Andalousian heritage

INA00263

Note

Andalousian heritage

Collection title

Méditerranéo

INA00263

Source

INA (FR)

First broadcast date

09/28/1996

Production year

1996

Abstract

Andalusia was for seven centuries a Muslim land. An organization, Legacy of al Andalusi, is responsible for identifying traces of this occupation in order to showcase this legacy. For Geronimo Paez, director of the organization, it is to trace the origins of the Andalusian identity, shared with Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. They want to draw particular roads based on history. It is a cultural development project. The organization is also creating a label that will ensure gourmet products and craftsmanship within the Andalusian heritage. Antonio Gala, a writer, recalls that a group of Spanish Moors crossed the Sahara and conquered Timbuktu.

Type

video

Production companies

France 3 Méditerranée - Own production

Broadcaster

FTV - F3

Audiovisual form

Magazine

Primary theme

Arab and muslim worlds

Secondary themes

Art, Culture and Knowledge
Tourism and cultural sites / Eco-tourism development
Tourism and cultural sites / Tourist sites

Credits / Cast

Proust Mathieu - Journalist

Period of events

From 1000 to 1500

Map locations

Spain - South - Granada

Original language

Spanish

Media running time

5m49

Additional information

Context

Andalusia heritage

Cyril Isnart

The fascination with the period of Arab-Andalusia’s history when the three religions of the Book existed side by side, in peace, is unlike any other in the dynamics of contemporary Mediterranean heritage. During the Middle Ages, Jews, Christians and Muslims shared a Mediterranean territory and its economic resources, forming a relatively calm multicultural society. It ended in 1492 when the Catholics captured Granada, marking the turning point when Al 'Andaluz switched to Christianity. But this period of co-existence permanently marked the architecture, agriculture and music, and so Andalusia’s cultural leaders today, both public and private, focus their attention on ways of exploiting those traces of the civilization of that time, not only for cultural and historical reasons, but for tourist and economic reasons too. There are heritage projects to stage, re-tell or promote Andalusia’s legacy of the convivencia at local, national or international level, as for example UNESCO recognizing flamenco as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. But there are more open structures as well, associations or foundations which include ordinary people, such as “El Legado Andalusi” in Granada, and these too are trying to promote this particular heritage.

These actions are not limited to present-day Andalusia. They are part of a North-South Mediterranean relationship that is trying to raise awareness of the shared history between North Africa and southern Europe, and create co-operative projects that bring the two shores of the Inland Sea together. Grouped under the banner of Andalusia are Spain, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The idea of the Grenada project is to criss-cross this whole territory with international cultural themed routes, and as well as being an opportunity for economic and cultural development, these are seen as a way of understanding their common history. Also on the cards are projects oriented more towards humanitarian aid, and these will complete a true contemporary reconstruction of Al'Andaluz through heritage and serving the people.

El legado andalusí : http://www.legadoandalusi.es/es/fundacion/principal/inicio

Cohen M. R. 1994, Under Crescent and Cross. The Jews in the Middle Ages, Princetown University Press.

Menocal M. R. 2002, The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain, Brown.

Pierre Desrosiers 1999, « L’héritage d’al-Andalus : l’Espagne des Maures », Continuité, 81, p. 44-47.