Casa Árabe is presenting “Medina Al Andalus,” a cultural theme park aimed at the union and peaceful co-existence of the three cultures. The construction of this project, directed by Manuel Saavedra, with the involvement of professionals from different academic and social backgrounds, has been planned in northern Morocco, and more specifically in the region of Tangier.

The event will be presided over by Eduardo López Busquets, the General Director of Casa Árabe, and will include speeches by Manuel Saavedra, the Medina Al Andalus project director; María Jesús Viguera, a professor of the Department of Arab and Islamic Studies at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid; Rachid El Hour, a professor of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Salamanca, and Jorge Laguna, an engineer and the director of Ceta 2, an engineering consultation firm.

The stages of the “Medina Al Andalus” Cultural Theme Park project have been completed as expected in the plan oriented towards its construction. The Medina Al Andalus team, made up of professionals from different academic and social backgrounds, have been working hard for months on a study for this Cultural Theme Park project which will attempt to explain what the culture of Al-Andalus meant in its era, providing a chronological tour throughout its history, while describing its transcendence and repercussions on different locations on the Iberian Peninsula, in North Africa and in the Near East.

The main goal of this project is to act as a meeting point between two worlds, and to relive a historical era which served as an example for the co-existence of all peoples, with no distinction between races, ethnicities or religions. The project director, Manuel Saavedra, is a professional with great experience in staging themed projects, who has taken part in the construction and contents of many pavilions (Expo ‘92 in Seville, Port Aventura, Isla Mágica, Terra Mítica and the Warner Bros. Theme Park in Madrid), as well as carrying out other unique projects both inside and outside of Spain.

Now he has set out to meet the challenge of turning this project into a reality. It could become an icon for sustainable and strategic development in Spain and Morocco by highlighting the value of the shared history of these two peoples, updated using replicas of the immense heritage which has been handed down to us by the culture of Al-Andalus. All of this is aimed at strengthening a framework of relations for co-existence and harmony between both parties, seeking out an amicable meeting point and ongoing peace through culture. The park will consist of five different sections, four dedicated to reproducing the most important monuments of the Umayyad Emirate and Caliphate, the Taifa Kingdoms, the North African Almoravid and Almohad dynasties, and finally the Nasrid dynasty of Granada, all perfectly linked to each other by a walkway known as the "The Path of History," which will make it possible to visualize the changes in the culture of Al-Andalus. Included as a permanent shared nexus will be a representation of the emblematic Al-Andalus Souk, an immaterial world heritage treasure and essential element in the social and cultural development of the civilization which we shared in that era. The four historical sections will be connected to a large Amusement Park, that will be of a level and dimensions similar to the most important theme parks in the world. This will put the park on the itinerary of major theme park visitors.
 
Project presentation information sheet