All translations from the Spanish are my own, unless otherwise noted. The drawings in the chapter on Islamic tiles are my own, with the exception of the two drawings with seven circles, one with a square drawn around the center circle and the other with a hexagon drawn to connect the vertices of the six circles surrounding the center circle. These two drawings are by Keith Critchlow.
This book could not have been written without access to a great library, and my use of the libraries of Stanford University was possible because of the generosity and goodwill of Professor Gerald Crabtree. At the Green Library at Stanford, the staff at the reference desk was consistently helpful. Christopher Matson, in particular, helped me track down references to Saint John of God and the surgical tools of Abulcasis, among many other obscurities. When I needed to order obscure books not available in the library, Christine Kelly and her colleagues at the legendary Sundance Bookstore were of inestimable help to me.
I would like, as well, to name and thank some of the principal scholars who informed my thinking and illuminated my days: Maria Rosa Menocal, her colleagues Jerilynn Dodds and Abigale Bilbale, Thomas Glick, Salman Khadra Jayyusi, Idries Shah, L.P. Harvey, Keith Critchlow, Barbara and Stanley Stein, Luce López-Baralt, Willis Barnstone, Peggy Liss, David Lettering Lewis, Chris Lowney, Peter Cole, Paul Preston, and D.E. Pohren. There are many others; bless them all.
I am a mere layman and have had the good fortune to meet very few indeed of these scholars. Some of them are no longer with us. But their books live in my hands, and I will be in their debt always.
NOTES
THESE NOTES HOLD a wide range of references, since this book had of necessity to condense readings of secondary and primary sources within a few pages, a few paragraphs, or even a sentence or two. The idea was not to write a new scholarly work, but to bring together in one book, from hither and yon, hundreds of the ideas, facts, and ruminations of the very wide-ranging and superb scholarship of the last several decades. This work has transformed our understanding of Al-Andalus, and much of my text is meant in homage to the work of the many scholars who have brought us this new understanding.
This book relates how one family made sense of where they lived. To make such an effort, as we come to love a place and people, is the natural inclination of many families. At the same time, as a family story, this text necessarily left aside much of the hedging, qualification, nuance, and argument—sometimes ferocious argument—that is sometimes present in the scholarship I consulted. The aim here was to paint a picture in broad strokes, to cover a lot of ground, and to provide a point of entry for those readers who want to explore more thoroughly the details of, say, the arts of medicine or poetry in Al-Andalus, or the Inquisition, or the macroeconomics of Spain in the centuries after Ferdinand and Isabel. For those who want to learn more about the background and context of the history and ideas I have written about, these notes are meant to help. The combination of the notes and bibliography give a more complete sense of the depth, richness, and variety of scholarly work that provides the foundation for the propositions and conjectures in this book, and they will also lead the reader to contrary views. For any reader who wants yet more detail and ease of reference, I will maintain and enrich these notes with links to images, references, and online resources, all in the website that accompanies this book.
ONE AFTERNOON IN GRANADA
2“A crimson ribbon your lips …”: Bloch, The Song of Songs, 4:3. This translation by Ariel and Chana Bloch is beautiful.
“An enclosed garden …”: ibid., 4:12,13.
“Let us go early to the vineyards …”: ibid., 7:13.
Solomon’s temple itself: 1 Kings: 18, 20, 42, 49.
the only artifact: This object is in the Israel Museum of Jerusalem.
3Some scholars: No one really knows what fruit was eaten in the Garden of Eden, but the idea that it was an apple was dreamed up by Cyprianus Gallus, a theologian working in Gaul in the fifth century. The pomegranate and the fig are the most likely candidates, since both trees grow in Palestine. The pomegranate, in particular, was a valued and powerful symbol, not only serving as iconic decoration of Solomon’s temple, but woven into the hem of the robes of religious leaders. Even the crown of Solomon was said to have the shape of a pomegranate.
This hypnotic Sura: The Holy Quran, Sura LV: 62–72.
4In the Hadith: See, for example, El-Naggar, Treasures of the Sunnah, pp. 89–91, referring to the collection of Hadith compiled by the fifteenth-century Cairene scholar Imam as-Suyuti. Intelligently selected and useful selections of Hadith may be found in Shah, Idries, Caravan of Dreams, pp. 16–25, and in Shah, Tahir, The Middle East Bedside Book, pp. 54–60, 256–267.
Such signs are called, in Arabic, ayat: Seyyed Hossein, An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines, pp. 6 (note 9), 258. It is important to understand that these signs are said to occur in the natural world as well as within us. They are the visible signs in the phenomenal world of a permanent and beautiful reality. For a more complete exposition of an Islamic view of the cosmos, and of ayat, see Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, pp. 60–61, 136, 143.
