehistory and every one of the people that have settled in its places have left their marks in stone. It is one of the attractions on the Route of Washington Irving…
Münzer, a journey through Spain in the sixteenth century
PART II
In the year 1495, just three years after the Catholic Monarchs had conquered Granada, a German traveller, Doctor Jerome Münzer visited Granada. He left us an important chronicle about …
Münzer, a journey through Spain in the sixteenth century
PART I
In the year 1495, just three years after the Catholic Monarchs had conquered Granada, a German traveller, Doctor Jerome Münzer visited Granada. He left us an important chronicle about …
Valle del Zalabí. A primitive landscape
There are places whose landscape speaks volumes. In the north of the province of Granada, scarcely two kilometres from Guadix, the Valle del Zalabí (Valley of Zalabí) unfolds in a singular…
From the al-Andalus that still survives
Research focused on the legacy of al-Andalus in Spain has increased over the last years. There are and always will be discrepancies about particular facts of the story of our country, for the perspective…
The African deed of Judar Pasha
Research focused on the legacy of al-Andalus in Spain has increased over the last years. There are and always will be discrepancies about particular facts of the story of our country, for the perspective …
Al-Idrisi and The book of Roger
Norman King Roger II was aware of the many contributions made by Arab in the field of science in al-Andalus, thus he decided to call the famed Andalusí geographer al-Idrisi to the court of Sicily to put him in charge of drafting the largest geographic work ever done, known as the Tabula Rogeriana.…
Antequera: art, history and culture
Between the Torcal Mountains and a vast fertile plain, along the Route of Washington Irving, lies the millennial city of Antequera. Cradle of illustrious characters, forerunner of the Renaissance in southern Spain, and a unique reference of the Andalusian Baroque, Antequera is…
Napoleon’s encyclopedia, the richest museum in the world
The military campagin of Egipto also brought along the mission of to create an encyclopedia which implied a formidable catalogation covering all fields. It was know “the richest museum of the world.”
Marchena, an inheritance with no waste
Marchena unfolds under the sun, amidst the green and ochre landscape, along the spine of the Route of Washington Irving…
Malta’s Mediterranean sayings, a linguistic conundrum
In the most frequently travelled islands in the Mediterranean, as is Malta, language picks up the echo of every tongue that has been heard in its lands. And from that linguistic alchemy, adages bring together popular wisdom they express through every culture’s adaptation…
Arcos de la Frontera, a dragon made in lime and stone
Arcos de la Frontera, on the Route of the Almoravids and Almohads, stands out between the mountain range of Cádiz and the fertile plain of Jerez as if it was a stranded ship. Romans called it Arx Arcis, which means “high-rised fortress”. Arkos, in times of al-Andalus,…
Ali Bey, or Domingo Badía, a spanish traveller of the enlightenment around the Arab world
Domingo Badía Leblich still lives in documented memory as Godoy’s spy who managed to get into Meca disguised as an Abbasid prince. He entered history as Ali Bey, The traveller.
Almería
First exploited by Romans, benefiting later the Arabs, and finally banned by the Catholic Monarchs, the gold of the Alhambra has left nothing other than a ruined mine in a wasteland of red hills in the back of the Alhambra. The Valle del Sol (Sun Valley) above the current city of Cenes de la Vega, keeps the story of a chimera that fed the last dream of Granadan gold in the 19th century.
The gold of the Alhambra
Along the Route of the Alpujarras, Almería counted itself the most important seaport in al-Andalus; hence its defence had to be extraordinary and, consequently, Abd-er-Rahman conceived its citadel as a palace-fortress that became the most colossal building of its type in Europe.
Castillo de Locubín. The anvil of time
In the Route of the Caliphate, nestling against a hillock, Castillo de Locubín offers breath-taking view that overlooks its adjoining provinces: Granada, Córdoba and Jaén. From its fortress, the view of the majestic Sierra Nevada spreads with the fertile plain and the city of Granada in its foothills.
