Abstract

The old enclosed precint of Cádiz, known as the Pópulo, was formed by a curtain wall flanked by towers with a gate in the centre of each face. It was dominated by the ruins of the Roman theatre, discovered in 1980, which occupied a third of the total surface area of the enclosure. The gate in the North wall, presently known as the Arch of Pópulo, has a pointed arch with prominent keystone and is of Arab origin. It was probably built in the 12th century for the Governor Abū l-Ḥasan who embraced the Almohad cause. This gate and the walls of the city were restored during the reing of Alfonso X. Within the Pópulo, there was a mosque oriented toward the South-East, the site of which is occupied by the church of Santa Cruz, also known as the Catedral Vieja. It is probable that in the Pópulo, there was a ribāṭ, or fortified barracks for volunteers for the jihād In the centre of the island of Cádiz, there was a famous Roman tower of lighthouse of two storeys which was described by al-Zuhrī in the 12th century. The tower was similar in appearance to the Faro of Alexandria and would have been the model for the minarets of occidental mosques.