To the buying of a pomegranate: Jalaladin Rumi, the Mathnawi, Book 1, verses 717–719.
5“His name was John of God”: There is much biographical information on John of God. See, for example, Butler, Lives of the Saints: March, pp. 69–74. It should be noted that John of God is not only the founder of the Hospitaller Order, but he is also, bless him, the patron saint of booksellers. In Granada, a relatively unvisited but surpassingly lovely place is the hospital of John of God. It’s one of those places that uses beauty, as well as medical arts, to heal. For photos and a description of the hospital, see Larios, El hospital y la basilica de San Juan de Dios.
THE CARMEN OF OUR SERENDIPITY
15A house and garden respectful of the traditions of Andalusia: For those readers who would like to look into these traditions, see Pinar Savos, Antiguos carmenes de Granada, pp. 81–87. See also the fine and instructive paintings in El Albayzín, inspiration de pintores, pp. 82–90 and passim. The book offers a colorful sense of the neighborhood, which is as much like a painting as any I know. Another book of paintings is Segura Bueno, Granada al natural. See pp. 71–82 for images of the Albayzín, its plazas, gardens, and the interior of some carmenes.
THE TIME TRAVELS OF A GARDEN
27The first recognizable such garden: Dicky, The Hispano-Arab Garden, The Legacy of Islamic Spain, p. 1016. For a look at Cyrus the Great’s sixth-century BC garden at Pasargadae, see Hobhouse, Gardens of Persia, p. 14. For a diagram of quadripartite gardens in Samarra from the ninth century BC, see Hobhouse, ibid., p. 74.
Islamic Paradise Garden: For examples from Granada, see Lehrman, Earthly Paradise, pp. 87–107. For a discussion of the paradise garden, see Dickie, “The Hispano-Arab Garden: Notes Toward a Typology,” p. 1016. For further examples that highlight the tradition from Persia, see Hantelmann, Gardens of Delight, pp. 38–39 for gardens in Spain; and for enticing residential gardens in Morocco, see pp. 137, 148, 157.
the adventurer Xenophon: For a summary of the usage of paradeisos, see the references in Liddell and Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon. Xenophon used the word in his Anabasis, Cyropedia, and Hellenica.
the blessed association of paradise and gardens: widely known, of course. For a fine summary and discussion, see Moynihan, Paradise as a Garden, pp. 1–12.
Eden itself is not a garden at all: Genesis, 2:8
30gardens hold beauties: For an insightful commentary on the meaning and metaphysics of Islamic gardens, see Harrison, Gardens, pp. 196–197. And it is useful to think of the way these gardens are associated with the development of insight, the search for truth, and the work of transcendence. There are a number of spiritual texts conceived directly in relation with these beautiful enclosed spaces. Take, for instance, The Walled Garden of Truth by the twelfth-century teacher Hakim Sanai. Or the Garden of Mystery, a fourteenth-century Persian poem by the mystic Mahmud Shabis
tari. Both of these texts offer insights into the beauties and practice of Sufism, a powerful influence throughout the Mediterranean and especially in Al-Andalus.
33There are ornate fountains: See, for example, Jashemski, The Gardens of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the Villas Destroyed by Vesuvius, pp. 58, 60–61, 70, 77, 102, 108–109, 112, 304–305, 307, and 309, and on p. 329, a reconstruction of a Roman garden in the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Another good source for images of the gardens in Pompeii is Farrar, Ancient Roman Gardens, the color plates that begin after p. 142.
34Battening down to make their historical mark: For those who long to know more about the Visigoths in Spain, and their kings in purple slippers and ermine robes, see, for example, O’Callaghan, A History of Medieval Spain, 44–51. Also Makki, “The Political History of Al-Andalus,” pp. 5–6, and Snow, The Root and the Flower, pp. 36–42.
In the year 711: This resonant and legendary event is discussed in a wide variety of texts. See, for example, Snow, ibid., p. 42. For a more complete and a beautifully written account, see Lewis, God’s Crucible, pp. 118–132.
35“O citizens of Al-Andalus …”: quoted in Reina, Abu Madyan, El amigo de Dios, p. 85.
36the first Islamic dynasty: Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, pp. 217–219. Also Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies, pp. 56–67.
37For in Rusafa: Ruggles, Gardens, Landscapes, and Vision, pp. 42–45.
38the fig, the apple, the pear: See, for example, Trillo San Jose, Agua, tierra y hombres en Al-Andalus, pp. 43–48. Also Glick, Islamic and Christian Spain in the Early Middle Ages, pp. 70–75.
