Moorish Remains in Spain

A passionate corrective to the popular myth that the Alhambra stands alone as the sole testament to Moorish genius in Spain. Calvert, writing from decades of direct observation, reveals that the Moors were never a one-city civilization: before Granada's rose-red palaces were conceived, Cordova had already commanded Europe's admiration, Seville had risen in splendor, and Toledo had been transformed by Islamic artistry. This book catalogs the architectural miracles scattered across Andalusia, the Great Mosque of Cordova with its forest of red-striped arches, the Alcazar of Seville, the Gates of Toledo, arguing that each city represents a distinct chapter in a civilization that ruled Spain for nearly eight centuries. Calvert writes with the ardor of a convert, having once shared the common delusion that the Alhambra was everything, then discovering that the peninsula is littered with Arabian superlatives. Part architectural guide, part cultural reclamation, this remains a vital text for understanding how Islamic art shaped, and continues to haunt, Spanish identity.