Dictionary of islamic architecture

See also:
Algeria
Toledo
City in central Spain famous as first Arab capital of Spain
and later major Islamic and Christian city,
Toledo was the capital of the Visigoths until its
capture in 712 CE by the Arabs, who used the city as
their capital until they moved to Córdoba in 717. The
city remained an important frontier city until its
capture by the Christians in 1085, and even after this
Muslims and Jews continued to make important
contributions to the intellectual life of the city with
translations of scientific treatises.
Despite its fairly early conquest by the Christians,
substantial remains of the Islamic period are still
standing, together with some notable examples of
Mudéjar architecture. The walls of the city contain
many early sections including the Bab al-Qantara (
c.
850) which is thought to be the earliest use of a bent
entrance in Spanish fortifications. Access to this gate
is via a bridge known as the Puente de Alcantara (866–
71) which has a magnificent high-sprung central arch
similar to those of Seljuk bridges in Anatolia. Probably
the most famous gate of the city is the Old Bisagra
Gate (also known as Puerta de Alfonso VI) through
which El Cid entered the city in 1085. The gate is a
monumental structure built out of huge uneven blocks
near the ground and smaller pieces of coursed rubble
near the top. The gateway is flanked by two blind
niches with pointed horseshoe arches resting on
engaged columns. The gateway itself is recessed
behind a wide arched machicolation and consists of a
round horseshoe arch with a huge stone lintel
spanning the width between the two imposts.
Within the city there are several important
religious buildings which are Cristo de la Luz
(mosque of Bab al-Mardum), Santa María La Blanca
(a former synagogue), the Sinagoga del Transito and
the cathedral. The mosque of Bab al-Mardum is a
nine-domed mosque with a raised central dome built
in 999. Originally there were triple entrances on three
sides with a mihrab on the south side. Three of the
outer faces are made of brick and decorated with a
band of Kufic inscriptions, below which is a
geometric panel above decorative intersecting round
horseshoe arches.
The church of Santa María La Blanca was built as
a synagogue in 1250 and contains four rows of arches
supported on octagonal brick piers with capitals
decorated with fir cones and punctuate scrolls. More
well known is the Sinagoga del Transito built in 1357
during the reign of Pedro the Cruel. The building is
lavishly decorated with carved plaster and
woodwork, with Arabic and Hebrew inscriptions
and coloured tiles. The cathedral of Toledo was once
the Great Mosque of the city and possibly contains
the remains of a large Córdoba-style mihrab, now
the octagonal chapel of Ildefonso.