The North Gate of Medina

Medina is a city that was made to show the power and importance of the Khalif of Cordoba. The city was a new urban city center for the rich and powerful people of Cordoba at the time. The two cities were connected by a road that was about eight kilometers long. At the end of that road in Medina is a gate called the 'North Gate'. This gate was designed to control access to the palace at Medina. The gate and road were used to transport food and building materials to the palace. The last stretch of stone paving, the part surrounding the North Gate, is the best preserved part. Past the North Gate there are multiple right angle turns. Those were created as a security measure for the city. When people came into the city, they would turn sharply and be faced with soldiers, making sure to nip any funny business in the bud.

Usted va a ingresar en la ciudad por la Puerta Norte, abierta aproximadamente en el centro de la muralla. Esta puerta era por donde se abastecia el palacio de alimentos y materiales de constuccion. Como puede ver, su pavimento original de piedra se encuentra bien conservado en su tramo final. Observara que el ingreso es un pasillo con varios quiebros, resondiendo al esquerna de acceso en recordo y termina en un pequeno espacio cerrado por puertas enfrentadas, donde se instalaba la guardia que controlaba el paso. Este dispositivio "en recordo" se utilizaba en la arquitectura militar islamica para controlar el ingreso al interior de los recintos amurallados. Desde la torre que hay a su espalda se accedia al camino de ronda sobre la muralla.