Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;es;Mon01;7;ar
Library Location
Malaga, Spain
Notes
The city of Malaga, located in a small valley surrounded by coastal hills that facilitate its defence, has been the scene of successive settlement since the Phoenician period. The city did not retain any of its Islamic past except the Kasbah and the fortress of Mount El Faro (Gibralfaro). The lowest hill of the two hills overlooking the valley was occupied by the ruins of the Kasbah. While the other, steeper and higher, retains the fortress of Mount El Faro. The two buildings are connected by a wall, or a fortified, winding corridor, protecting communication between them. The Kasbah was built during the period of the Taifa Kings, at the beginning of the fifth / eleventh century. At the end of the seventh century or in the first half of the eighth century / end of the thirteenth - beginning of the fourteenth century, the monument was partially rebuilt during the Nasrid period, and new buildings were added to it. The defensive complex of the Kasbah consists of two enclosures fortified by walls with square-angled towers and a series of advanced fortifications that, in turn, protect the entrance. The outer enclosure, entered through scroll doors dating from the 5th/11th century, is located in the middle of the slope, completely surrounding the inner wall. The latter is higher, and occupies the top of a hill, where there are traces of the construction of a palace and a large tower at its eastern end. The double wall enclosures and the five doors that must be crossed before arriving at the last door - which leads to the Palatine Domain - highlight the military importance of the Alcazaba. The most important remains inside are the remains that were uncovered in the so-called “Cuartos de Grenade”; Which allowed for the reconstruction of parts of the palace of the Taifa Kings period, which dates back to the eleventh century AD, especially the rectangular hall that opens into a hallway with three horseshoe-shaped arches, the vertebrae of which are richly decorated with plaster. At one end of the hallway, a small square room contains lobed arches supported by a central column. These elements show clear parallels with the art prevalent during the caliphate, especially with the section erected in the Great Mosque of Cordoba under Hisham II. The arrangement of the room, which opens onto the hallway, is similar to that in the Rico Hall in Medina al-Zahra. The engraved frescoes, although flatter, are inspired by models from the Caliphate period, and constitute one of the first manifestations of the new aesthetic of the Taifa kingdoms. The Faro Mountain fortress is located on another hill, overlooking the Kasbah. The sources about the fortification remain late, but they hint at its construction during the period of Joseph I in the fourteenth century. The generalization of artillery made it self-evident that it was necessary to build a citadel in order to protect the Kasbah, especially since it was unprotected due to its location beneath the hills that surrounded it. The Beni Nasrid fortifications do not offer major advances compared to the Almohad arrangements, although they double the defensive barriers and increase the size of the towers. In this particular period, and perhaps under the influence of the main Christian tower, the construction of a large tower began in one of the corners, a custom that did not exist until that period in Andalusia.
Sample Text
Margarita Sánchez Llorente “Alcazaba of Malaga and the Fortress of Mount El Faro” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;es;Mon01;7;ar
