Century on in Cordoba

IT is exactly 100 years since an architect first unearthed one of Europe’s most beautiful historical sites.

Ricardo Velazquez Bosco first discovered the 10th century Muslim-fortified city Medina Azahara in November 1911.

The city – built by the first caliph of Cordoba – was abandoned in the midst of civil wars less than a century after being built and it became little more than a legend until it was rediscovered in the 1850s.

But, it wasn’t until Velazquez Bosco began to excavate that he conclusively proved it was Medina Azahara.

Since then, the excavations – which continue today – have unearthed vital clues as to how the Caliphate lived and the site was officially declared a National Artistic Monument in 1923, the same year Velazquez Bosco died.