[13]:18[95]:136,143. The sculpture was made by Pedro de la Paz and Bernab Gmez del Ro. [11] The mihrab opens in the wall at the middle of this maqsura, while two doors flank it on either side. Image: Wikimedia 3 /4 The La Giradla bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Seville Spain. [1] The building was converted to a church in 1236, when Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Len, conquered the city. It was originally built in 785 CE by Abd ar-Rahman and is regarded as an important monument of Islamic architecture. [93][11]:148149[94] Preserved fragments of the original ceiling some of which are now on display in the Courtyard of the Oranges were discovered in the 19th century and have allowed modern restorers to reconstruct the ceilings of some of the western sections of the mosque according to their original style. [44][45] Art historian Rose Walker, in an overview of late antique and early medieval art in Spain, has likewise criticized Marfil's view as relying on personal interpretation. [78] A design by Hernn Ruiz III (son of Hernn Ruiz II) was chosen, encasing the original minaret structure into a new Renaissance-style bell tower. [16] Further restoration works concentrating on the former mosque structure were carried out between 1879 and 1923 under the direction of Velzquez Bosco, who among other things dismantled the baroque elements that had been added to the Villaviciosa Chapel and uncovered the earlier structures there. [104], After the mosque's conversion to a cathedral in 1236, Spanish Christian designs were increasingly added to new or existing gates. As a result of both this pillage and the earlier pillage during the fitna, the mosque had lost almost all of its valuable furnishings. Mosque in Spanish | English to Spanish Translation - SpanishDictionary.com [15]:74 The translation reads: O ye who believe! [4] Due to its status as a former mosque, it is also known as the Mezquita (pronounced[mekita]; 'mosque' in Spanish)[5][6] and as the Great Mosque of Crdoba. The mosque's original flat wooden ceiling was made of wooden planks and beams with carved and painted decoration. [96]:414, Nuha N. N. Khoury, a scholar of Islamic architecture, has interpreted these inscriptions, in combination with the other foundation inscriptions in this part of the mosque, as an attempt to present the mosque as a "universal Islamic shrine", similar to the mosques of Mecca and Medina, and to portray Caliph al-Hakam II as the instrument through which God built this shrine. Above this is a lantern structure which in turn is surmounted by a cupola. Iglesia de Santa Maria la Mayor: A mosque convert to a church - See 431 traveler reviews, 707 candid photos, and great deals for Ronda, Spain, at Tripadvisor. (Iglesia Catedral de Santa Mara en Murcia). The ribs of this dome have a different configuration than those of the domes in front of the mihrab. Some authors cite a specific year for the expansion. [58] The courtyard of the original mosque of Abd ar-Rahman I had no surrounding gallery or portico, but it is believed that one was added by Abd ar-Rahman III between 951 and 958. Bell tower built in 15th century shows characteristics of former minaret. Now known as "Umayyad Mosque". The construction resumed under architect Juan Sequero de Matilla in 1616 and the tower was finished in 1617. Jan, Read. The 7 Magnificent Mosques of Spain Mosque-Cathedral of Crdoba - Wikipedia Church is a, Church of Nuestra Seora de la Encarnacin (Benaque, Macharaviaya). The lantern tower was in turn surmounted by a dome and topped by a finial in the shape of a metal rod with two golden spheres and one silver sphere (often referred to as "apples") decreasing in size towards the top. 852886). In 1664 Gaspar added a new cupola to the top of the belfry onto which he raised a statue of Saint Raphael made by the sculptors Pedro de la Paz and Bernab Gmez del Ro. [1] There were 16 mosques in Vlez-Mlaga (then known as Ballis Medina) during the Nazari Granada Emirate period. Upon the city's conquest the mosque was converted into a Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Santa Maria). It was initially funded with the help of a large bequest by Archdeacon Jos Daz de Recalde in 1742. The most elaborate gates on the eastern wall today are in large part the work of 20th-century restorations. Thesaurus. It also happens to be the oldest mosque in . Mezquita Mayor de Granada: Refined Mosque converted to church. The Reconquista of the Mosque of Crdoba - Foreign Policy The Mosque of Cordoba was converted to a cathedral in the 13th century and has remained a Christian place of worship in use since then, but its architecture and much of its interior is. There were 18 mosques in Jerez city, of which only the mosque within the fortress of Alcazar of Jerez de la Frontera survives today. [16][17] Today, the building continues to serve as the city's