The Aljama Mosque of Medina Azahara
Historical accounts report that this was one of the first buildings completed during the construction of the city of Medina Azahara.
By Conjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
Conjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
3D Reconstruction of Medina Azahara MosqueConjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
From the outside, it resembles a fortress, with rectangular buttresses on its side walls and square buttresses at the building's corners.
Composite capital (944 - 945 AD.)Conjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
The capitals used in this mosque are all identical, both in terms of the material used—white limestone—and in terms of style, with all of them marked with a shallow carving.
This motif is known as the palmette, and is typical of the nature-inspired decorative features of Medina Azahara.
Composite capital (944 - 945 AD.)Conjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
The building has a rectangular floor divided into a chapel with five naves and a courtyard with galleries on three of its sides.
Composite capital (944 - 945 AD.)Conjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
Its minaret was quadrangular from the outside and octagonal on the inside, and was located in the gallery of the courtyard, next to the west gate.
Composite capital (944 - 945 AD.)Conjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
The building style and features of the mosque of Medina Azahara reflect those used in the Great Mosque of Cordoba.
Geometric motifs decoration recovery in excavationsConjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
The Mosque of Medina Azahara was excavated in 1964 by Félix Hernández and Basilio Pavón Maldonado.
Drawing of blind decorative arcadeConjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
This drawing of a blind arch was salvaged during the archiving of material.
Segment of decorative blind arcade (944 - 945 AD.)Conjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
This plasterwork, with its decorative motifs inspired by nature, is present in various parts of the building, such as in these minaret archways.
Corner merlon (944 - 945 AD.)Conjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
The Caliph accessed the Aljama Mosque from one of the corners of the high garden using the "sabat" (sheltered walkway), a three-arched bridge.
Merlon (944 - 945 AD.)Conjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
The battlements were situated along the perimeter walls at the front of the building, the front entrance, the wall between the courtyard and the chapel, and the minaret.
Drawing of merlon recovery in archaeological worksConjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
Drawing by Basilio Pavón Maldonado, 1964.
Corner merlon (944 - 945 AD.)Conjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
The mosque sits outside the Medina complex, with a 3.5 m-wide walkway around its perimeter that is accessible from the street by a double staircase.
Fragments of epigraphic frieze (944 - 945 AD.)Conjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra
Part of this quotation from the Koran refers to the following verses: "Blessed is He who, if He willed, could have made for you [something] better than that—gardens beneath which rivers flow—and could make for you palaces."
The Aljama Mosque of Medina Azahara
Organised by:
Conjunto Arqueológico Madinat al-Zahra
Consejería de Cultura de la Junta de Andalucía
Curated by José Escudero Aranda.
Texts: Andrés García Cortes y Jesús M. Muñoz Díaz.
Photography: Manuel Pijuán.
Digital Edition: Jesús M. Muñoz Díaz.
Conjunto Arqueológico Madinat al-Zahra.
