Al -Andalus 2023

On the 9th of March, 24 students departed abroad to Spain. The students landed in Malaga and had a tour of Seville. The pupils also had a full day in Córdoba and Granada. However, everyone was very reluctant to leave on Sunday evening as it was a trip you would have wanted to last forever.

D a y 1 D a y 2

After arriving in Malaga airport mid-morning, the group met their wonderful tour guide, Abu Bakr. The first place they visited was Alcazar one of the most famous sites in Seville. Built by the Almohads, it is a fantastic example of classic Mudejar architecture The next stop was La Giralda Minaret which is one of the tallest buildings in the city, for over 800 years dominating the skyline at 103 meters. After a long day of travelling, the group settled down at their hotel in Córdoba e group checked out of the hotel at 8:30 a.m. after ving an amazing buffet breakfast The first place they plored was the Córdoba Mosque This is unique because s a mosque as well as a cathedral The prayer hall is the ost famous feature of the mosque as it influenced osques all over the world. The next sight they visited was adinat al Zahra, the palace-city built by Abd al-Rahman Afterwards they travelled to Granada and checked into their hotel

The group visited the breath-taking Alhambra Palace. They took an detailed tour and explored what was known as the ‘Jewel of AlAndalus'. The palace truly brings back a reminder of the magnificent glory that was Islamic Spain. After visiting Alhambra Palace, they had lunch and had lots of free time to buy presents for loved ones and shop for themselves, including some wonderful calligraphy done by a talented and kindly local artist. After their break they explored The Albaicín, this is a world heritage site and its narrow alleyways date back to Islamic era of Al-Andalus. They also visited a new mosque built by the local Spanish Muslim community.

Da y 3 D a y 4

On this final day everyone was busy getting their bags together so they could check out of the hotel early morning and be on their way to take in the majestic views of the Alpujarra Mountains which is where the last remaining Muslims of Al-Andalus made their final stand They then saw the local village of Pampaneira and visited the local chocolate factory, abuela ili, everyone's favourite part of that day Afterwards they made their way to Malaga airport to fly back home, arriving at school very tired and were excited to go home and sleep

Naeemah Rayann Ayub