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ANDALUSIA, SPAIN
It’s known as the Mudéjar style, an exotic
architectural hybrid that gilds the Roman-
esque and Gothic restraint of southern
Europe with the exuberance and intricacies
of Islamic art. Nowhere is it more beauti-
fully realized than in honey-stoned Seville,
Spanish now but a Moorish vassal for five
centuries until 1248. When the Muslims left,
their influence remained, infusing the city’s
buildings for centuries afterward and creat-
ing a dazzling, city-size monument to the
marriage of Islam and Christianity.
DON’T MISS
The Islamic influence on Seville’s architecture can be
best seen in the Alcázar, formerly a Moorish fortress
and now a royal palace, and in the cathedral, which
was begun in 1401 but incorporates many elements
from a former mosque on the site.
The Museo Arqueológico (above) and Los Baños de
Doña María de Padilla (right) in the Alcázar palace
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C I T I E S & B E YO N D
seville