cathedral and Mass is celebrated therein daily. It lists former Muslim mosques (Arabic: Masjid, Spanish: Mezquita) and Islamic places of worship that were located within the modern borders of Spain. [62], In 1162, after a general period of decline and recurring sieges, the Almohad caliph Abd al-Mu'min ordered that Cordoba be prepared to become his capital in al-Andalus. During his own reign, starting in 961, he further expanded the mosque's prayer hall. Medieval Encounters , Volume 3 (2): 158 - Jan 1, 1997 Read Article Download PDF Share Full Text for Free 15 pages Article Details Recommended References Bookmark Add to Folder Cite Social Times Cited: Web of Science Journals / Medieval Encounters / Volume 3 Issue 2 [13][12]:42, The mosque's original mihrab (niche in the far wall symbolizing the direction of prayer) no longer exists today but its probable remains were found during archeological excavations between 1932 and 1936. In total, this intersection of ribs creates 17 vaulted compartments of square or triangular shape, in different sizes, each further decorated with a variety of miniature ribbed domes, star-shaped mini-domes, and scalloped shapes. [16] During this period, in 1882, the cathedral and mosque structure was declared a National Monument. [62] These three areas appear to have been the most important focal points of Christian activity in the early cathedral. [77] It consists of a solid square shaft up the level of the bells, where serliana-style openings feature on all four sides. [15]:69 This expansion is responsible for some of the mosque's most significant architectural flourishes and innovations. A bridge or elevated passage (the sabat) once existed on the west side of the mosque which connected the prayer hall directly with the Caliph's palace across the street. He asked the authorities to offer adhan at the cathedral and was even allowed to offer his prayers there. [62] A couple of early Christian features, such as an altar dedicated to San Blas (installed in 1252) and an altar of San Miguel (1255), disappeared in later centuries. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. This is a list of former mosques in Spain. Most of these mosques are from the Al-Andalus period. [85] Muhammad Iqbal described its interior as having "countless pillars like rows of palm trees in the oases of Syria". A small octagonal mosque, designed as a private oratory for the king and his family. [122].mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:#f9f9f9;display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}, The South Asian Muslim philosopher and poet Muhammad Iqbal, who is widely regarded as having inspired the Pakistan Movement, visited the Great Cathedral of Crdoba in 193132. [25][26][27][28] However, Robert Knapp, in his overview of Roman-era Crdoba, has dismissed this claim as speculation based on a misunderstanding of Roman milestones found in the area. The many writings spread amongst the images in turn form a long litany to Mary. Centuries of slow deterioration and restoration attempts have erased some elements of its decoration, but major original aspects of it remain. Small cities and towns had multiple mosques built for the easy and quick access of the faithful to perform their daily five times Islamic prayers (Salah) in congregation. In Crdoba, the Umayyad capital, the Mosque was seen as the heart and central focus of the city. [13] Al-Mansur's doors are visible on the building's current eastern faade. Aljama de Saraqusta, Mezquita Mayor de Zaragoz (Great Mosque of Zaragoza), One of the largest & oldest mosques in Al-Andalus. Their intersection creates a square space in the center with an octagonal scalloped cupola added over this. [101] (For example, the two coat-of-arms on the present-day cathedral's Puerta de Santa Catalina depict the tower as it appeared before its later reconstruction. Under Almoravid rule, the artisan workshops of Cordoba were commissioned to design new richly-crafted minbars for the most important mosques of Morocco most famously the Minbar of the Kutubiyya Mosque commissioned in 1137 which were likely inspired by the model of al-Hakam II's minbar in the Great Mosque. [10] An archaeological exhibit in the mosquecathedral of Cordoba today displays fragments of a Late Roman[37] or Visigothic building, emphasizing an originally Christian nature of the complex. The Mosque-Cathedral of Crdoba. [11]:165170[13][12]:43[15]:21, Many other gates were added over the course of subsequent expansions of the mosque. [9][11]:136[47], The Great Mosque was built in the context of the new Umayyad Emirate in Al-Andalus which Abd ar-Rahman I founded in 756. With the exception of the remnants of the 10th century Great Mosque of Cordoba, there is very little documentation available in English language about these old historical mosques. The structure itself underwent only minor modifications until a