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The Umayyad Mosque in the Cathedral of Cordoba: Presentation of Its History and Spatial Organization to Visitors
Abstract
This paper analyzes the presentation and organization of the space of the Umayyad mosque in Cordoba through the information offered in the pamphlets available to visitors at the entrance of the building. The building has officially been a Catholic cathedral since 1236 A.D., and today the “Cabildo Catedralicio de Córdoba” (Cathedral Chapter of Cordoba) manages the physical space and issues tourist pamphlets. The pamphlets are offered in several languages, including Spanish, English, and Arabic. The paper focuses mainly on the Arabic pamphlet and analyzes its content from two different perspectives: 1. First, it analyzes the information the pamphlet offers about the cathedral-mosque in terms of how the data is organized and where the emphasis is placed. This analysis will include the photos and floor plans presented in the brochure as well as its textual content. 2. Second, it compares the Arabic pamphlet, which targets mainly a Muslim audience, with the English and Spanish pamphlets. Although presented as equivalent texts – simple translations of one another with the same sources – the objective of this linguistic analysis is to identify variations that may exist between the texts. The choice of certain words in Arabic, English, or Spanish may convey differences in perception and meaning. The purpose of the analysis is to locate these differences and provide an explanation of the consequences of these variations. The paper shows that there is an emphasis through all the data offered in the pamphlets to present the mosque as only a stage of the history of the building. The brochures also attempt to highlight the Christian character of the place at different times in history, placing special emphasis on the Visigothic church that was on the site before the mosque was built. The linguistic analysis shows that the wording related to the Islamic conquest and the Christian re-conquest of the territories of al-Andalus offer certain variations in the Arabic text, softening or strengthening some expressions used in the Spanish or English brochures.
Discipline
Language
Geographic Area
Spain
Sub Area
Identity/Representation