“To Córdoba belong all the beauty and ornaments that delight the eye or dazzle the sight. Her long line of Sultans form her crown of glory; her necklace is strung with the pearls which her poets have gathered from the ocean of language; her dress is of the banners of learning, well-knit together by her men of science; and the masters of every art and industry are the hem of her garments...” (Stanley Lane-Poole, The Moors in Spain)

Love, as they often say, is best expressed through meaningful actions, as opposed to syrupy words and hollow promises. To pragmatists, it's the smaller things that make the biggest splash, while hopeless romantics may take it upon themselves to go the extra mile. Apart from showering their better halves with trips abroad to bucket-list destinations and mountains of extravagant gifts, the wealthy might organize benefits and galas and make handsome donations to a cause that deeply resonates with their loved one.

Whereas most would deem the tokens of affection exchanged by celebrity power couples to be sweet but inordinately excessive, many of those who pine after storybook romances are especially enamored of these grand gestures. However, nobody can deny that they’ve produced some of the most famous works in the world, including buildings such as the Taj Mahal.

Such stories can certainly send the hearts of the starry-eyed aflutter, and while love is not quantifiable, few love stories can compare to the blissful fairy tale attached to the Madinat al-Zahra, commonly known today as the Medina Azahara. This tale involved a king named Abd ar-Rahman who was so besotted with a maiden that he built an entire palace-city for her from scratch. Naturally, this wasn’t just any old city - covering well over a million square meters by the foothills of the Cordoban Sierra Morena Mountains, this was allegedly the largest palace-city ever built in Europe.

The Medina Azahara: The History and Legacy of the Moors’ Medieval Capital in Spain looks at the origins behind the city and its importance to the Moors. You will learn about the Medina Azahara like never before.