major building project in the 16th century inserted a new Renaissance cathedral nave and transept into the center of the building. This maqsura area covers three bays along the southern qibla wall in front of the mihrab, and was marked off from the rest of the mosque by an elaborate screen of intersecting horseshoe and polylobed arches; a feature which would go on to be highly influential in the subsequent development of Moorish architecture. Next, the church was converted into a mosque and then completely rebuilt by the descendants of the exiled Umayyadsthe first Islamic dynasty who had originally ruled from their capital Damascus (in present-day Syria) from 661 until 750. [15]:75 The mihrab is, in turn, surrounded by a typical arrangement of radiating arch decoration and a rectangular framing or alfiz, which is also seen in the design of the earlier western mosque gate of Bab al-Wuzara (the Puerta de San Esteban today) and was likely also present in the design of the mosque's first mihrab. Aljafera is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1986. Its current appearance dates from the work of Hernn Ruiz II, who took over work on the cathedral in 1547 after the passing of his father (Hernn Ruiz I). [68] The first two architects introduced Gothic elements into the design which are visible in the elaborate tracery design of the stone vaults over the transept arms and above the altar. The three bays of the maqsura area (the space in front of the mihrab and the spaces in front of the two side doors) are each covered by ornate ribbed domes. They contain selected excerpts from the Qur'an as well as foundation inscriptions praising the patron (Caliph Al-Hakam II) and the people who assisted in the construction project. [16] After 1627 the works were taken over by Juan de Aranda Salazar, and the altar was finished in 1653. The lower walls on either side of the mihrab are panelled with marble carved with intricate arabesque vegetal motifs, while the spandrels above the arch are likewise filled with carved arabesques. However, its decoration was completed by Muhammad I in 855. The work was finished by this team in late 970 or early 971. [114], PSOE's Isabel Ambrosio, Mayor of Crdoba from 2015 to 2019, defended a model of public and shared management. Ruggles, From the Heavens and Hills: The Flow of Water to the Fruited Trees and Ablution Fountains in the Great Mosque of Cordoba, in, This page was last edited on 19 August 2023, at 20:50. Hernn Ruiz III died in 1606 and was unable to see its completion. [15]:20, The mosque originally had four entrances: one was in the center of the north wall of the courtyard (aligned with the mihrab to the south), two more were in the west and east walls of the courtyard, and a fourth one was in the middle of the west wall of the prayer hall. [50] This evidences makes the Cordoba mosque the earliest one where trees are known to have been planted in the courtyard. In the rule of Abd al-Rahman III in the 9 th and 10 th centuries, it has been constructed with three components: the pillared prayer hall, the courtyard of Wudu and minaret tower. [12]:40, The original mosque's most famous architectural innovation, which was preserved and repeated in all subsequent Muslim-era expansions, was its rows of double-tiered arches. Photo about Mihrab Moslem Islam Prayer Niche Arches Mezquita Cordoba Spain. Patricio Furriel was responsible for restoring the mihrab's Islamic mosaics, including the portions which had been lost. [59]:106109, Abd ar-Rahman III also reinforced the northern wall of the courtyard by adding another "faade" in front of the old one on the courtyard side. [62] The first precisely-dated chapel known to be built along the west wall is the Chapel of San Felipe and Santiago, in 1258. [4] During this period the Medina (city) of Granada was one of the largest cities in Europe and welcomed large number of Muslims seeking refuge after being expelled from the Christian controlled areas. [109] Muslim prayer has not been always banned outright and there are some cases of token concessions in the past, including Saddam Hussein's prayer at the Mihrab in December 1974. The key elements in this respect were its marble columns, its polygonal mihrab chamber, its Qur'an and its minbar, all of which went on to have long histories in the Maghrib, appropriated and adapted by the Almoravids and the Almohads in turn. Cathedral was built on the site of an old mosque in 16th century. [103][76], The tabernacle (center) and the lower region of the altar, The upper region of the altar, with the central canvas of the Assumption, The choir stalls, located across from the altar, were crafted from 1748 to 1757 and were executed by Pedro Duque Cornejo. The latter was known as Bab al-Wuzara' (the "Viziers' Gate", today known as Puerta de San Esteban) and was most likely the entrance used by the emir and state officials who