Albayzín

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzín, Granada
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Type Cultural
Criteria i, iii, iv
Reference 314
UNESCO region Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription 1984 (8th Session)
Extensions 1994
This is the view of Saint Nicholas church and the Albaicin mosque.
Typical street of the Albaicin.
Albaicin landscape.

El Albayzín (also Albaicín, Spanish pronunciation: [alβai̯ˈθin]) is a district of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain, that retains the narrow winding streets of its Medieval Moorish past. It was declared a world heritage site in 1984, along with the famous Alhambra.

History

It was populated in Iberian period and Roman dispersed settlement existed. There is no data before the arrival of the Zirid Berber Islamic settlement, so it is assumed that the city was abandoned since the end of the Roman Empire until the founding of the Zirid kingdom in 1013 when it was surrounded by big walls. According to some linguists it owes its present name to the inhabitants of the city of Baeza who banished her after the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, settled in this area of Granada outside the existing walls. Other linguists claim that the name comes from the Arabic al-bayyāzīn (as its pronounced with imala, al-bayyīzīn),meaning the suburb of falconers. However, the fact that in Andalusia there are many other neighborhoods with that name, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz), Alhama de Granada, Salobreña and Huéneja (Granada), Antequera and Villanueva de Algaidas (Málaga), Baena (Córdoba) porcuna and Sabiote (Jaén), and Constantina (Sevilla), casts doubt on this thesis. There are also neighborhoods with that name in other parts of Spain, as in Campo de Criptana (Ciudad Real), result of the expulsion of the Moors after the Revolt of the Alpujarras or in Pastrana (Guadalajara), this neighborhood created by Doña Ana de Eboli to accommodate the Moorish Kingdom of Granada.

Is one of the oldest centers of Muslim culture in Granada, with the Alhambra, the Realejo and Arrabal de Bib-Arrambla, on the flat part of the city.

Before the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, in what is now the city of Granada and its surroundings there were three small populations:

However, after these classic statements, current archaeological research, Madinat Ilbira located in Atarfe until the 11th century when that city was moved to the Albaicin after the fall of the Caliphate and the insecurity it generates. The inhabitants of Ilbira undergo as clients Sinhaya and ziríes and it is decided the transfer of the capital of the Cora de Elvira to Hill Albaicín

In the 756 Arabs are already in the peninsula. It is the time of Independent Emirate. The Arab population is manifested in two centers: the Albaicín and the Alhambra.

This neighborhood had its greatest influence at the time of the Nazari. The Albaicín maintains the urban fabric of the Moorish period, with narrow streets, in an intricate network that extends from the top (St. Nicholas) through the course of the river Darro and Calle Elvira, both located in Plaza Nueva.

In December 1499, Albaicín become the starting point of a rebellion throughout Granada, which were triggered by the forced conversions of the Muslim population to Christianity.[1]

The traditional type of house is the carmen, consisting of a free house surrounded by a high wall that separates it from the street and includes a small orchard or garden.

It was characteristic of this district the channeling and distribution of drinking water through wells; in all there were found about 28; of which a large majority is preserved but is not in use because its pipes are broken over time.

In 1994, the Albaicín was declared World Heritage by UNESCO as an extension of the monuments of the Alhambra and Generalife.[2]

Places of interest

In the Albaicín there are numerous monuments from different periods, mainly the nazari period and the Renaissance:

Gallery

19th century paintings of Albayzín

See also

References

  1. Carr, Matthew (2009). Blood and Faith: The Purging of Muslim Spain. New Press. pp. 58–59. ISBN 978-1-59558-361-1.
  2. "Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzín, Granada". UNESCO Culture Sector. Retrieved 09-02-2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  3. Plano árabe de Granada de Luis Seco de Luna
  4. Ayuntamiento de Granada. AGENCIA albaicin GRANADA
  5. GALLEGO Y BURÍN, ANTONIO. "Guía artística e histórica de la ciudad de Granada", página, 781. Edición: Guía de Granada 1946.
  6. Galán, Daniel (2015-11-04). "La casa de Zafra: 6 razones para visitar este monumento del Albaicín". EL VIAJE DEL MAPACHE. Retrieved 2016-10-22.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Albaicín.

Coordinates: 37°10′36″N 3°35′40″W / 37.17667°N 3.59444°W / 37.17667; -3.59444

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