Gerald Brenan, and the literary spirit of Bloomsbury in the Alpujarra
Gerald Brenan is considered the most outstanding Hispanist of the last century for works like The Spanish Labyrinth, The Face of Spain or South from Granada. However, aside from being a substantial writer and intellectual, he was an exceptional chronicler of the complex relationships within the intellectual world of his time in London.
Medina Sidonia, a crown without a king
Most people and civilisations settled over the ages in Andalusia around or on top of hillocks overlooking their surroundings, like Medina Sidonia, in the Route of Almoravids and Almohads, whose horizon has been shared by different civilizations…
The Blind Man of Cabra and popular poetry in al-Andalus.
Part III
According to noted scholars from al-Andaus such as al-Hiyari (12th– 13th c.) and Ibn Khaldun (14th c.), a poet born in Cabra (Córdoba) known as the Blind man of Cabra was the inventor of the muwashshah.
Osuna, landscape and figures
Osuna, in the Route of Washington Irving, echoes the splendour of centuries in its palaces, churches, convents, its university… everything leaves the visitor in awe, as it happened to the author of the Tales of the Alhambra, after whom the Route was named.
The Blind Man of Cabra and popular poetry in al-Andalus.
Part II
According to noted scholars from al-Andaus such as al-Hiyari (12th– 13th c.) and Ibn Khaldun (14th c.), a poet born in Cabra (Córdoba) known as the Blind man of Cabra was the inventor of the muwashshah.
Fondón, kingdom of El Rey Chico according to legend
Fondón, placed on the Route of the Alpujarras, is located in a historic landscape that was of a great importance in the final days of al-Andalus.
The Blind Man of Cabra and popular poetry in al-Andalus.
Part I
According to noted scholars from al-Andaus such as al-Hiyari (12th– 13th c.) and Ibn Khaldun (14th c.), a poet born in Cabra (Córdoba) known as the Blind man of Cabra was the inventor of the muwashshah.
Jerez, city of three worlds
Jerez de la Frontera is something more than wine, flamenco and horses -either thoroughbred or those of power in motorbikes. Its records get across far different periods, the most outstanding of which, al-Andalus, becomes evident in the Route of Almoravids and Almohads.
Images of mills and the Albolafia of Córdoba
In the course of the Guadalquivir River along its passage by Córdoba, and next to the Roman Bridge, we find some mills and waterwheels of a very singular character, whose origins give us idea of the raison d’être of the city in connection with …
Grazalema, on the underside of History
The National Park of the Grazalema Mountains is home of the famous Pueblos Blancos (White Villages), of great natural beauty and long history. Grazalema, in the Route of Almoravids and Almohads is included in the list …
Beyond the pillars of Hercules
Part II
The Arabs knew the Canary Islands through Ptolemy, and called them Jaza’ir al-Khalidat, “The Eternal Isles,” presumably a version of the Greek name. Some sources speak of these islands as if they were legendary, telling us for example …
Beyond the pillars of Hercules
Part I
For the Latin Middle Ages, the Atlantic was Mare Tenebrosum; for the Arabs, Bahr al-Zulamat. Both meant “The Sea of Darkness,” and anyone who has looked west …
Baeza, oblivion and presence
The Route of the Nasrids is home not only to genuine art relics from the Al-Andalus periods; cities like Baeza are the quintessence of the Spanish Renaissance.
Bibarrambla, from al-Andalus to the Christian era
Bib al-Rambla, Bib-Ramla, or Bibarrambla, as this square was called with different names by one or the other. The Christians, after their conquest of Granada, must have been attracted by the mystery of such a name, strange and difficult to pronounce, …
Loja, amid snow and wheat
As we follow the Route of Washington Irving and we get to Loja, it is hard to imagine it sheltered by gorges so admiringly described by Andalusian poets and the Romantic travellers.
Al-Andalus and Occitania
Arabs chronicles from the 8th century noted the increasing in Arab settlements in Septimanie whose intention was to remain this fertile land in southeastern France. However, the political upheavals and …
Baena, in the High Land domains
Located in the Route of the Caliphate, Baena was paramount in the defensive system of the kingdom of Granada during the Reconquest, given the importance of this pathway connecting Cordoba with Granada.
