Madinat al-Zahra is the magnificent palatine city that Caliph Abd al-Rahman III ordered to be built at the foot of the Sierra Morena mountains to project a powerful image of the newly created independent Caliphate of Córdoba. More than 10,000 men worked on its construction, using the best materials: marble, precious metals, tiles, polychrome stones…
It was organised into three large stepped terraces surrounded by a wall. In the upper part was the Royal Alcazar, where the private quarters of the monarch and his family were grouped together; in the middle part was the bureaucratic and administrative area of the palace, with halls and gardens for audiences and receptions; the lower part was reserved for the dwellings of the people, as well as the souk and the mosque.
The most beautiful feature of the palace is the famous Rich Hall, which had arches of ivory and ebony, jasper, gold and precious stones, and a mercury fountain that reflected the sun’s rays in a thousand different shades. In 1010, after seven decades of existence, Medina Azahara was destroyed and sacked by the Berbers, who reduced most of this fabulous city to ashes.
The new Institutional Headquarters and Integral Management Area of the Archaeological Ensemble of Madinat al-Zahra is a cultural infrastructure that provides services to the Archaeological Ensemble and to society in general. It is a space for socio-cultural revitalisation, which receives and promotes activities that contribute to extending knowledge of the archaeological site of Madinat al-Zahra and culture in general.
English 
Spanish