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Madinat al-Zahra was the palace city built by Abd al-Rahman III, the first caliph of Córdoba, at the foot of the Sierra Morena about 8 km west of the city.…
Madinat al-Zahra was the palace city built by Abd al-Rahman III, the first caliph of Córdoba, at the foot of the Sierra Morena about 8 km west of the city. Work began between 936 and 940 and continued under his son al-Hakam II, and the city held the caliph's reception halls, a congregational mosque, government offices, houses for the court, gardens, a mint, workshops and baths, with water brought in by aqueduct. It was sacked and abandoned in the civil strife that ended the caliphate in the early eleventh century, and much of its stone was taken away for building elsewhere. The excavated part of the city climbs the hillside in terraces, and its highlights include the Salón Rico, the great reception hall of Abd al-Rahman III with its carved stone decoration, and the remains of the mosque. A visitor centre with a museum stands below the ruins, with a shuttle bus up to the site, and buses also run from the city. Madinat al-Zahra was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018.