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We know that Muslims occupied Spain for a really long time. What are some influenced Arabs left on Spanish food, language, arts and etc?
07-19-2021, 02:16 PM
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Having gone from Spain to Morocco on the same trip(November to December 2017), there really isn't much if any connections. Kind of bewildering in such extremely close proximity. Visiting Castles in Spain, then going to those Nargile lounges smoke nightlife bars in Morocco. A real question of wondering or understanding real parallels. Latinized writing toالكتابة اللاتينية إلى. Reminds me of Italy to Tunisia.
There are many symbols in Spain left by the Arabs, but these things are so incorporated into Spanish culture that it may seem that it ian't there. It's not that it isn't there, because often enough its staring at you in most places you go in Spain. Rather you don't know what to look for, hence you don't notice it even when it's right in front of you.
For example, there are plenty of arches in traditional Spanish architecture/buildings. They are mostly from Arab origin. Before the Arab invasion, which lasted about 800 years, there was hardly any arches incorporated into buildings in Spain. When you look at Spanish Colonial architecture in Latin America, there comes the prep9nderance of arches too.
A dish from Spain, and present in every country in Spanish America, is "moros y cristianos." The two main ingredients is white rice and black beans. Moros is a short way to refer to moriscos or the Moors/Morish. That's how the Arabs were known during the invasion. The black beans represents the moros and the white rice the cristianos or the Christians, aka the Spanish. Even though this plate is present in Spain and in Spanish America, there could be variation in its name. For example, in Cuba they call it as it's known in Spain as "moros y cristianos," but in the Dominican Republic the same plate is known simply as "moro."
The Alhambra is probably the most beautiful palace built by the Arabs in Spain. Currently, it's a major tourist spot near Granada in Andalusia, Spain. Notice many aspects of its architecture now are part of traditional Spanish architecture, but in fact it was taken to Spain by the Arabs and incorporated in Arab buildings such as this magnificent palace.
The main cathedral of Cordoba originally was a mosque built by the Arabs, one of the most spectacular mosques in Europe at the time of their invasion. You can see the Arab influence in the entire building.
For example, there are plenty of arches in traditional Spanish architecture/buildings. They are mostly from Arab origin.
So true; Greeks and Romans - who for centuries since at least the 300s BC lived in closed proximity to, and even right on top of, Semitic-speaking peoples - knew nothing about arches in monumental buildings.
So true; Greeks and Romans - who for centuries since at least the 300s BC lived in closed proximity to, and even right on top of, Semitic-speaking peoples - knew nothing about arches in monumental buildings.
Bale, this doesn't sound right.
Not that I know much about the Moors ( or Spain in general,) but when I looked at that Cordoba Mosque, ( that was built in 785 according to the wiki, then immediately Hagia Sophia in Byzantium came to mind.
And that one was built in 537.
Not only that, but going back to that Northern African region, this is what I see -
" In 647 CE, 40,000 Arabs forced the Byzantine governor of northern Africa to submit and pay tribute, but failed to permanently occupy the region.[31] After an interlude, during which the Muslims fought a civil war, the invasions resumed in 665, seizing Byzantine North Africa up to Bugia over the course of a series of campaigns, lasting until 689. A Byzantine counterattack largely expelled the Arabs but left the region vulnerable."
So here Byzantine Empire ( to which this region apparently belonged back in history) pops up again, and Hagia Sophia was built in the capital of it, Constantinople of course.
Islam came to the region of the Northern Africa later; and be that Arabs or Turks that were spreading it, both were claiming then the achievements of the previous, more advanced civilizations as their own after the conquests, be that Persia or Byzantium.
So then going back to that Cordoba mosque ( that was built after Hagia Sophia with all its arches) - what am I missing here?
The extensive use of arches is pretty much the defining feature of (ancient) Roman architecture.
Yes, but the Spaniards didn't use the arches as when the Arabs arrived, similar to there were wheels in several Amerindian civilizations in the Americas. They never used it to move things until the Spanish arrived, but rather as a sort of toy for kids. Poor workers, had to drag those stones by pushing and pulling them.
There are several ruins in Spain that date back to the Roman Empire (and they were often designed by Romans instead of Spaniards), including an aqueduct full of arches. That doesn't changes that the Spanish didn't used it until the Arabs arrived.
Ironically, the Renaissance period started shortly after the Spaniards found the Americas in 1492. I say ironically because until then the use of Roman rules for building cities was recently discovered. Hence, all cities in Europe including the Spanish ones were Medeival with their lack of planning. It was first put to use when the Spaniards were planning to build Santo Domingo, which was the first European city in the Americas. The use of a street grid with streets being straight and meeting on right angles and such, the positioning of certain buildings such as the main church, city hall, etc around the main square, etc greatly improved how cities look. In the 1500's it was applied to every city the Spanish built in the Americas, but Europe lagged behind and it was the principal reason why Santo Domingo impressed every Europes that arrived. Many describe the city as the most beautiful city in the world and superior to any city in Europe, it was due to basically applying urban rules rediscovered from the Roman Empire. For whatever reason, the Europeans had ignored and forgotten the Roman way of doing things during the eras such as the Middle Ages. In fact, renaissance actually means 'reborn' of sorts. The use of classical architecture and Roman invented columns, such as the Corynthian types, became used again while they were 'forgotten' for so long after the fall of the Roman Empire.
Last edited by AntonioR; 07-20-2021 at 12:09 PM..
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