The mix of Byzantine, Arab, and Norman influences on Sicily from 535 to 1194 created an incredible artistic and architectural heritage that is unique.
As part of Emperor Justinian’s plan to reunite the eastern and western empires, his general Belisarius took the island of Sicily in 535. Although Sicily had been part of the Roman Empire for 700 years, Belesarius was welcomed by a population that largely identified as Greek in language and custom.
Under attack for many years because of its strategic location between North Africa and Southern Europe, Sicily was finally invaded by Arab Muslims in 827. The island prospered under their rule, and Palermo became the capital.
The Norman conquistador Robert Guiscard and his brother Roger I gradually captured the island between 1061 and 1072, at which time Roger became Count of Sicily. The Normans were ferocious conquerors but adopted a concilitory appproach as rulers, embracing and building on Sicily’s Arab and Greek influences. Roger I died in 1101 and his widow Adelaide del Vasto ruled until 1130 when their son Roger II became King. He was an enlightened leader who ruled with distinction until 1154. Things gradually fell apart under his successors, William I, William II, and Tancred until Norman rule was replaced by Swabian (South German) rule in 1194. Which is another story…
Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Monreale and Cefalu are World Heritage listed in recognition of this unique history.
Palermo’s Palazzo Dei Normanni dates to the 9th C but what you see today bears the hallmarks of Sicily’s Norman rulers. The Capella Palatina (chapel) and royal apartments were designed by Roger II in 1130 and the combination of dazzling mosaics, marble inlay, and carved wooden ceilings in the Arab style (muqarnas) reflects a distinctive vision. We spent several hours trying to take it all in.
Another day we caught the bus to nearby Monreale, 8 kms southwest of Palermo. It is here that William II built a magnificant Catherdral designed to outdo his grandfather Roger II. Several different mosaic cycles cover the interior.
The Sanctuary including the main apse, north and south chapels has an enormous Christ Pantocrater (Almighty) surrounded by various, life-size saints.
The lower walls, columns, arches and ceilings of the interior are also beautifully decorated.
The Cathedral has a gorgeous Cloister with slender, inlaid columns, sculpted capitals every one of which is different, and elegant arches. The fusion of Byzantine, Arab and Norman sensibilities is fully on show in this space. We enjoyed taking our time to do a few laps of the Cloister before going back in for a second round of the interior.
The north and south walls of the central Nave are covered in the cycle of the Old Testament, with 42 stories represented.
The Transept includes the cycle of the life of Christ.
Taken as a whole Monreale borders on being overwhelming, and we left with our heads full and our senses heightened. It was amazing.
We left Madrid to spend two nights in Toledo before heading south to Andalucia.
Toledo is an ancient city, beautifully situtated in a bend of the Tagus River and on a hill that rises above the plains of Castile-la Mancha in central Spain. It is known as the “City of the Three Cultures”, bearing traces of the influence of Christians, Muslims, and Jews. The Historic City of Toledo is a World Heritage site in recognition of this distinctive, polygot history.
By chance we arrived when celebrations for the Feast of Corpus Christi were underway. There were eight giant puppets displayed across the facade of the Town Hall, including dark-skinned Moors. It seemed that Toledo’s polygot history continues to be celebrated in Christian Spain.
The city’s skyline is dominated by the Cathedral and the Alcazar, both of which reflect Toledo’s fascinating history.
The Gothic Cathedral you see today was built between 1226 and 1493. The site has been a place of worship since the Visigoths built a church there in 646. It was converted to a mosque during Moorish rule which lasted from 711 until 1085 when Alfonso VI captured the city as part of the reconquista. The mosque was subsequently destroyed.
The caliph Abd ar-Rahman III built a fortress (al-qasr) on the Alcazar site in the 10th C which was altered when Christians retook the city in 1085. It was remodelled as a royal residence in the 1540s but the massive building became a ‘white elephant’ when the capital moved to Madrid. It was largely destoyed in the Spanish Civil War but General Franco had it rebuilt as a military museum.
