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The Aljaferìa palace was build in the second half of the 11th century...
...as a summer residence for the Muslim Taifa king Abu Jafar al Muqtadir.
Jafar called it his palace of joy.
It's the only conserved testimony of a large building of Spanish Islamic Architecture of the era of the Taifas.
Between 711 and the 15th century vast parts of Spain were under Muslim occupation.
Today the palace contains the Cortes, the regional parliament of the autonomous community of Aragon.
Alfonso I of Aragon had captured Zaragoza in 1118 from the Muslims and made the Aljeferia the residence of the Christian Kings of the Kingdom of Aragon.
The Troubadour Tower is the oldest construction of the Aljaferia. The tower is a defensive structure dating back to the 9th century.
The Aljaferia is located on flat land as opposed to the majority of the castles of the time.
Access to the inside is via only one door situated between two fortified towers.
Zaragoza was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon which also owned territories in Greece, Italy and France.
For some time the Aragon King also held the title of King of Valencia and King of Majorca.
The arrows and the yoke tied with the Gordian knot were the symbol of Isabel and Fernando.
Isabel and Fernando, known as Catholic Monarchs, completed the Christian Reconquista by forcing the last Muslim ruler Boabdil to surrender Granada and leave European soil.
Still one of my favorite books, written 400 years ago bei Miguel de Cervantes.
This portico was restored with the reinstallation of quite a few original capitals from the provincial museum of fine arts in Zaragoza.
The main door opens in in the shape of a horseshoe arch to a fine little mosque.
Above we see a frieze with interwined arches a style suggestive of Cordoba.
The Spanish Inquisition was established by the Catholic Monarchs we already mentioned, Ferdinand and Isabel, in 1478.
It was not abolished until 1834. The Inquisition also resided in the Aljaferia, but I couldn't find information about this period.
The building has a number of artistic styles, a result of the diverse uses to which it has been put.
From Muslim Palace of Joy to chatholic stronghold to military base.
In the 18th and 19th century the Aljaferia underwent so called renovations to convert large parts of the building into barracks.
Copyright for the information presented in this video mainly by Wikipedia and tourist information broshures of the city of Zaragoza.
Non-profit and non-professional project by MaxwellsDemon2000