Giralda

The mosque was built to replace the Umayyad mosque of 'Addabas, since the congregation had grown larger than the modest prayer hall could accommodate.[2][3] It was commissioned in 1171 by caliph Abu Ya'qub Yusuf .[2] Construction was slowed down by the redirection of an existing city sewer that needed to be moved to accommodate the broad foundation for the building, an engineering obstacle that slowed progress by four years.

From the beginning, craftsmen from all over Al-Andalus and the Maghrib were enlisted in the mosque's planning, construction, and decoration, and the caliph himself was highly invested in the process and was said to have visited the site daily.[2][3] By 1176, the mosque was complete, save for the minaret; however, Friday prayer was not held there until 1182, and it was not until 1184 when construction even began on the minaret.[2]

Construction stalled once again in 1184 with the death of the architect, and a month and a half later, the caliph, who died while commanding the Siege of Santarém.[3] It was picked up four years later by the caliph's son, Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, aided by a group of architects and designers, including Sevillan architect Ahmad ibn Basuh and Sicilian architect Abu Layth Al-Siqilli.[3][4][2] The minaret was built using both local bricks and recycled marble from old Umayyad monuments.[3] On 10 March 1198, the tower was completed with the addition of four precious metal spheres (either gold or bronze) at the tower's peak to commemorate al-Mansur's victory over Alfonso VIII of Castile, which had taken place four years prior.[5][2]

Before its partial destruction in a 1356 earthquake, the mosque was comparable in size to the great mosque of Cordoba and its walls faced the cardinal directions with mathematical preciseness.[6][2] The prayer hall was symmetrical and airy, with a still-extant courtyard, the Patio de los Naranjos, or "Courtyard of Orange Trees."[6] Its interior had a stucco-carved dome over the mihrab, as well as several matching carvings over the arched doorways.[2] The minbar was decorated in a Cordoban style, constructed from expensive wood and embellished with sandalwood, ivory, ebony, gold, and silver.[2]

The minaret, which still stands as the Giralda, contains a series of ramps winding around the perimeter of several vaulted chambers at the tower's core.[7] These ramps were designed with enough width and height to accommodate "beasts of burden, people, and the custodians," according to one chronicler from the era.[2] The decorated facades and windows on the tower are stepped to match the ramps in order to maximize light to the chambers inside.[7] This exterior brick decoration was mainly done by 'Ali al-Ghumari, a Berber craftsman who also did repair work on the interior.[2] The facades of the tower did contain some plaster embellishment, but they were removed during a modern restoration.[7]

The main gateway, still in existence, contains a metal-plated door with geometric decoration and floral knockers.[7]

After Seville was recovered by the Christians in 1248 during the Reconquista, the city's mosque was symbolically converted into a cathedral. This involved changing the liturgical orientation, closing and screening off exits and archways, and creating several small family chapels. The former mosque was not well-maintained by any of the groups inhabiting their own sections of the building during this period, and most of the records from the 13th and early 14th centuries describe its neglect, damage, and consequent destruction to make way for a new cathedral.[6]

This structure was badly damaged in a 1356 earthquake, and by 1433 the city began building the current cathedral. Local stone to build with was scarce, and there were few skilled stonemasons in the area, so timber and stone had to be shipped from overseas, and like its earlier incarnation, the construction of the cathedral brought together artisans from all over its respective empire, this time as far away as Germany and the Netherlands. Construction took 73 years and was completed in 1506.[6]

Today, the Giralda stands as one of the largest churches in the world and an example of the Gothic and Baroque architectural styles. The metal spheres that originally topped the tower fell during the earthquake, and the spheres were replaced with a cross and bell. The new cathedral incorporated the tower as a bell tower and eventually built it higher during the Renaissance under architect Hernán Ruiz the Younger, who was commissioned to work on the tower in 1568. This newer section of the tower contains a large inscription of Seville's motto, NO8DO, spoken No me ha dejado, meaning "[Seville] has not abandoned me." Alfonso X of Castile gave the motto to the city when it continued to support his rule during an insurrection. Covering the top of the tower is the "Lily section" which surrounds the enclosure with the bell. The statue stands 4 m (13 feet) in height – 7 m (23 ft) with the pedestal – and sit on top of the tower from its installation in 1568.