Historians have even looked at the pollens: Amor, “Aplicación de modernas técnicas de la ciencia paleobotanica a la restauración de los antiguos jardines, mediante la recogida de muestras de tierra,” pp. 215–219, and Ruidor Carol, “Plantes employeés dans les jardins historique de l’Islam,” pp. 221–233.
39These estates, called Munyas: Ruggles, ibid., pp. 45–48. See also Dickie, “The Hispano-Arab Garden: Notes Toward a Typology,” pp. 1027–1029.
like the muwashaha, or the zajal: For a very useful essay for those who want to understand this inventive poetry, see Monroe, “Zajal and Muwashshaha: Hispano-Arabic Poetry and the Romance Tradition,” pp. 403–413. For a comprehensive and brilliant survey of what is known about the muwashaha, and a history of the scholarship, see Rosen, “The Muwashshah,” passim.
40“Juice is extracted …” Schultz-Dornburg, Sonnenstand. “The Calendar of Córdoba,” trans. John Brogdan, intro.
41The Madinat al-Zahra: See, for example, Dodds, “The Arts of Al-Andalus,” pp. 603–605. And Ruggles, ibid., 87–109. Also Triana, “Madinat az-Zahra,” pp. 233–244. Better yet, go to see the ruins just outside of Córdoba. The Junta de Andalucia publishes a fine guide, replete with drawings, maps, renderings, facts, and careful speculations. See Vallejo Triano, Madinat al-Zahra: guia oficial del conjunto arqueológico, passim.
43the gentleman and scholar Ismail Ibn Naghrela: Ruggles, ibid., pp. 63–64. Note that Naghrela is known also by his Hebrew name of Shmuel HaNagid.
44Ibn al-Khatib: quoted in Dickie, “The Hispano-Arab Garden: Notes Toward a Typology,” p. 1026.
Andrea Navagiero: quoted in Dickie, “Granada: A Case Study of Arab Urbanism in Muslim Spain,” p. 104. We should note that we as a civilization owe this man a great debt, for it is he who brought the sonnet from Italy to Spain. This life-giving information passed from Navagiero to the poet Juan Bascon, in 1526, as the two of them walked along the banks of the Darro. See Barnstone, The Spanish Sonnet, pp. 3–4
45“Outside the city …”: quoted in Dickie, ibid., p. 105.
WHERE WALKING IS LIKE FLYING
55What would we find?: See the color plates for a come-hither offering. If one is interested to trace the evolution of the Albayzín, there is an enlightening source: Castilla Brazales, En busca de la Granada andalusí. The book has original and beautiful drawings of the Albayzín, and of noteworthy buildings in the Albayzín. See especially the drawings of La puerta de los Tableros, pp. 100–101; El Maristan, pp. 108–109; La Mezquita Mayor del Albayzín, pp. 196–197; and the Baño del Albayzín, pp. 278–279. Another source with reproductions of plans of the barrio as it evolved since 1494 is Calatrava, Los planos de Granada; pp. 34–58 have the earliest renderings, then the book carries on to 1919. Also, Castello Nicás, La renovación urbana en el Albaicín, has a good early history, supplemented with photos, pp. 23–64.
57Let’s start with the geography: For a complete exposition with excellent maps, Bosque Maurel, Joaquín y Amparo Ferrer Rodríquez, “Geografía de antiguo reino de Granada,” Historia del Reino de Granada, pp. 17–36.
58They are called los Iberos: Carrascosa Salas, El Albayzín en la historia, pp. 27–33. Also Pozo Felguera, Albayzín solar de reyes, pp. 17–19.
an excavation: on the corner of Cuesta Maria de la Miel and Camino Nuevo de San Nicolas.
60At least they had dishes: Have a look at them in Cano Piedra, La ceramica en Granada, pp. 34–36.
mampostería: If you want to see one, Carrascosa Salas, ibid., has a Zirid example, p. 50.
61The Ibero-Roman city: Carrascosa Salas, ibid., pp. 34–68. Pozo Felguera, ibid., pp. 18–22. For a much longer treatment of the whole province of Granada, see Gonzalez Román, Cristóbal, “La Antiguedad,” pp. 69–103.
62to historical notice: Carracosa Salas, ibid., pp. 67-69.
63Council of Elvira: There has been a scholarly argument about whether this council, or synod, was held in Elvira or in the settlement that would centuries later be called the Albayzín. I opt for the Albayzín, rather than the much more exposed Elvira, which was prosperous but vulnerable. For a historical exposition supporting this view, see Dale, The Synod of Elvira and Christian Life in the Fourth Century, pp. 10–11. On the background of the council, see Hess, The Early Development of Canon Law and the Council of Serdica, pp. 40–42. The translations here at taken from Council of Elvira, ca. 306, Catholic University of America. n.d., Web, April 2004.
