In the Plaza de San Juan there is an architectural treasure built during the time of Abd al-Rahman II at the end of the emiral period and at the beginning of the caliphate , between the 9th and 10th centuries, a unique monument of this period along with the city's mosque. It is a Muslim minaret of a now-defunct mosque from which the muezzin was in charge of calling the faithful five times a day to come and pray at the temple. p>
After the conquest of the city by the Christian troops of King Fernando III in the year 1236, it was handed over to theKnights of the Order of Saint John strong> who were in charge of building achurch above the mosqueand a bell tower above the minaret, hence the It is known as the Minaret of San Juan. Since 1880 it has been part of the College of the Slaves of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
This beautiful square tower almost eleven meters high was built with limestone ashlars< /strong> arranged with rope and firebrand and bicolor horseshoe arches - due to the mixture of white stone and red brick - in imitation of those of the famous Cordoba mosque. These arcades arranged around the bodies, rest on marble columns and are finished with a row of calipal arches of which only a few shafts remain. We know that in the Middle Ages this minaret would have been higher than at present and would have been crowned by battlements, a construction that we cannot contemplate today due to to the modern finish that was added in the 20th century along with the hipped roof.
Due to its importance, it was declared Historical-Artistic Monument belonging to the National Treasure and Asset of Cultural Interest in the year 1931. On the other hand, starting in the summer of the year ;o 2021 this minaret will be It can be visited in small groups accompanied by the archaeologist who has been in charge of all the consolidation work on the building, Rafael Blanco. In addition to these in-person visits, in collaboration with the University of Córdoba, an innovative project has been carried out in which 360 virtual tours can be taken degrees.
Other nearby points of interest are the Synagogue, the Mosque-Cathedral and the Archaeological Museum.