The city in the Andalusian period The present name seems to come from the Rifian or Tamazight language Tamlilt, meaning the white one, perhaps in reference […]

It was conquered by Musa Ibn Nusair in 714 and governed during the 9th century by the Banu Qasi, a noble family of Visigothic origin converted to Islam. It became a Taifa kingdom until the Christian conquest in 1118. Among its superb heritage treasures, the Aljafería Palace, built by Al Muqtadir, and an exceptional Mudejar treasure whose mark permeates numerous churches declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites, stand out.

After the Muslim conquest of 711, Xátiva fortified its castles, whose splendor was already underlined by the geographer Al Idrisi. In 1094, the Almoravid troops took refuge in this Levantine enclave after the severe defeat inflicted by the Cid in the battle of Cuart. It was a pioneer in paper manufacturing in Western Europe. Its old town was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1982, thanks to its superb architectural heritage of religious, civil and military character.

Of Roman origin, the city of Valencia achieved notoriety in the Islamic period of Taifas under the control of Abd Al Aziz. Under his orders, a new defensive wall was built, the remains of which are still preserved in Ciutat Vella. El Cid Campeador took the enclave in the early eleventh century, before falling back into the hands of Almoravids and Almohads, until its conquest by James I in 1238. From the Islamic period, a surprising irrigation network of irrigation ditches and weirs has been preserved, as well as a suggestive gastronomic and toponymic legacy.

It preserves one of the latest Andalusi mosques of the peninsula, since the town had a large Moorish population. You can see the mihrab and the coffered ceiling, decorated in polychrome with inscriptions in Arabic. Various Islamic talismans from the Moorish period were found hidden in a local house.

The Islamic medina of Toledo was the seat of the outstanding School of Translators, under the patronage of the Banu di-l-Nun, particularly Yahya Al Mamun. Science and technology experienced a golden age, with the production of countless works. The figure of Azarquiel, astronomer, who turned Toledo and its coordinates into an international astronomical reference system, is worth mentioning.

Small medina in the Andalusian period, its expansion began in the Mudejar period. The Mudejar towers and its cathedral stand out, as well as the green-manganese pottery, which continues to be the city's traditional style, with geometric, vegetal or epigraphic decoration.

The large size of the Islamic maqbara of Tauste indicates that it was an important town in the period of the Banu Qasi. Its medina would have a mosque, with its minaret, fountains for ablutions and a synagogue.

This city, capital of a small Andalusian emirate-taifa, is crowned by an imposing citadel with crenellated walls. In its day, its river port was of great importance in shipbuilding and trade. Silves is also the setting where the verses of two great figures, Al-Mu'tamid and Ibn 'Ammar, were created.