Madinat al Zahra, the shining city of King Abd al-Rahman III which according to legend was built in honor of his beloved, was built ; eight kilometers from Córdoba at the foot of Sierra Morena by the work of master Maslama ben Abdallah, between the years 936 and 976. The reality was the need to carry out this project to create an image of power of the newly founded Umayyad Caliphate independent of Damascus, before the Fatimid Caliphate. of Ifriqiya like this how to overcome the Abbasids and their court of Samarra.
We know that more than ten thousand people worked tirelessly with the best materials -marble, gold, precious stones- to erect < strong>palatine, representation and housing buildings in a huge walled enclosure of about 1500 by 700 meters. Taking advantage of the natural unevenness of the land, three terraces were arranged: the upper one for the Alcázar or palatine dwelling, the intermediate one for the audience halls and the low for the population's homes. Outside the walled enclosure a the mosque facing Mecca, with five naves with horseshoe arches for the prayer room, minaret and patio. In addition, the city had with numerous infrastructures that in part have survived to this day as bridges, roads or canals and it had a mint for its own minting. n of coins.
Unfortunately, the life of this medina was extremely short. Seventy years after its erection, the palatine complex remained in ruins. practically desolateafter the fitna that divided He divided the territory of the Caliphate into small kingdoms of Taifas and began to be used as a quarryfrom which to extract valuable materials to build other buildings in Córdoba. So It is how it has come to us; Today we can find pieces of Medina Azahara throughout the territory of Córdoba.
The first excavations of the site were carried out with Alfonso XIII at the beginning of the 20th century: in the year 1923 the architect Ricardo Velázquez Boscotried delimit the perimeter of the palatine complex and later Félix Hernández excavated the central part of the site, bringing to light the structures of greatest interest. Despite the successive interventions we know that only around 10% of the medina has been excavated so since 2007 the main idea has been to focus on the most important areas. s remote areas that are providing numerous findings related to daily life. Since 1923 Medina Azahara has been considered as Asset of Cultural Interest and has not stopped working to improve its structures with continuous renovations, concluding this process with the opening of its Interpretation Center in the year 2009. In addition, it has modern facilities such as an auditorium, cafeteria, library, shop... for which it was awarded in the year 2012< /strong> with the title ofBest European Museum of the year.
Nowadays when we visit the palatine complex we can see different entrances, the one of greatest interest is the so-called Eastern Portico composed of a large archway through the Where ambassadors who were going to request an audience with the Caliph entered the premises, this entrance had a large esplanade for the celebration of military ceremonies. In addition, We know that there were other accesses such as the North Gate which was a defensive entrance built in an elbow and used by people arriving from Córdoba.
In theupper and middle part most of the rooms of interest are grouped, such as the Royal House, where it is believed that the king lived. the powerful Abd al-Rahman III, the House of Jafar or the home of the Caliph's first minister, the House of the Pool which is believed to have been the home of Al Hakem II , the House of the Viziers or the famous Rich Hall, a place of representation of power with the legend of its Mercury fountain that reflected thousands of colors throughout The enclosure. All these spaces had an exquisite decoration based on porticos of two-color horseshoe arches, shafts of different types of marble, ornamentation of atauriques and plasterwork with stylized plant and geometric motifs. ;tricos, wasp nest capitals and compounds, gardens with exotic fruit trees and pools and fountains that made this place the true ""Paradise on Earth.""
From January to March:
Tuesday to Saturday: 09:00 hrs - 18:00 hrs. Sundays and holidays: 09:00 hrs - 15:00 hrs
From April to June:
Tuesday to Saturday: 09:00 hrs - 21:00 hrs. Sundays and holidays: 09:00 hrs - 15:00 hrs
From July to September:
Tuesday to Sunday and holidays: 09:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Another place of interest nearby is the Monastery of San Jerónimo.