San Juan de los Reyes is a Franciscan monastery and church with a beautiful cloister. It was commissioned in 1477 by the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella who had it built in the middle of the Jewish quarter as a mark of the supremacy of Catholicism in Spain. They’d planned to be buried here before capturing the greater prize of Granada where they are interred in the Capilla Real.
Traces of Moorish architecture remain throughout the city though Islam itself was eradicated by the reconquista. The Mezquita de Cristo de la Luz is an 11th C mosque that was converted to a church, with great views over the north of the city. You can see the Puerta Nueva de Bisagra, a Moorish city gate that was remodelled in 1559.
Museo de Santa Cruz was built in the early 16th C, just outside the Moorish city walls, and houses a great collection of ceramics and paintings.
Cordoba was founded by the Romans in 2 BC and became an important provincial base in Hispania under the Emperor Augustus. It was occupied by the Byzantines then by the Visigoths before it was captured by Umayyad Moors in 711. It was under the Moors that the city rose to its greatest prominence.
In 716 it became capital of the Emirate of Cordoba, subordinate to the Caliphate of Damascus. Internal strife within the Arab Muslim Empire led the Abbasids to defeat the Umayyads in 750. The Umayyads held on to al-Andalus and in 756 Abd al-Rahman I established an independent Emirate of Cordoba. In 929 the Umayyad Emir Abd al-Rahman III declared himself Caliph of Cordoba, and the caliphate he established lasted until 1031 before it crumbled into a number of independent principalities (taifas). The city was recaptured by the Catholic monarch Ferdinand III in 1236.
We had three nights / four days in Cordoba, including a day trip to Seville. It was a very full and rich experience.
The historic centre of Cordoba is a World Heritage site. It comprises the Great Mosque (Mezquita) and surrounding areas, the Synagogue and Alcazar, as well as the Roman Bridge and the Torre Calahorra across the River Guadaquivir.
About 8 kms west is Medina Azahara which Abd al-Rahman III built as a new capital for his Caliphate of Cordoba.
The Mezquita (Great Mosque) of Cordoba is justifiably famous. Standing in the prayer hall surrounded by a forest of Moorish columns topped with beautiful red and white striped arches is a remarkable experience. Its construction was started by Abd al-Rahman I in 784 and his descendants reworked the building over the next two centuries reaching its current dimensions in 987 with the completion of the outer naves and courtyard. The mihrab supposedly includes 1.6 tonne of gold mosaic cubes gifted by the Byzantne Empire. In its day the building would have been filled with light, but 19 external doors have been bricked up. Even more unfortunately, the centre of the Mezquita was ripped out in the 16th C to allow construction of a Catholic Cathedral which was further decorated during the 17th and 18th C. The fussiness of the Cathedral’s Capilla Mayor offends the elegence of the original structure. To the victors go the rights to spoil…
It’s pleasant to wander the Mezquita’s courtyard and around its walls. Although most the external doors are bricked up some of the surviving decoration is very beautiful.
The area around the Mezquita is also World Heritage listed. We visited the Sinagoga (synagogue) and wandered along the lovely Calle de Cairuan which follows the old Islamic walls to the gate of Puerta de Almodovar.
Mezquita
arches
Prayer Hall
Mirhab
Cathedral
courtyard, with boys
doorway, bricked up
door to Mezquita
external door
Calle de Cairuan
Sinagoga
Puerto de Almodovar
The Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Castle of the Christian Monarchs) is a palace and fortress commissioned by King Alfonso XI of Castile in 1328, built on the site of earlier Roman, Visigoth, and Moorish buildings. The Alcazar was one of the headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition from 1482 to 1834. It is well worth exploring the towers, courtyards, mosaic room, and baths, and the gardens are delightful.
