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The 10 Mind-Blowing Monuments That Have to be on Your Bucket List.

10. The Alhambra — Granada

The Alhambra, is one of the most visited fortresses in the world, the best surviving example of Moorish architecture in Spain. The stunning Moorish palace looks out over the city through a maze of perfectly-manicured gardens, elaborate architecture and reflecting pools.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Access to the Nasrid Palaces must be at the time indicated on the ticket.

9. The Albaicin — Granada

The city’s old Moorish neighbourhood declared a World Heritage Site in 1984. Experience the essence of one of the world’s most visited neighbourhoods on Earth!

The Mirador of San Nicolas viewpoint offers breathtaking views of the Alhambra with the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background, the perfect gateway to see the whole city and its rich repository of Moorish architecture with its gorgeous Cármenes (large mansions with walled gardens). Lose yourself in this open-air museum.

8. The Palace of the Dar-al-Horra — Granada

This Nasrid palace was the house of the Nasrid queen Aixa, located in the Albaicín district built in the 15th century over the remains of a Zirid palace dating back to the 11th century. Located on top of what was the al-Qashba Cadima or Old Fortress, the hart of the Muslim Granada, next to the wall of this fortified district. Situated outside of the Alhambra, Dar Al-Horra is the most telling example of the morish architecture; its structure and decoration are the characteristics of the Nasrid art considered a monument of cultural importance.

7. Great Mosque of Córdoba — Córdoba

The Great Mosque of Cordoba is one of the oldest structures still standing from the time Muslims ruled Al-Andalus (Muslim Iberia including most of Spain, Portugal, and a small section of Southern France) in the late 8th century. Declared a World Heritage Site in 1984 by UNESCO, its construction started in 784 and had several extensions during the Emirate and the Caliphate of Cordoba. Discover an amazing mixture of architectural styles, constructed over 9 centuries. Standing in the historic centre of Cordoba, the Mosque is one of the most beautiful examples of Muslim art in Spain.

6. Medina Azahara — Córdoba

Medina Azahara or (Medinat al Zahra) is the ruins of a vast, fortified Arab Muslim medieval palace-city built by Abd-ar-Rahman III al-Nasir, Umayyad Caliph of Córdoba, located 8 km from Cordoba, Spain. It was the capital of al-Andalus, or Muslim Spain, as the heart of the administration and government was within its walls. Visiting it is considered essential for all those interested in the Hispanic-Muslim legacy in the city of Cordoba and by extension in Al-Andalus. To conclude your visit, the archaeological site also has a visitor centre which serves as a starting point for the tour. The centre is located underground in the style of an archaeological site and features a collection of exhibits from the most important periods in the history of Medina Azahara. The tour of the visitor centre lasts about one hour and includes audiovisual shows, and continues with a visit to the archaeological site.

5. The Judería or Jewish Quarter – Córdoba

Córdoba’s old Jewish quarter consists of a complex network of little streets full of life and for its jewellery and silversmith shops. The Jewish Quarter is the best-known part of Cordoba’s historic centre, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984 and is one of the largest in Europe. The entrance gate, La Puerta de Almodovar, has a statue of Seneca who was an intellectual stronghold in the time of Abderramán III and forms part of the western boundary of the Juderia. The Juderia reaches as far as Calle El Rey Heredia to the northeast and the Mosque to the south.

4. The Royal Alcazar – Seville

The Alcázar of Seville is a royal palace in Seville, Andalusia, Spain, originally developed by Moorish Muslim kings. Seville’s UNESCO-listed palace complex is a breathtaking spectacle and the best example of the Mudejar architectural style in Spain, although Islamic, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements can be found as well. Considered one of the most representative monumental compounds in the city, the country and the Mediterranean culture as a whole. More recently, the Alcázar featured a location for the Game of Thrones TV series.

3. The Giralda – Seville

The Giralda is the bell tower of the Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain. Originally built in 1195 as the minaret of the Aljama mosque during the Moorish period, during the reign of the Almohad dynasty with a Renaissance style top subsequently added by Spanish conquistadors after the expulsion of the Muslims. The minaret was the culmination of Almohad architecture and served as a model for those at the dynasty’s imperial capitals of Rabat and Marrakesh. It was used both for calling the faithful to prayer (the traditional function of a minaret) and as an observatory. You can climb up to the bell chamber for a remarkable view of the city, especially the Alcazar and Barrio Santa Cruz, and also a bird’s eye view of the Gothic details of the cathedral’s buttresses and statuary.

2. The Torre del Oro – Seville

The Torre del Oro is a dodecagonal military riverside watchtower in Seville, southern Spain. It was erected in the 13th-century by the Almohad Caliphate in order to control access to Seville via the Guadalquivir river which originally enclosed the city, with 166 towers and 15 gates. During the invasion of the Americas, stories say that the tower was used to house gold plundered from the Mayans and Incas; some say this is where its name originates, rather than from the tiles which covered its outside and flashed in the sun, looking like gold. Today, it hosts a small maritime museum and a rooftop viewing platform.

1. The Judería or Jewish Quarter — Seville

Delve into the frozen-in-time atmosphere of Sevilla’s Jewish Quarter, wandering the labyrinthine mediaeval lanes also its flowering courtyards. The Jewish Quarter of Seville is the ultimate place to retrace the footprints of Jewish history in Spain. Considered one of the Biggest Old Jewish Quarters in Europe

This is the district that the Jews inhabited, from the reconquest of Seville during the 13th century, to their expulsion two centuries later when the Catholic Monarchs began to rule.

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