Former capital of the Caliphate of Córdoba, a Muslim kingdom that occupied southern Spain during the Middle Ages, Medina Azahara was one of the most opulent and beautiful cities of its time.

But ‘the shining city’ wouldn’t last for too long. Only 74 years after its construction, the Berbers from North Africa attacked and destroyed the city, which was soon abandoned and forgotten for centuries.

If you’re visiting Córdoba in Southern Spain, you can’t miss visiting this palatine city built by Abd El-Rahman III to become the new capital of Al-Andalus during its Golden Age. Check out this post to learn how to get from Córdoba to Medina Azahara and what to expect from your visit!

How to visit Medina Azahara from Córdoba

The distance between Córdoba and Medina Azahara is only 8 km, so the site is a must if you have at least a couple of days to spend in the city.

For such a historic site, I decided to book the half-day Medina Azahara guided tour from Córdoba. Most of what once the residence of the Caliph of Córdoba is now destroyed, so I consider it’s essential to visit with the explanations of a professional guide.

The half-day visit includes a fully guided tour of Medina Azahara, as well as a visit to the museum located in the visitor centre. There you can watch an extremely informative video about the history of Islamic Spain, and 3D guided reconstruction of the different sections of the city. Click here to watch it.

The tour has the option to start from Córdoba or join the guide directly at Medina Azahara. This second option may be most convenient if you already have a car. 

I didn’t have a car, so I started the tour from the Glorieta Cruz Roja bus stop (see map), located just across the Eurostar Palace Hotel in Córdoba. All buses to Medina Azahara depart from this point, so if you’re visiting on your own or without a guide, you will also need to take the bus here.

After a 20 minutes drive, we reached the visitor centre, where we met our guide. Her name was Azahara, we for sure wouldn’t forget it! 

Once the group was complete, we went into the visitor centre to register the group. Medina Azahara is free of charge for European citizens, but if you’re from outside the European Union, you’ll have to pay a symbolic entrance fee of €1,50. 

Private cars can’t reach the archaeological site, so all individual visitors and groups will need to take a shuttle bus to bring them there. The shuttle is included with the tour, but if you’ve reached the site on your own, a return ticket costs €2,50.

History of Medina Azahara

Back in the 10th century, southern Spain was ruled by the Muslims. This Emirate with the capital in Córdoba was a powerful Islamic Kingdom that occupied most of the Iberian Peninsula, the region that the Arabs called Al-Andalus.

Since the beginning of the 7th century, Al-Andalus had been part of the Umayyad Caliphate, with the capital in Damascus, Syria. This changed when the Umayyad were overthrown by the Abbasids in 750 and the Umayyad prince Abd ar-Rahman I left Syria and established an independent Emirate in Al-Andalus. Córdoba, its capital, soon became the most populous and prosperous city of its time.

In 929, his successor Abd al-Rahman III had gained enough power to declare himself Caliph of Córdoba, breaking all ties to the Fatimid and Abbasid caliphs and challenging their power. 

For his newly formed Caliphate, in 936 Abd ar-Rahman III started constructing a fortified palace-city only 8km away from Córdoba. It was called Medinat Az-Zahrat, “the shining city”. The new Caliph built Medina Azahara to impress, not only his subjects but also the international mandataries that very frequently had receptions with him. Medina Azahara became the most opulent and beautiful city of the time. 

In 1010, only 74 years after its foundation, Medina Azahara was completely destroyed by the Berbers during the fitna (civil war)of Al-Andalus, that caused the fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba and the division of the region into multiple smaller independent kingdoms, known as taifas. 

Medina Azahara was set on fire, looted and abandoned. Its ruins would later be used to build the new Christian temples after Córdoba was conquered by the Catholic King of Castile and Leon in 1236.

Today, only 10% of Medina Azahara has been excavated, mainly the area closer to the Alcázar. In 2018, the site was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Video: Medina Azahara, the shining city

What to see in Medina Azahara

Built on a series of terraces, in the highest area in Medina Azahara was located the Alcázar, where the shuttle bus from the visitor centre will drop you off. This palace housed the private residence of the Caliph, called the ‘dar al mulk’, or home of power. It also contained the administrative offices and grand reception halls.

From above, the Caliph had an overview of the city and the surrounding territory, a symbol of his power not only as ruler of Al-Andalus, but also as the representative of God on Earth and guide of the Muslim community. 

The Alcázar is accessed through the North Gate, located in the middle of the city wall. Here arrived the route known as Camino de los Nogales ('Walnut-tree Way'), the fastest road to reach Córdoba. It was used to transport all the supplies and building materials directly to the Alcázar. 

The gateway consists of a passage with several right-angled turns. This angled gate-passage system was used in Islamic military architecture to control access into the walled precincts. If you look at your feet, you’ll be able to see the wholes where the doors once stood. 

After the destruction of Medina Azahara, the hewn masonry blocks, known as ashlars, were looted until only the foundations remained. What we see today is a partial reconstruction carried out in the 1930s. 