The Alcazar is close to the river and we wandered past the Episcopal Palace then across the Roman bridge to the district of Campo de la Verdad-Miraflores. Our visit coincided with the Feria de Mayo (May Fair), a ten day party held in the El Arenal Fairground on the other side of Puenta del Arenal. It was a lot of fun to wander amongst the Cordobans who clearly take their partying seriously. The dresses were colourful, the horses and riders well groomed, and the music absolutely pumping. Of all the fairground rides we liked Mega Kanguro best of all.
Flamenco originated in Andalucia in the 18th C and remains an important part of local culture. You see van drivers practice their clapping when waiting for traffic lights to change and hear cante flamenco (singing) blare from passing cars. We were interested to see and hear it live. Walking home one evening we were handed a flyer for a small club with a perfromance starting at 22:30. Very Spanish. We went along and had a fabulous time. The club was run by a Gitano (Romani) family and the peformance cycled through instrumental music (acoustic guitar, box drum, clapping, and stomping), male singers, a traditional female dancer, and a younger female dancer with a very different style. The impression it gave is that flamenco is not stuck in time but is evolving through younger generations bringing new skills and perspectives built on very formal traditions. The patriach of the family (José Antonio Plantón Moreno) goes by the stage name of El Calli. We bought an album called Orgullo de Estirpe which translates as something like Proud Lineage. Check it out on Spotify, along with an earlier album called Sonidos con Alma (Sounds of the Soul).
Alcazar, Tpwer of Homage
looking down from tower
Tower of the Lions
gardens
statuary
mosaic room
Royal Baths
busking, Spanish style
Episcopal Palace
water wheel
Feria de Mayo
Mega Kanguro
Abd al-Rahman III was clearly an ambitious man, declaring the Caliphate of Cordoba as rival to the Abissid (Middle East) and Fatimid (Egypt) Caliphates. In 936 he began building a magnificent new capital at Medina Azahara. It was completed by 945 but sacked and looted from around 1010 as the Caliphate of Cordoba fell apart.
The walled perimeter ran 1.5 kms east to west and 0.75 kms north to south (112 hectares), though only a fraction of the site had been excavated and was open to the public when we visited. Yet it’s one of those sites where there’s just enough left to fire the imagination and we had a fabulous time.
You enter through the north gate by the Higher Housing, coming to the Ya’far House (of the hayib or Prime Minister) and High Basilical Building. From there you enter the impressive Drawing Room of Abd al-Rahman III. Interestingly, the decorative tracery at Medina Azahara is made from carved limestone rather than the usual material of plaster. The Drawing Room leads onto the Gardens and to the east lie ruins of the Mosque. The tour finishes in the Arms Square which has a lovely Portico along its western edge.
The site was undergoing further excavation and reconstruction when we visited in 2008. Clearly a lot of work has been done since then as Medina Azahara was inscribed onto the World Heritage list in 2018. We’ll certainly return if we’re in this region again.
Seville is Andalucia’s capital and largest city, and is highly rated as a travel destination. Its Cathedral, Alcázar, and Archive of the Indies (Archivo de Indias) form a World Heritage site in the heart the city.
On this trip we prioritised Cordoba and Granada as our focus in Andalucia, but did manage a day trip to Seville. We certainly saw enough in that day to whet our appetite for a longer visit in the future.
The Moors captured Seville in 712 though its eminence as a Moorish city in Al-Andalus came in the 11-13th C under Moroccan Almoravid (1040-1147) and Almohad (1121-1269) caliphates. Seville was capital of the Almohad Caliphate in Al-Andalus for 100 years (1147-1248).
Most buildings of Moorish aesthetic in Seville belong to the Mudéjar style of the 14-16th C which was inspired by Islamic art but developed under Christian rule. This is an example of how Moorish influence on the Iberian Peninsula continued well beyond reconquest by the Catholics.
Traces of original Moorish buildings can be found in the city walls, parts of the Alcázar (closed when we visited), and the main section of the famous Giralda. The Girlada was the minaret of the Great Mosque of Seville, constructed between 1184 and 1198. The city fell to the Catholics in 1248 and the mosque was used as a church until 1401. When the mosque was razed to make way for a new cathedral, the Giralda was maintained and converted to a bell tower.
