


more sevilla. so the city was a major center in al-andalus under muslim rule from 711 to 1248 CE. hence the gorgeous tiles and mosaics, arches and minarets, courtyards and fountains. the excessive catholic presence in every bit of the old city seems to be pushback against this history. some of it is quite literal, e. g. the almohad mosque was converted into the seville cathedral – its bell tower (the giralda) used to be the minaret of the old mosque. i felt this pushback in portugal too, where i was told by a well-read guide that the arab history portugal claims has nothing to do with present day arabs (they are the descendants of the same arabs he so admires of course) and where a younger guide who took me to sintra and cascais couldn’t stop fawning over the knights templar because they saved portugal (by massacring muslims). feels like a bizarre fragmentation of collective identity