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Andalusia When It Was...
By Maryam Noor Beig
Al-Andalus, which means, "to become green at the end of the summer" is referred to the territory occupied by the Muslim empire in Southern Spain, which refer to the cities of Almeria, Malaga, Cadiz, Huelva, Seville, Cordoba, Jaen and Granada. 1 This civilization spanned the eighth to the fifteenth century. In 711, Arabs crossed the Straight of Gibraltar (derived from 'Gabal Al-Tariq': 'Mountain of Tariq') and established control over much of the Iberian Peninsula. 2 Of the Arab conquest, Muslims called the area of the Iberian Peninsula they occupied, "Al-Andalus." This land called Al-Andalus, hence often called "Andalusia" had at one point included Portugal, Southern France, and the Balearic Islands. Within 3 years, in 714, Muslims had occupied almost all the peninsula. Muslims crossed to Sicily and established control there for 130 years, until Muslim rule fell in 1091 to the Normans. Muslims also established rule in parts of France, but they were soon defeated by Charles Martel in 756, in which remains today one of the greatest victories for Christian Europe for bringing a halt to Islam's expansion. The Muslims who arrived and settled in Andalus were called "Moors," ('dark') a corrupt and negative term referring to the people who came from Morocco. They themselves, however, did not use the term to refer to themselves. Continue reading at:
http://www.hispanicmuslims.com/andalusia/andalusia.html
Spain, Andalusia
Feb 11-15th
5
day tour
SCHEDULE:
Itinerary for Al Andalus, Spain.
Spanish 5 days & 3 cities tour.
Saturday:
We will be flying from Luton airport to Malaga in Spain.
From there we will be taken by luxury coach to Seville, one night stay. Visit the amazing sights by night and day.
Tour Alcázar of Seville and Seville Cathedral.
See the Giralda which is the former minaret of the mosque that stood on the site under Muslim rule, and was built to resemble the minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech, Morocco.
So much to do there, river cruise, horse carriage tour, cycle tour, or just relax and walk.
Sunday:
Next to Cordoba, another beautiful steeped in Islamic history, definitely transports you back in time in the most wonderful way. Tour the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, the name says it all.
Take a walk around the Jewish area.
Excellent halal food and the friendliness will make you love this city even more. One night stay in Cordoba.
Monday:
Granada.
Settle into the hotel.
See the town centre.
Have a coffee in town with the locals.
Free time in the evening.
Tuesday:
Start the day with an extensive guided tour of Al Hambra palace, 2nd most visted site after Eifel Towers.
We will spend the late afternoon watching the sun go down from the Granada masjid.
Meet the local muslims.
We will eat delicious local home cooked food.
From this Masjid (1st purpose built masjid in 500 years). we will take in the best view of Granada.
We will end the night in this Muslim quarter, Al Baycin with a review of our tour.
Free time in the late evening.
Wednesday:
We return to Malaga for our journey back home.
We will be staying in 3 different cities over the five days.
All the transportation, accommodation, dinner(100%halal) and breakfast at the hotels.
You will experience not just the history but the adventure and love with this group as we travel to the Andalusian territory where the golden age of Islam was at its peak.
So come and join us on this beautiful journey to create your own memories.
Historian and scholars always at hand to answer your questions.