Seville Cathedral (completed 1507) is one of the largest in the world, and it’s certainly a statement piece. It hosts the tomb of Christopher Columbus, though whether his remains are actually interred here, in the Dominican Republic, or in Cuba seems to remain under debate.
The city has many lovely lanes, backstreets, and squares with cabelleros waiting languidly in their horse drawn carriages for the next customer.
Our wandering took us past the old Royal Tobacco Factory, now part of the University of Seville. The central characeter in Bizet’s opera Carmen was a cigarrera (cigarette maker) in this factory.
We spent four nights in Granada on our tour of Andalucia. It’s a charming city located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains and the confluence of four rivers. We were attracted here to visit the famous Alhambra and the day we spent exploring this remarkable site was a highlight. There is however much more to the city and its surrounds.
We took a bus 75 kms to the southeast and spent a lovely day in the whitewashed villages of Las Alpujarras, the region that was awarded to the Moors when they surrendered Granada 1492.
In the rest of our time we explored the city’s grand Catholic monuments, interspersed with traces of Moorish heritage, and wandered the old Muslin quarter of Albyzin which is draped over a hill facing the Alhambra across the Darro River valley. All in all, Granada was a treat.
Granada rose to prominence in the 13th C as the base of the Nasrids, the last and longest running Muslim dynasty on the Iberian Peninsula. By 1228 the Almohad Caliphate was in decline in Al-Andalus and Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr (Muhammad I of Granada) emerged as an ambitious Muslim leader. Coming from Arjona he took control of several southern cities including Granada (in 1236) and established the Emirate of Granada in 1238.
With Cordoba (1236) then Seville (1248) falling to the Christians, Granada became the last Muslim stronghold. Muhammad I aligned himself with Ferdinand III of Castille (who took Cordoba and Seville), and this unholy alliance helped to ensure the Nasrid dynasty survived for over 250 years before Granada was surrendered to the Catholic monarchs Ferdinandand Isabellain 1492 to complete the Reconquista.
It was under the seventh and eighth Nasrid Sultans, Yusuf I (1333-54) and Muhammad V (1354-91), that Granada reached its zenith. They left an amazing legacy of architecture and art most conspicuously expressed in the World Heritage Alhambra building complex and Generalife Gardens.
The Alhambra receives a huge number of visitors, understandably so, but don’t let this put you off. It’s a very well managed site. We pre-booked a ticket for a specified starting time and walked straight in on the day. As each tour group frogmarched through we just retreated to a corner for several minutes then reoccupied the space when they were gone. For much of the time we were there (several hours) it felt like we had the place to ourselves and a few other like minded souls.
Our tour of the Alhambra entered through the Puerta de Vino and into Palacio de Carlos V. A wing of the Nasrid building complex was destroyed to make way for this Renaissance palace commissioned by Charles V in 1527, though it was never finished and stood roofless till 1957. It’s an interesting building with a two-tiered, circular coutyard inside. Although it is misplaced amongst the Moorish architecture, it’s far less odious than the Cathedral plonked into the middle of the Great Mosque in Cordoba. The Alhambra Museum is on the ground floor.
Palacio Nazaries (the Nasrid Palace) is the main attraction and for us it’s one of the most remarkable buildings we’ve seen anywhere in the world.
First you pass through the Mexuar, an antechamber for receiving visitors, then enter the Patio del Cuarto Dorado (Golden Room) where the emirs would give audiences. Next is the Palacio de Comares built as a residence for Yusuf I. It surrounds the Patio de los Arrayanes (Patio of the Myrtles) which has a beautiful pool. The combination of decorative plaster, wood, and tile decoration on the palace walls surrounding the patio is simply astonishing. The patio opens onto the Salon de Comares with an extraordinary marquetry ceiling representing the seven heavens of Islam.
