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Moorish art and architecture
Moorish art and architecture branch of Islamic art and architecture developed in the westernmost lands of the Muslims, known as the Maghreb: N Africa and Spain. The Great Mosque at Al Qayrawan in Tunisia is the prototype of western Islamic religious edifices. Finished in the 9th cent., it compris...
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fandango
fandango , ancient Spanish dance, probably of Moorish origin, that came into Europe in the 17th cent. It is in triple time and is danced by a single couple to the accompaniment of castanets, guitar, and songs sung by the dancers. At the end of certain measures, the music halts abruptly and the dance...
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Carmona
Carmona , town (1990 pop. 24,515), Sevilla prov., SW Spain, in Andalusia. It is a farm center for an area raising cattle, cereals, fruits, and olives. Ferdinand III of Castile took Carmona from the Moors in 1247 after a year-long siege. It has numerous examples of Gothic, Moorish, and baroque archit...
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Granada
Granada city (1990 pop. 268,674), capital of Granada prov., S Spain, in Andalusia, at the confluence of the Darro and Genil rivers. Formerly (17th cent.) a silk center, Granada is now a trade and processing point for an agricultural area that is also rich in minerals. Beautifully situated at the fo...
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Lorca
Lorca , city (1990 pop. 67,338), Murcia prov., SE Spain, in Murcia, on the Guadalentín River. It is a market center for a fertile, irrigated basin producing cereals, fruits, and vegetables. Hemp sandals and woolen products are made in Lorca. Nearby are gypsum quarries and sulfur and iron mine...
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Juan de Pareja
Juan de Pareja , c.1610-70, Spanish religious and portrait painter, of Moorish origin. Pareja was the lifelong assistant of Velázquez, who painted his portrait (Metropolitan Mus.). His paintings show originality and an impetuous baroque temper. An outstanding work, the Calling of St. Matthew...
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Andalusia
Andalusia , Span. Andalucía , autonomous region (1990 pop. 7,100,060), 33,675 sq mi (87,218 sq km), S Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Atlantic Ocean. Spain's largest and most populous region, it covers most of S Spain, comprising the provinces of Almer&iacut...
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Moors
Moors nomadic people of the northern shores of Africa, originally the inhabitants of Mauretania. They were chiefly of Berber and Arab stock. In the 8th cent. the Moors were converted to Islam and became fanatic Muslims. They spread SW into Africa (see Mauritania ) and NW into Spain. Under Tarik i...
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Toledo
Toledo city (1990 pop. 60,671), capital of Toledo province, central Spain, in Castile-La Mancha, on a granite hill surrounded on three sides by a gorge of the Tagus River. Historically and culturally it is one of the most important cities of Spain. Tourism is its most important industry, and armame...
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Alhambra
Alhambra [Arab.,=the red], extensive group of buildings on a hill overlooking Granada, Spain. They were built chiefly between 1230 and 1354 and they formed a great citadel of the Moorish kings of Spain. After the expulsion of the Moors in 1492, the structures suffered mutilation, but were extensive...
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