Conferences and debates

Index / Activities / Conferences and debates / A view from Qurtuba

A view from Qurtuba

From November 08, 2018 until December 12, 20187:30 p.m.
CÓRDOBA
Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Samuel de los Santos Gener, 9). 7:30 p.m. Free entry until the event’s capacity is reached.
In Spanish.

During the months of November and December, Casa Árabe’s headquarters in Cordoba is hosting a series of conferences titled “Innovations in Archeology on Al-Andalus: A view from Qurtuba,” coordinated by Professor Desiderio Vaquerizo, of the University of Cordoba.

The city of Cordoba is one of the most important, complete and complex living archeological sites in the Western Mediterranean, with a timeline lasting from at least the Copper Age to the modern day. Two main periods can be highlighted as forming part of this long journey across time: the Roman era (2nd century BC-5th century AD) and the Islamic era (8th-13th centuries), periods when it played the role of a capital city and held a decisive place in politics and the power balances of the times.

During each of these periods, Cordoba also stood out because of its size, its monumental nature and its special urban features, which archeology has gradually revealed in recent decades, especially through large interventions,both urgent and preventive, as a result of the recent real estate boom and the university research which that boom led to. Thanks to all of this, we now know that Islamic Cordoba was a complex city undergoing constant change, that it reached its greatest splendor during the tenth century, when the croplands, outer boroughs and cemeteries associated with one another greedily stretched around the city until forming a true metropolis, governed by anciently rooted classical guidelines not deciphered until recently. The decisive factors involved therein held enormous importance in the expression of power, religion and pious works.

As the capital of Al-Andalus and the seat of emirs and caliphs, Cordoba also held great material and ideological influence throughout the territory, which always viewed it with respect, a desire for emulation or a thirst for rivalry.
 
Given this state of affairs, in line with the commitment that Casa Árabe has made since it was founded towards the city and its Islamic past, with the invaluable backing of the Art, Archeology and History Association of Cordoba, which has done so much for its city’s past, we understand that the time has come, in a new example of inter-institutional cooperation, to present a few of the most interesting advancements achieved by archeology with regard to the period of Al-Andalus; to reflect from outside on the importance of the classical world on the city, on its ability to spread influence in terms of certain forms of urban design and architectural and ideological constructs, and, last of all, on the marks which all of this may have potentially left behind on today’s city. This is the reason behind the series of conferences, which may be continued in the future with later editions, ultimately intended to increase awareness amongst the people about the developments achieved in knowledge about the great paradigms in the historical city which is now Córdoba.

A view from Qurtuba
Thursday, November 8 - 7:30 p.m.
Opening conference: Food and diet in Al-Andalus
Prof. Dr. Desiderio Vaquerizo Gil, Professor and Dept. Head of Archeology, Sísifo Research Group, University of Cordoba

Saturday, November 10
Theme Tour: Qurtuba, capital of Al-Andalus

Tuesday, November 13 - 7:30 p.m.
Transformation of the Islamic city through its Alcázar: Seville as a laboratory
Prof. Dr. Miguel Ángel Tabales Rodríguez, Professor and Dept. Head of Architectural Constructions, University of Seville

Wednesday, November 14 - 7:30 p.m.
Cordoba’s medina: the perpetual city
Prof. Dr. Alberto León Muñoz, Tenured Professor of Archeology, Sísifo Research Group, University of Cordoba

Saturday, November 17
Theme Tour: Water in Islamic Qurtuba

Tuesday, November 20 - 7:30 p.m.
The endurance of Roman law in the Islamic city’s urbanism: the mosque of Bad al-Mardum in Toledo
Prof. Dr. Fernando Valdés Fernández, Tenured Professor of Archeology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Wednesday, November 21 - 7:30 p.m.
The role of religion on the urban structure of Umayyad capitals
Dr. Carmen González Gutiérrez, Sísifo Research Group, University of Cordoba

Saturday, November 24
Theme Tour: Fortresses for uncertain times Late Islamic Qurtuba

Tuesday, November 27 - 7:30 p.m.
The Almohads and Qurtuba’s renaissance in the twelfth century
Dr. Rafael Blanco Guzmán, Sísifo Research Group, University of Cordoba

Wednesday, November 28 - 7:30 p.m.
The architecture of Cordoba’s Umayyads and how it spread to the periphery of Al-Andalus
Dr. Pedro Gurriarán Daza, Architect. Yamur S.L.

Saturday, December 1
Theme Tour: The mosques of Qurtuba

Tuesday, December 4 - 7:30 p.m.
Urbanism of the caliph’s outer boroughs in Qurtuba using water
Dr. Belén Vázquez Navajas, Sísifo Research Group, University of Cordoba

Tuesday, December 1 - 7:30 p.m.
Innovations in urban archeology on Islamic Qurtuba
Mr. Rafael Clapés (Archeologist) and Manuel Cobo (Archeologist with the company Salsum)

Wednesday, December 12 - 7:30 p.m.
Closing event:  From Martulah to Mértola: History, archeology and heritage at a living archeological site
Dr. Susana Gómez Martínez, Universidade do Algarve - Archeological Site of Mértola