Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;pt;Mon01;11;ar
Library Location
Faro, Portugal
Notes
A transept arch built with small limestone rubble stones with a series of alternating graded vertebrae in the inner part of the arch apse. The height of the latter reaches 4.23 meters and its width is 2.36 metres, and it forms a piece that belonged to a curved entrance facing north in the city of Shanta Maria El Haroun. Bab al-Madina is inspired by the classical Andalusian models from the Umayyad era, which are abundantly present in the Great Mosque of Cordoba. The fortified city, with an oval plan, apparently extended over an area of approximately seven hectares, with three entrances and several quadrilateral and semicircular towers. According to the sources, the city underwent fortification works during the time of the ruler Ibn Bakr, in the 3rd century AH / 9th century AD, when it was transformed into a fortified site equipped with iron doors. After the end of the period of the Caliphs, this urban nucleus called Oxonuba was transformed into the capital of the Kingdom of the Santa Maria de Harun sect. During that period, works were carried out that concerned the fortified group and the city’s gate. However, today this issue is still the subject of hypotheses because no precise study has been conducted about it yet. In the 5th and 6th centuries AH / 11th and 12th centuries AD, Al-Bakri and Al-Idrisi talked about the city of Santa Maria, which was founded in ancient times, and its dimensions. They described it as extremely beautiful and “located on a tongue of land that advances towards the Atlantic Ocean, and the sea water reaches its walls at high tide.” They also confirm that it contains a “Mosque Mosque” and another smaller mosque, and that it is the headquarters of the “Supreme Commander,” and that it has a port and a shipbuilding workshop.
Sample Text
Cristina Garcia “Bab al-Madina (Porta da Vela)” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;pt;Mon01;11;ar
