Brigitte Hintzen-Bohlen

The author has managed to pack a lot into this small volume. It's both a useful travel guide to major sites in Andalusia plus a potted history of the region with some nice specialist sections on subjects as diverse as Flamenco, known scholars, such as Mamonides and Averroes (both of whom ended up badly), a section on the art of Islamic calligraphy and so on. I must say it was rather marred for me when I read on p349 that Arabic is read from left to right.....I assume this is just an oversight but it left me wondering how many other oversights there might be.
The photographs are great but suffer because of the small size. If one wants to look for architectural detail, you can't see it with the small pictures.
I liked the maps and I generally liked the geographic coverage..though there is nothing about the modern Spain...it's all historic. Though I must say that I enjoyed vicariously re-tracing my own travels through this area. I remember people telling me that the Andalucian's were very hospitable and this, indeed was my own experience. It was attributed to customs carried over from the moorish period.
After re-reading this book, I found myself musing how things might have evolved had Isabella not succumbed to the Dominicans by instituting The Inquisition and the subsequent expulsion of over 200,000 Jews and Muslims....to say nothing of the forced conversions, horrific tortures and burning people alive. As the book points out time and again, the muslim rule was distinctly more accommodating and tolerant of Christians and Jews in their midst.
An attractive little book...I have another in the series which is about Tuscany.… (altro)