The visit to the mosque finally elucidated something I had been struggling to understand during our stay in Southern Spain. At the Alhambra in Granada, the austere Palacio de Carlos V seemed out of place in its fanciful Islamic surroundings. Western architectural elements, like Doric columns and statues, were clumsily incorporated into the landscape of the Alcazar in Sevilla. And now a chapel bearing the crucified body of Jesus Christ was plunked down in the middle of the prayer hall at the Mezquita in Cordoba.
If the Spaniards were so intent on purging the Arab presence, why retain (and in some cases improve) these foreign structures? Would it not have been a constant reminder to the people of their inability to defend their country for nearly eight centuries? Or was it an acceptance that the Moorish influence will always be part of the Spanish DNA? From food to language, appearance to surname, music to fashion.
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