Andalusia [antikvár]

II I Andalusia — Europe's Orient Cádiz — cnchanling clarity, Granada, a weeping river wreathed in mystery, Roman and Moorish Córdoba cloaked in silence. Singing Málaga, Golden Almería, Jaén, glistening silver, Huelva, a shore lined with caravels, and — Seville. (Antonio Machado) Andalusia, transl'lgured in 19th-cenlury gtiidebooks as "Europe's Orient," has a uniqueness in lis an and culture incomparable to anywhere else on earth. This uniqueness results from it being located where several very different civilizations meet. From earliest times, this area has always been the gateway through which conquerors from many different countries have reached Spain. Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Celts, Romans, Visigoths, Berbers, and Arabs have all invaded the country, mingling with the original population and leaving their vestiges behind ihem. This is where several prehistoric cultures originated, it is where the legendary realm of Tartessos was located, and where Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians set up centers of trade. Under the Romans the province, called Baelica, was firsl governed as a unified whole, and they imposed a Granada, The Alhambra, Sala de los Reyes civilization and infrastructure whose influences are still felt today. Further, they brought in an official language: Latin. Andalusia has the Vandals to thank for its name. The Vandals, along with migrating Alanl and Suevi, roamed the country plundering and laying waste. Al-(V)andaluz (land of the Vandals) was what the Arabs later called it. Under the Visigoths Christianity became the state religion. The greatest impact on the country was made by the almost 800 years of Arab rule, during which Andalusia experienced not only its political and cultural high-points but also its most lasting influence. In the cities of Andalusia the Moslem conquerors established great mosques and universities, as well as schools and libraries open to the public, all of which helped Andalusia develop into one of the great intellectual centers of Europe. It is thanks to Arab scholars that classical philosophy and culture were preserved and developed. Here also were laid the foundations of modern scientific disciplines, such as medicine, physics, geography, mathematics, and astronomy. Music and poetry were regarded highly at royal courts. Arts and handicrafts, all of which can still point to Arabic or Islamic origins, were strongly encouraged. Thanks to a complex method of irrigation, a variety of canal-systems, windmills, water wheels, and recently introduced varieties of crops.