ARCHAEOLOGICAL COMPLEX MEDINA AZAHARA

It was on July¹, 2018, in Bahrain, that the caliphal city of Medina Azahara was listed as a Unesco World Cultural Heritage Site. As "a complete urban ensemble (...) that provides in-depth knowledge of the now extinct Western Islamic civilization of Al Andalus at the height of its splendor". A legacy of the ^10th and ^11th century Caliphate of Cordoba, this Medina Azahara, from the Arabic Madinat al Zahra, "the shining city", began construction seven years after Emir Abd al-Rahman III proclaimed himself Caliph in 926. According to legend, it was the ideal city he dreamed of for his beloved Azahara, but historians have denied this and the reality is more prosaic. The main aim was to show the world the grandeur and superiority of the Umayyad dynasty, in the face of the Baghdad caliphate ruled by the Abbasid dynasty, which had massacred Abd al-Rahman's ancestors in the ^8th century. Surrounded by walls, the city served as a residence for the court, hosting sumptuous feasts, administrative offices and gardens. But only 70 years after its creation, internal wars in the heart of Al-Andalus reduced it to ruins, and the remains, forgotten for almost a thousand years, were only rediscovered at the beginning of the ^20th century. A sort of ephemeral city that constitutes an extraordinary bank of archaeological and historical research, since to date only 10% of the site has been uncovered.

The visit. There are two stages to the visit: first, a visit to the museum, a large, modern space where numerous items relating to the period are on display, and where you can also watch a highly instructive audiovisual presentation of the city. Then access to the site by bus for a free tour.

A few steps. Unlike in the ^10th century, the tour proceeds from top to bottom, starting from the "ronda de la muralla norte" promenade and entering the complex via the Puerta Norte. Turning right, you reach the residential sector, where you'll find two examples of houses organized around large square patios. Next come the stables, including the Casa de Ya Far, a fine example of a high official's residence from the Caliphate period. This space serves as a link between the residential and administrative parts of the site. Here, we come across theEdificio basilical superior, then a large, handsome portico that served as the formal entrance to the complex, and a terrace with a view of the Mezquita Aljama at the bottom of the site. The tour of the official part culminates on the terrace where Abd al-Rahmn III's salon is located.

Whether you come by organized bus tour from Cordoba or on your own, access to the site is only by special minibus, running every quarter of an hour. For guided tours, the time allowed is 3 hours, a bit short for assimilating so much information. Another constraint, if you come by your own means, is a rather small, quickly saturated parking lot. Sometimes a little neglected until the Umayyad exhibition in 2001, Medina Azahara has been much more visited since its Unesco classification. For the time being, the site itself offers very little in the way of information, and it's sometimes difficult to understand what you're seeing. Fortunately, you can now explore the entire site with audio guides.