Puerta de Vino
Palacio de Carlos V
coutryard
Mexuar
Patio del Cuarto Dorada
Patio de los Arrayanes
alcove
fountain
tiles and wood
plaster and wood
Salon de Comares
audioguide and camera
It’s thrilling to walk through the Palacio Nazaries and wonder what you’ll see next. Patio de los Lions is certainly a highlight with its beautifully ornamented pavillions.
We progressed through Sala de los Abencerrajes and Sala de Dos Hermanas, admiring the delicate ornamentation on ceilings and arches. Patio del Lindaraja led us out of the palace and into El Partal gardens with a lovely old portico facing west.
The Alcazaba was the Alhambra’s citadel and there are fine views of the ramparts and surrounds from Torre de la Vela.
The Generalife (Architect’s Garden) is a great last stop on a tour of the Alhambra. The beautiful Patio de la Acequia and Jardin de la Sultana have a soothing effect on tired legs and overloaded minds. What a day.
Patio de los Lions
pavillion
arches
tiles
Sala de los Abencerrajes
Sala de Dos Hermanas
Mirador del Lindaraja
El Partal
Alcazaba
Generalife
outlook
Jardin de la Sultana
One day we took a day trip to Las Alpujarras, a collection of valleys on the southern flank of the Sierra Nevada about 75 kms southeast of Granada. Berbers settled here in the 10th C and the area became renowned for irrigated agriculture and silkworm farms, supplying weaving workshops in port city of Almeria. When the Emir Boabdil finally surrendered Granada to the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isobel in 1492, he was awarded Las Alpujarras as part of the settlement. As Catholic promises of religous tolerance were subsequently broken, Las Alpujarras became a hotbed of Muslim insurrection until all of the Moors were finally deported from the region in the late 16th C and replaced with Christian settlers.
We caught a bus from Granada, up the Poqueira River valley to the village of Capileira. It takes a couple of hours to get there. Capileira is the highest of three villages in the valley. The stone streets, whitewashed buildings, and distinctively shaped chimneys are reminiscent of Berber villages in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, standing in testament to its Moorish history.
We spent a lovely day wandering the cobbled streets and along some of the footpaths that radiate into the higher mountains.
Capileira
Poqueira River valley
streetscape
old communnal laundry
door
chimneys
up river
walking
built in stone
Joey, Dee Dee, Johnny, Tommy lived here
higher up
terraces
Granada was the last domino to fall in the Catholic reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. Ferdinand and Isobel had planned to be buried in Toledo, but after capturing Granada in 1492 they commissioned the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel). Their marble funerary monuments lie side by side in the chancel though their bodies are in simple lead coffins in the crypt below. The Capilla Real was not completed until 1521. Isobel died in 1504, Ferdinand in 1516, and they were interred in the Alhambra until the chapel was completed.
The adjoining Cathedral was commenced in 1521 and not fully completed until the 18th C. The Cathedral and Capilla Real have separate entrances.
It was pleasant to wander the streets around the Cathedral complex. The Alcaiceria is now an area of tourist shops on the site of the Moorish silk exchange. Nearby Corral del Carbon began life in the 14th C as an inn.
A little to the north of the city centre is the 16th C Monasterio de San Jeronimo. It has a lovely cloister, excellent stone carvings, and a profusion of brightly painted sculptures. It is the resting place of Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba, know as El Gran Capitan (the Great Captain) for his role as Ferdinand and Isobel’s military commander.
We visited the Archaeological Museum then stopped for lunch before an afternoon wander around Albyzin.
The old Muslim quarter of Albyzin is also part of Granada’s World Heritage. It’s a delightful area to explore with cobbled streets, whitewashed buildings, and great views across the Darro valley to the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada beyond. We checked out the Collegiata del Salvador which is a 16th C church built on the site of Albyzin’s main mosque. A patio with Moorish arches survives as a reminder of this history.
We left Granada well satisfied with our visit to the city and the fascinating region of Andalucia.
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