Architectural Styles

    Moorish

    Alt names / subperiods 

    Timeline

    Distinguishing Features

    Geographic Presence

    Western Islamic

    Mudejar style

    Umayyad  

    Caliphate of Córdoba (929-1031)

    Almoravid and Almohad dynasties

     

    Wikipedia

     

    8th C-15th C

    • Mix of Roman, Byzantine, and Persian styles,
    • horseshoe arches (wide base & narrow top)
    • elaborate geometric patterns, on walls and ceilings in tiles (azulejos)
    • plaster work
    • Large Domes and Minarets,
    • Arabic calligraphy featuring Quranic verses or poetic texts
    • decorative “stalactite-like” corbels to domes & arches (Muqarnas)
    • courtyards (patios)
    • often with lush gardens
    • fountains
    • pools
    • intricate mosaic tilework (Zellige)
    • cloisters
    • arcaded walkways
    • domes
    • vaulted ceilings
    • filtered light thru screens
    • thick fortified walls
    • Spain
    • Portugal
    • North Africa
    • Middle East

    Common Building Types

    Landmark buildings

    Historic Accommodation Types

    Accommodation Examples

    • Mosques
    • Palaces
    • Fortresses
    • Public Baths (Hammams)
    • Alhambra (Granada)
    • Great Mosque of Córdoba
    • Palacio de los Reyes Católicos (Alhambra)
    • Alcázar of Seville
    • Giralda Seville
    • Mosque of Ibn Tulun Cairo
    • Palace of the Aljafería Zaragoza
    • Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca Toledo
    • Castle of Gormaz Soria
    • Funduq (urban merchant inn)
    • Khan / caravanserai (route inns)
    • Ribāṭ (fortified lodge / religious-military hostel)
    • Mosque-adjacent hospitality
    • Sufi lodges (zāwiya) communal rooms
    • Waqf-funded hostels and charitable lodging
    • Private hospitality networks
    • Bathhouses (hammams) — not standard lodging
    • Albergues (hostels associated with Christian Iberia and pilgrimage-route lodging (e.g., Camino-style hostels).

    Funduq / alhóndiga (urban merchant inn + warehouse)

    • Corral del Carbón (Granada)
    • Alcaicería-linked merchant lodging zones (Granada)

    Urban khan-style courtyard merchant inns – Andalusi cities

     

    Ribāṭ-type coastal/frontier lodges – Iberian frontiers

     

    Charitable lodging (waqf-supported hostels) -Morocco/Egypt/Syria.

    Landmarks

    Original Accommodation

    Adapted Visitor Accommodation

     

    Parador de Granada

    Address

    (former Royal Nasrid Palace Guesthouse)

    Website