Reconquering Andalusia: The Muslim Cities of the West

Abstract

Despite their Western location, major cities of Andalusia, Spain such as Granada, Seville or Córdoba have always been vivid representations of the oriental city in the Western mind. Centuries of Moorish rule in the región was brought to an end in 1492, with the conquest of Granada by the Catholic Kings. Under their rule, Renaissance in Andalusia had a particular objective among others: Christianization of the region. The Muslim empire of the Morisco-Spaniards was almost completely annihilated, after enjoying a prosperous civilization for eight centuries; however, its representativeness of the Muslim city does not seem to fade away. From its typical mocárabes to the impressive columns of the Cathedral-Mosque of Córdoba, this research tries to identify the evident role of the Andalusian cities in constructing the Muslim city image, also through the way that these cities are used as the setting for the “oriental city” in movies, series or advertisements.