In Calatayud: the Muslim Barrio

October 5, 2023

First, a pronunciation note on a town your tongue may have been twisting over, as mine did for years when I tried to sound it out without ever bothering to look it up. The name, as does so much of the town and many other places in Argon, has Arabic origins. It’s easier to remember the pronunciation if you think of it as a concatenation of two words: Calat-Ayud, with the accent on the second syllable of each. Calat is an approximation for the Arabic word for fortress, and Alud is the name of the massive fortress atop the hill behind the city.

We’ll see some of the more prominent sights of Calatayud later, but first I want to share some images of its fascinating Muslim Barrio, the corner of the city the Muslim population was relocated to after the Reconquest. Unlike many other reconquered cities, the Arabs of Calatayud were allowed to remain in a corner of their medina- a slice of land that hangs from the side of the steep hill and was viewed as essentially uninhabitable anyway.

The Muslim Barrio, clearly branded by the crescent moon icon on its streets and lanes, retains a very raw character that feels all but uninhabitable still. It is a striking place to just walk through slowly, climbing up one of its lanes as it becomes rougher and the structures gradually become cruder and more dilapidated until the lane finally ends in the cliffs.

This mural looks like it must sit roughly at the junction of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim parts of the town.

Some of the nearby streets are branded to indicate which sector they belong to.

The Muslim sector has a fascinating collection of doors, most still looking like someone still lives on the other side of them.

And there are cats. Lots and lots of cats.

And laundry. And peeling paint and plaster. It’s a remarkably colorful place.

Toward the top you’re up high enough to look over the town and see its collection of Mudejar towers.

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Kathleen ClassenFantastic pictures. I loved the sense of everyday life being lived they conveyed.
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7 months ago

Lyle McLeodFascinating place. ... and as always, superb photos that capture it so well. The Cat Faction of TA must have really liked this!
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7 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Lyle McLeodI’ve been feeling behind on cat shots. It’s nice to be able to catch up in one swell foop.
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7 months ago