Girald Tower

Construction of the tower began in 1184 under the direction of the architect Ahmed Ben Banu, at a time when Moorish art was developing in Andalusia. It was completed by Ali Ali Gomar in 1198. The tower was crowned by four gilded balls. In the records of Prince Alfonso the Wise it is said that when the sun consecrates these balls, the radiance from them is visible at a distance of one day to Seville. These balls were so large that later Spanish Christians expanded the city gates when they were filmed. On the flat roof was the largest observatory in Europe.

The Giralda is the only Muslim building that survived the Christian siege. Later, the adjacent mosque was used as a cathedral, rebuilt in the Gothic style, the minaret retained its original form. In 1568, Erman Ruiz added a square belfry topped with three successively decreasing tiers, the height of the Giralda increased to 98 meters. At the very top of the tower, a statue of Faith was installed with a banner in his hands, rotating from the breath of the wind, in other words, a weather vane. Hence the name of the tower – weather vane in Spanish sounds like “giraldillo”. Giralda has "brothers": the Hassan Tower in Rabat and Kutubia in Marrakesh.

The Giralda Tower is one of the best examples of Arab architecture. It embodies all its characteristic features: the massiveness of the form, the peculiar structurality, the sameness and harmony of the image. Now the tower serves as an observation deck - from it you can see the magnificent panorama of the city.