A delegation from An-Najah National University visited a group of historical, cultural, academic and social sites in Granada, Cordoba, Seville and Barcelona in the Spanish Kingdom. The visit was over 10 days from May 18th-26th, 2016 and aimed at introducing An-Najah students to the Islamic Legacy in Spain.

On Wednesday, May 18th, 2016, The International Youth Exchange Programme of the Public Relations Department at An-Najah organized a visit to Andalucía for 24 students of An-Najah.

The visit aimed at introducing students to the Arabic Islamic history of Andalucía and the landmarks of Arab Islamic Civilization there. It also aimed at introducing them to the Arab Islamic Golden Age and the Arabs experience and reasons of the success and failure of the Islamic reign.

The delegation first visited Albayzin Neighborhood, a number of Islamic baths, Corral del Carbon de Granada (Coal House) and the Granada Islamic School. They also met with one of the Spanish volunteers who has recently completes her dissertation at An-Najah. The volunteer briefed them on the Basque Country and introduced them to the historical conflict and the Islamic reign there.

In Córdoba, the delegation visited the Great Mosque of Córdoba (the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba), the Roman bridge of Córdoba, the Museum of the Inquisition which offers a wide variety of complex torture machines used during the 13th to the mid-19th century, the Casa Mudéjar, the University of Granada, the Andalusia Heritage House* and the Moorish Castle.

In their visit to Barcelona, which was under the Islamic reign for a relatively short period of time, the students visited the Old City of Barcelona, the Picasso Museum which houses one of the most extensive collections of artworks by the 20th-century Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, Barcelona National Park, the Marine Resort and the University of Barcelona as well as other cultural and tourist attractions.

The visit to Barcelona included a meeting at the Service Civil International (SCI), partner of Zajel Programme in Catalonia. The delegation met with SCI Director who talked about the SCI humanitarian services and pointed out that the institution sends annually international volunteers to different parts of the Mediterranean region to participate in social, humanitarian and educational voluntary work.

Their final destination was Seville where they visited the Old City of Seville, the Mushrooms Tower, the Seville Cathedral; the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world and the Torre Del Oro which is a dodecagonal military watchtower in Seville, built by the Monotheists dynasty in order to control access to Seville via the Guadalquivir River.

At the end of their journey, participating students recited “My Homeland” lyric at Alhambra Palace Square as a demonstration of the rooting connection between the tragedy of Palestine and Andalucía.

The students also prepared a cultural programme on the Islamic and historical sites of Spain where each presented a brief on one of the visited locations. The programme was introduced as a training project to train students on organizing cultural activities and events.

Student Ala’ Al-Deek expressed her joy and said that the journey introduced them to the great legacy of Islam in Spain and a golden age when the Arab Muslims built a marvelous civilization full of wonders and miracles.

Notes:

The Andalucía Heritage House aims at promoting a positive image of Islam to the West through offering an objective view of Islamic religion and heritage. The house is located at the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Cordoba and contains a corner of Palestinian Heritage.

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