The Upper Basilica Building housed the main administrative offices of the state. It is believed that the building was used as the headquarters of one of the administrative departments of the Caliph. It is decorated with simple materials, using plastered walls and arches with a mixture of lime and sand that are painted in white and ochre. 

It isn’t clear what the building was used for, as it isn’t mentioned in any historical sources. It was built in the basilica style, typical from public buildings. It has several longitudinal chambers or naves, separated by columns and arches in a single transverse chamber. 

It was most likely built at the end of the rule of Abd Al-Rahman III as part of his radical administrative reforms, so it probably had an administrative purpose. This is reinforced by the fact that, in addition to the building for the official functions, some additional chambers surround the courtyard where the lower administrative staff may have worked.

The visit continues descending the ramped street, where many important political events took place. The street was built down a slope and led from the official buildings on the Upper Terrace directly to the Great Portico. 

The street probably had a vaulted roof, and its pavement was suitable for horses. The palace officials and guards would line up along the sides of the ramp to welcome dignitaries as they followed the route from the Great Portico to the Alcazar. 

The Great Portico was the ceremonial entrance to the Alcázar. With fourteen open archways, its impressive design was meant to astonish visitors and foreign dignitaries. 

The large square on the side of the portico was used for military events, with rooms on two sides. The central arch had a balcony from where the Caliph himself would review his troops.

In the distance, you can also spot the ruins of the Aljama Mosque, which used to be connected directly to the Alcázar to allow the Caliph to pray without ever leaving the palace. 

One of the most impressive buildings that can be seen today in Medina Azahara is the House of Ya’far. This was the residence of Ya’far ibn Abd Al-Rahman, the hayib (Prime Minister) of the Caliphal State from 961 to 972. It was one of the most sumptuous and beautiful houses in the palace. 

The house consisted of a public area where Ya’far performed official duties and receptions. The entrance to the building was through the main doorway, covered in a stunning carved-stone decoration. 

The elaborate reliefs and the marble floor in the rooms suggest that Ya’far was a member of the political elite of the Ummayad State. The level of detail is truly jaw-dropping!

West of the House of Ya’far you can spot the House of the Pool, which receives its name because the structure was built around a central space with a pool and gardens. 

If you cross the main doorway in the House of Ya’far, you’ll reach the rooms that separated the official area from the hayib’s private quarters. 

It includes the private area with a large bedroom, as well as a private courtyard pave with violet limestone tiles. In the middle of the courtyard, you can see a marble basin into which water poured from a spout, most likely in the shape of an animal, that was placed on a pedestal. 

The next area that we visited was reserved for the servants’ quarters, where the domestic staff cooked for the important people living in the residence to the south. Kitchen work was overseen by a top palace official, who lived in the rooms at the far end of the courtyard.

The other rooms, arranged around the central courtyard, were used for kitchen work, as is evident from the oven still preserved. To ensure that the food for the Caliph didn’t get cold, there were additional ovens upstairs near the palace to keep the food warm.

The southern access to the palace was controlled from the guards’ quarters, originally designed as a causeway to lead to the western part of the royal residence.

On the left was the kitchen that catered for the guard’s quarter, which led to the living area in the upper terrace. As the area expanded, it was divided into more rooms. There also was an upper gallery supported on columns. The main function was to control access to the southern part of the Alcazar.

The visit finishes in the upper buildings. The most important part is the western wing, which had a residential function and comprises a large central room with a latrine at one of the sides.

On the other sides of the courtyard, the living area was divided into smaller rooms. It could only be accessed from the south, via a staircase that no longer exists.

From here you will also have incredible panoramic views of Medina Azahara, especially the House of Ya’far. You will really feel like a Caliph looking over the city!

After visiting the archaeological site, we slowly started walking back up to the main entrance. We had to wait for our shuttle just for a few minutes before heading back to the visitor centre, where our guide Azahara gave us a brief tour of the museum that was included in the half-day Medina Azahara guided visit from Córdoba.

The museum was inaugurated in 2009, and it houses some of the most important archaeological remains and objects found in the site, including items that belong to the Caliph or that where used in daily life. 

Here you can also find the wasp nest capitals that topped the columns of the city, a form of decoration exclusive to Medina Azahara. While you can find these type of carving elsewhere, like in the Mosque of Córdoba, these pieces were all taken from Medina Azahara after the destruction of the city.

The best part, however, is the 20-minute documentary that plays every half an hour. In a 3D reconstruction of the city, it walks you through all the different streets and houses that you’ve just seen in the archaeological site, giving you a much better idea of what the city looked like. Click here to watch it. 

If you’re travelling around southern Spain, Medina Azahara is an essential visit to fully understand what one day was Al-Andalus, from its golden age to the fall of the Caliphate.

Although the city may no longer be the magnificent complex of palaces that once admired subjects of the Caliph and foreign kings alike, its remains are witness to what once was one of the most opulent capital of the Middle Age.

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