72In 743 a group of Syrians: Pozo Felguera, ibid., p. 23.
So began the reign of the Ziris: Carrascosa Salas, ibid., pp. 85–91.
Almorabitin: Carrascosa Salas, ibid., p. 89. Also Castilla Brazales, En busca de la Granada andalusí, pp. 47–49. And Pozo Felguera, ibid., p. 174.
Aljibes: On these wonderful sites, by far the most detailed description and background is Castilla Brazales, ibid., pp. 46, 54, 69, 76, 80, 82, 123–125, 132, 155–157, 163–166.
73“The water is most healthful …”: quoted in Carrascosa Salas, ibid., pp. 89–90. For a more complete account of the remarkable and durable project that brought water from Aynadamar to the Albayzín, see the introduction by Carmen Trillo San Jose to Garrido Atienza, Las aguas del Albaicin y Alcazaba, pp. XXXIV–LXXI. With illustrations and the original 1902 text of Garrido Atienza.
the name of Badis: Pozo Felguera, ibid., pp. 26–27. And Carrascosa Salas, ibid., pp. 91–92. On the beautiful names of the neighborhoods and plazas, see Carrascosa Salas, ibid. p. 91. Also Dickie, “Granada: A Case Study of Arab Urbanism in Muslim Spain,” pp. 90–91.
74There were farmers, laborers, muleteers; millers: Carrascosa Salas, ibid., pp. 121–123. A more extensive summary is in Pozo Felguera, ibid. pp. 43–48. For a sketch of the commercial organization of the Albayzín and Granada, see Dickie, ibid., 96–98.
75Where did they live?: One of the best ways to answer this question is to visit a well-preserved house in the Albayzín at 16 Calle de Horno de Oro. In the Carmen de Aben Humaya, near Calle San Nicolas, they may let you see the interior, a beautifully preserved and restored ancient house with a painted wood ceiling. For a detailed description of this carmen, see Castilla Brazales, ibid., pp. 126–131. Other examples in the Albayzín are the building at the Escuela de Estudios Arabes at the Casa de Chapiz, and restorations at 2 Calle de Yaguas; 1 Plaza de Aliatar; and 14 Plaza San Miguel Bajo. For a description of both the houses and carmenes in their classic form, see Pozo Felgue
ra, ibid., pp. 101–104.
76What did they eat?: I give here only the briefest account of this delicious culinary art. For a range of mouth-watering examples, see the recipes in Fernández Bustos, Herencia de la cocina andalusí, pp. 101–141. In the same volume, for descriptions of the cuisine as it evolved through Al-Andalus, see pp. 25–65. If you are in the kitchen and longing to cook, there are more recipes for food and fresh beverages in Elexpury, Al-Andalus, magia y seducción culinarias, pp. 61–76. More further enticing accounts also Pozo Felguera, ibid., 125–130. And Carrascosa Salas, ibid., pp. 125–128.
They dressed in loose clothes: For some images, see Pozo Felguera, ibid., p. 39. Also for a description and two images, see Carrascosa Salas, ibid., pp. 121–123.
77There were setbacks: For a summary of both the achievements and the fanaticism of the Alhomads, see Menocal, Dodds and Barbale, The Arts of Intimacy, pp. 128–129. For specific information on Granada, Pozo Felguera, ibid., pp. 31–32.
78Almohad minaret: Castilla Brazales, ibid., pp. 120–121. For a photograph and description, see Carrascosa Salas, El Albayzín y su patrimonio, p. 44.
the first of the Nasrid kings: For the political history, see Makki, “The Political History of Al-Andalus,” pp. 77–84. To get a more pictorial sense of their influence and accomplishments, see Menocal, The Arts of Intimacy, pp. 247–260. For a shorter treatment, Carrascola Salas’s El Albayzín en la historia, p. 94.
79“At the foot of the mountains …”: Munzer, p. 84.
“All the slope …”: quoted in Dickie, ibid., p.105.
80“the houses were delightful …”: quoted in Dickie, ibid., p. 101.
Flowering trees found their way into the names of things: For a range of these evocative names, see Dickie, ibid., p. 90. Also Carrascosa Salas, ibid., pp. 91–93.
81Late in the fifteenth century: For a fine summary of the complex run-up and bitter power politics of the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, see Liss, Isabel the Queen, pp. 57–116.
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