The vanished Arab monuments of Granada
The capital of the Nasrid kingdom was extraordinarily populated for its time, with a considerable architectonic density. At the beginning of the 19th century, there were still many remains that survived from the legendary times of Al-Andalus, and Granada was the city in Spain with the most monuments from its Islamic past.
Niebla, alone and distant
Surrounded by the biggest walled enclosure of Europe, Niebla has important artistic treasures from different eras and distinct backgrounds. Its history deserves to be told.
Benjamin of Tudela: through sacred geography
Benjamin of Tudela was ahead of other famous travellers such as Ibn Jubair or Ibn Battuta, who wrote about their journeys through works known as rihla, a genre in which our author produced his travel book Sefer Masaot.
The account, of an anthropological nature, collects observations from the countries he visited in the 12th century, with emphasis on Jewish communities.
The account, of an anthropological nature, collects observations from the countries he visited in the 12th century, with emphasis on Jewish communities.
Zuheros, the memorable view
The especial rocky nature of this village on The Route of the Caliphate glimpsed from afar, let us know in advance the beauty of the place and its marvellous surroundings.
Abu Hamid al-Garnati and the wonders of the world
Abu Hamid al-Garnati, viajero infatigable, activo comerciante y esforzado misionero en los más alejados países fronterizos del mundo islámico, polígrafo de múltiples saberes, nació en al-Andalus, en la ciudad de Granada, en el año 1080,…
Espejo, the sentinel on the hill
Thanks toits status as a border land with the Kingdom of Granada,the town of Espejo, in the province of Córdoba, is one of the most interesting stopovers on theRoute of the Caliphate, promoted by the Foundation El legado andalusí.
Saints and romerías in the Maghreb and Andalusia
Neither the soul, nor popular religiosity understand particular religions and borders. They have more to do with the paths that Ortega y Gasset called “Intrahistory” and those of life itself.
Ronda, the city of a hundred views
Let’s take a journey toward Takurunna, the Hispano-Muslim city that wavered between the domination of the Marinids from Morocco and the Nasrids from Granada. Now called Ronda, its charms are inscribed along the Route of the Almoravids and Almohads launched by the Foundation El legado andalusí.
Priego in its labyrinth
Priego de Córdoba de Córdoba counts its history over the course of centuries among Caliphal, Nasrid and Baroque traits, and it still remains there. gracefully showing its castle to the traveller, its Carnicerías Reales (Royal Butcheries),…
Maŷrit, el Madrid andalusí (Parte II)
Madrid once belonged to al-Andalus . Scarcely 150 years after Tarik disembarked on the Iberian Peninsula, Muhammad Ibn Abd-er-Rahman al-Awsat, emir of Córdoba, decided to build a wall around Madjrit. From then on, …
Madjrit, al-Andalus’ Madrid (Part I)
Madrid once belonged to al-Andalus . Scarcely 150 years after Tarik disembarked on the Iberian Peninsula, Muhammad Ibn Abd-er-Rahman al-Awsat, emir of Córdoba, decided to build…
Lanjarón: A poet’s dream
The history of La Alpujarra had already appeared in texts of the classical authors of old. Lanjarón is famous in our days for its medicinal waters, for being the threshold of this Granadan region and…
Glorious tiles
Appearing in parks, squares, bars and homes, tiles—azulejos– have for centuries accompanied the decoration in many regions of the Mediterranean. Today, they are as alive…
The awareness of landscape in al-Andalus
For the civilization of al-Andalus, landscape constituted the image of a reality in which its values are preserved and granted symbolic dimension.
The renowned historian Ibn al-Khatib, stateman, philosopher, literary man and doctor …
The renowned historian Ibn al-Khatib, stateman, philosopher, literary man and doctor …
Ziryab, the amazing story of the singer from Baghdad
The importance of the figure of Ziryab in the court of the Cordoban Umayyad king Abd-er-Rahman II is credited for the innovations he introduced in the court and Cordoban society in several fields. He was surely one of the most prolific artists of all time.
