Vibrant Andalusia: The Spice of Life in Southern Spain

212 Pages·2007·5.1 MB·English

by  Ana Ruiz

V a
ibrant ndalusia

V a
ibrant ndalusia
The Spice of Life in Southern Spain
Ana Ruiz
Algora Publishing
New York
© 2007 by Algora Publishing.
All Rights Reserved
www.algora.com
No portion of this book (beyond what is permitted by
Sections 107 or 108 of the United States Copyright Act of 1976)
may be reproduced by any process, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the
express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-0-87586-539-3 (trade paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-87586-540-9 (hard cover)
ISBN-13: 978-0-87586-541-6 (ebook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data —
Ruiz, Ana, 1960-
Vibrant Andalusia : Moorish culture in southern Spain / Ana Ruiz.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-87586-539-3 (trade paper : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-87586-540-9 (hard
cover: alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-87586-541-6 (ebook) 1. Andalusia (Spain)—Civilization.
I. Title.
DP302.A467R65 2007
946’.802—dc22
2007003859
Front Cover: Alcaizería in Granada
Printed in the United States
To my Andalusian, Basque, and Castilian family.

a
cknowledgments
I wish to acknowledge and thank the following people and organizations for their
valuable contributions:
• Mª Carmen Millán Ráfales, Jefa del Dpto. and Natalia Cobo at Biblioteca del Centro
de Documentación de Música y Danza (Casa de Castril), Granada.
• Mª Helena Rosales Varo, Biblioteca de Andalucía, Centro de Documentación Musical
de Andalucía, Granada.
• Miriam Font at Escuela de Estudios Arabes (Casa de Chapiz), Granada.
• Centro de Documentación de Música y Danza, Madrid.
All of the photographs were taken by the author unless otherwise indicated. Lyrics
and other translations are the author’s. I wish to thank my father Manuel Ruiz for the
artwork, my mother Isabel Ruiz for her literary knowledge, and Algora Publishing for
supporting my work once again.
Ana Ruiz
Montreal, 2007

t c
ableof ontents
foreword 1
1. early settlers 3
2. the moors 11
Founder of al-Andalus 15
Abd al Rahman II and III 16
The Taifa Rulers 19
The Last Muslim Dynasty 21
3. al-andalus 27
The Medina 27
The Zoco 28
Homes 31
Gardens 32
Clothing 33
Harems 34
The Hammam 35
4. the golden age 39
Jews of al-Andalus 43
Trade 45
Agriculture 46
Architecture 47
Astronomy/Astrology 47
The Founder of Andalusí Music 51