Medieval Madrid: A Guide to the City’s Muslim Past

Madrid’s Islamic heritage comes alive in its oldest neighbourhoods’ winding streets. On this walking tour, you’ll see medieval walls, hidden towers, and forgotten sites that tell the story of Mayrit – Madrid’s original Arabic name. Starting at the Monument to Felipe IV in Plaza de Oriente, you’ll peel back layers of history to reveal the fascinating Muslim foundations of Europe’s only capital city to be founded by an Islamic ruler. You’ll see grand royal monuments and the underground archaeological Remains of the Tower of Bones. And you’ll learn how a ninth-century Muslim ruler established a watchtower that would evolve into the modern metropolis, and how subsequent Christian kings attempted to obscure this inconvenient historical truth. As you make your way to the charming Plaza de los Carros where the tour ends, you’ll wander through the charming cobblestone streets of the former Morería (Muslim quarter). You’ll explore how Christians, Muslims, and Jews coexisted through centuries of shifting power dynamics, leaving their mark on everything from architecture and art to language and cuisine. On this 90-minute walk through Madrid’s overlooked medieval heritage, you’ll have the chance to: • Visit Madrid’s oldest church, San Nicolás el Real (the church of Saint Nicholas), whose tower displays the distinctive horseshoe arches and architectural elements borrowed from mosques • Trace the impressive medieval walls of both Muslim Mayrit and Christian Madrid, built of flint, giving rise to part of the city’s motto: ”My walls are made of fire” • Take in the hidden Plaza de Alamillo, once the gathering place for the self-governing Muslim community after the Christian conquest • See the former Morería district, where Madrid’s Muslim population continued to live and work after the Christian reconquest • Learn how Muslim artisans shaped Madrid’s architecture through the distinctive Mudéjar style, still visible in surviving medieval towers • Stroll through the historic Garden of the Prince of Anglona, restored with elements of both Roman and Andalusian garden design • Find traces of underground qanats (waterways) that gave Madrid its name, reflecting the advanced hydraulic engineering of its Muslim founders By the end of this Madrid tour, you’ll see how the city’s Islamic roots continue to influence its present, from its architecture and urban layout, to its cuisine and even its language.

Price: £7.99 from VoiceMap