Qusayr ‘Amra. The umayyad palace of the desert (Part II)
The originality of the architecture of this monument, including its poetic frame of desert solitude, makes it a major milestone in the history of Arab art. Frescoes in its interior, of a high iconographic …
Qusayr ‘Amra. The umayyad palace of the desert (Part I)
The originality of the architecture of this monument, including its poetic frame of desert solitude, makes it a major milestone in the history of Arab art. Frescoes in its interior, of a high iconographic …
Orchards of al-Andalus. The development of domestic agriculture
The cultural legacy of al-Andalus is, without doubt, a constant element in the villages, towns and cities included in the Routes of El legado andalusí. In the Route of the Caliphate, in particular, fortresses, walled enclosures or hydraulic devices make up an important part of the patrimony that is witness to the Muslim heritage between Córdoba and Granada.
Venice, the temptation of the Orient (Part II)
An eternally luminous showcase where fragility and excess play together with grace, in Venice everything distils artifice. The most magnificent of urban events, as Le Corbusier pointed out, is a city senselessly extravagant, unprecedented and implausible, a defiance of the laws of logic.
Venice, the temptation of the Orient (Part I)
An eternally luminous showcase where fragility and excess play together with grace, in Venice everything distils artifice. The most magnificent of urban events, as Le Corbusier pointed out, is a city senselessly extravagant, unprecedented and implausible, a defiance of the laws of logic.
Ifriqiya, a cultural and commercial center in Northern Africa
The great strategic importance of the city of Carthage made it an impregnable stronghold for the Arab armies in their attempt to penetrate the North of Africa. Hence, it was Kairouan that was the city founded as the capital of Ifriqiya. Therefore, Qayrawan was the city founded as the capital of Ifriqiya.
The silk from Granada
The development of the silk industry in Nasrid Granada represented a significant economic growth, and hence social growth; merchants from different parts of the world came to the city to purchase the precious Granadan silk, and in addition to commercial exchange they also fostered fruitful cultural transfer.
Sicily’s Mediterranean Heritage
In the center of the Mare Nostrum, the island of Sicily is a sort of omphalos of the ancient world, where the coastal East and West lands intersect: a transit corner and, at the same time, a place of permanence.
The Aquatic Gardens
From the most legendary eastern paradises up to the latest designs of modern gardens, many have been the changes that have taken place in the art of floral arrangements. There is an omnipresent element however in most of the styles and in the philosophy of their artistic principles: water.
The Music of Al-Andalus, a Shared Heritage
Thanks to oral tradition, Arab-Andalusian music has survived through generations until today.
Ibn Firnas, craving to fly
The stories of people who have tried to fly are as old as the world. The best-known account dates back to about 3.400 years, when Icarus died in his attempt. There were other stories, however, like that of one of the first scholars…
Mariano Bertuchi and the sister cities, Granada and Tetouan
The artist from Granada was 44 years old (in 1920) when he moved to Tetouan, together with his wife. This city had a special meaning to the artist, for it was founded by another man from Granada, al-Mandari, who escaped in the 15th century from the village of Píñar, near Granada, after the advance of the armies…
Dar al-Horra, the story of a house of noble lineage
The property is located in Granada’s historic district of the Albaicín, and it is an exquisite example of the domestic architecture of Al-Andalus dating from the Nasrid period, the last stage of the Hispano-Muslim culture.
When The Alhambra was in ruins
The Alhambra has inspired artists, historians, archaeologists and even visitors whose only purpose has been to enjoy the pleasure of gazing at its palaces or exploring its streets and gardens. For centuries, an idea remains fixed in the mind of those who look at the Alhambra, and this is the contradiction of a concept of its ephemeral qualities and its strength.
Al-Mutamid: a politician behind the poet
Legend wraps in mist the life of al-Mutamid, the king-poet of Seville, a man whose story has remained hidden under a thick layer of romanticism. He was a sensible monarch who nurtured his court with the most important writers in western Islam, and …
