Legacy of the Moors
Between 711 and 1492, Andalucía spent nearly eight centuries under North African influence and reminders flicker on every street, from the palatial Alhambra to the tearooms and bathhouses of Córdoba and Málaga.
Teterías
Andalucía’s caffeine lovers hang around in exotic teterías, Moorish-style tearooms that carry a whiff of Marrakech or even Cairo in their ornate interiors. Calle Calderería Nueva in Granada’s Albayzín is where the best stash is hidden, but they have proliferated in recent years; now even Torremolinos has one! Look out for dimly lit, cushion-filled, fit-for-a-sultan cafes where pots of herbal tea accompanied by plates of Arabic sweets arrive at your table on a silver salver.
Andalucian Bathhouses
Sitting somewhere between a Western spa and a Moroccan hammam, Andalucía’s bathhouses retain enough old-fashioned elegance to satisfy a latter-day emir with a penchant for Moorish-era opulence. You can recline in candlelit subterranean bliss sipping mint tea, and experience the same kind of bathing ritual – successive immersions in cold, tepid and hot bathwater – as the Moors did. Seville, Granada, Almería, Córdoba and Málaga all have excellent Arabic-style bathhouses, with massages also available.
Architecture
The Alhambra was undoubtedly the pinnacle of Moorish architectural achievement in Andalucía, but there are many other buildings in the region that draw inspiration from the rulers of Al-Andalus. Sometimes the influences are obvious. At others, hybrid buildings constructed in Mudéjar or neo-Moorish styles hint at former Nasrid glories: an ornate wooden ceiling, geometric tile patterns, or an eruption of stucco. Granada is the first stop for Moorish relics, closely followed by Málaga, Córdoba, Almería, Seville and Las Alpujarras.
Cuisine
Spain’s cuisine, particularly in Andalucía, draws heavily upon the food of North Africa where sweet spicy meat and starchy couscous are melded with Mediterranean ingredients. The Moors introduced many key ingredients into Spanish cooking: saffron, used in paella; almonds, used in Spanish desserts; and aubergines, present in the popular Andalucian tapa, berenjenas con miel de caña (aubergines with molasses). If you’d prefer the real thing, there are plenty of pure Moroccan restaurants in Andalucía, especially in Granada and Tarifa.
MOORISH HIGHLIGHTS
Córdoba Mezquita, Madina Azahara
Seville Giralda, Torre del Oro
Málaga Alcazaba, Castillo de Gibralfaro
Almería Alcazaba
Las Alpujarras Berber-style houses in the village of Capileira