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Article: The jewel of the world: do not talk of the court of Baghdad and its glittering magnificence; do not praise Persia and China and their manifold advantages; for there is no spot on earth like Cordoba.
- Article from:
- Calliope
- Article date:
- January 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
So wrote an author some 1,000 years ago about his hometown of Cordoba, the capital of Islamic Spain. Arab rulers had chosen Cordoba as their capital early in the eighth century A.D. Already a metropolis, Cordoba and its surroundings offered many advantages for urban growth: a central location, a navigable river, mountains rich in minerals, and broad farmlands.
Under Muslim rule, the city soon needed a larger mosque to accommodate the many Muslim worshipers. In 785, the ruler of al-Andalus, Abd al-Rahman I, began building the Great Mosque for which Cordoba is still known today.
Recycling columns from ancient ruins in the ...