worked in the palace directly across the street from here. The original paintings of the altar were executed by Cristbal Vela Cobo but they were replaced in 1715 by the current paintings by Antonio Palomino. Mosque To Church Conversions in the Spanish Reconquest Harris, Julie A. [64], The most significant alteration of all, however, was the building of a Renaissance cathedral nave and transept forming a new Capilla Mayor in the middle of the expansive mosque structure, starting in 1523. [12]:42 According to Anwar G. Chejne, the arches were inspired by those in the Dome of the Rock. The Giralda isn't really a mosque. [66][62], Notably, during the early period of the cathedral-mosque, the workers charged with maintaining the building (which had suffered from disrepair in previous years) were local Muslims (Mudjars). The prayer hall also has a richly-decorated mihrab (niche symbolizing the direction of prayer) surrounded by an architecturally-defined maqsura (an area reserved for the emir or caliph during prayer), which date from the expansion of Caliph Al-Hakam II after 965. - Benaque (Macharaviaya)", "La Seo De Zaragoza: De Mezquita A Catedral", "La Seo de Zaragoza and the aljama mosque of Saraqusta", "Church of the Divine Salvador | Tourism of Seville", "Iglesia Colegial del Salvador/Mosque of Ibn Abbas, Seville", "Church of San Nicols de Bari de los Servitas", "La Iglesia de San Nicolas The Oldest Church in Madrid", "Baslica Menor de Santa Mara de la Asuncin", "Historical facts at the Valencia Cathedral", "Cathedral in Valencia - A Visitor's Guide", "Museum of Councils and Visigoto Culture - Church of San Roman", "Asociacin Amics de la Seu Vella de Lleida", "Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (Alfacar)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_former_mosques_in_Spain&oldid=1151571576, Lists of religious buildings and structures in Spain, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking reliable references from November 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, Great Mosque of Crdoba (Quruba), Aljama Mosque. The remains showed that the mihrab's upper part was covered with a shell-shaped hood similar to the later mihrab. [15]:21 These new capitals were imitations of the Corinthian style but still differed slightly from classical models, thus hinting at the future evolution of architectural sculpture in al-Andalus. [13]:1516 In 855 he also restored the Bab al-Wuzara' gate (today's Puerta de San Esteban). 2 (1997): 158-172. Most of these former mosques and religious buildings were either converted into churches or demolished after the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula (the Reconquista).[1]. Only minaret remains. mask. ) For a list of open, functioning mosques in Spain see list of mosques in Spain. Mural paintings, minaret and cemetery. [54]:128129, In 793 Abd ar-Rahman I's son and successor, Hisham I, added to the mosque a awma'a, a shelter for the muezzin on top of the outer wall, as the mosque did not yet have a minaret (a feature which was not yet standard in early mosques). Mosque Converted into Church in Spain - YouTube [16][79] Work on the choir stalls finished in 1757, though Duque Cornejo who had worked on it continuously for nearly a decade died just two weeks before the finished choir was officially opened. The mihrab consists of a horseshoe arch leading to a small heptagonal chamber covered by a shell-shaped cupola above a ring of polylobed blind arches and carvings. (PDF) Mosque to Church Conversions in the Iberian Reconquest | Julie Also note that a cathedral is a bishop's church, so this was the most important church in Cordoba upon its confiscation. Other structures were built on the site destroying or covering traces of the mosque. This framed the official history of the Umayyad dynasty in prophetic terms, promoting the idea of the new Umayyad caliphs in Cordoba as having a universal prerogative in the Islamic world. [15]:20 The voussoirs of the arches alternate between red brick and white stone. Interior single rectangular prayer hall now a church nave. [46], Regardless of what structures may have existed on the site, however, it is almost certain that the building which housed the city's first mosque was destroyed to build Abd ar-Rahman I's Great Mosque and that it had little relation to the latter's form. [15]:7376[12]:84, Soon after this date both the middle dome of the maqsura and the wall surfaces around the mihrab were covered in rich Byzantine-influenced gold mosaics. [97][15]:73[12]:84 Scholars have argued that this use of Byzantine mosaics is also part of a general desire whether conscious or not by the Cordoban Umayyads to evoke connections to the early Umayyad Caliphate in the Middle East, in particular to the Great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, where Byzantine mosaics were a prominent element of the decoration.