La mIslamic wall of Madrid, also known as the Arab wall of Madrid, (Mayrit in Arabic) is a very interesting element of the city's history. Unfortunately, only a few remains remain. They are almost certainly the oldest standing building in the city. It was built in the 9th century, during the Muslim domination of the Iberian Peninsula, the Emir Mohamed I (son of Abderramán III) ordered the construction of a watchtower on a promontory located next to the Manzanares River, in the place where today we have the Royal Palace. It was part of a fortress, around which the urban center of Madrid developed. At that time it was part of the defensive system of watchtowers along the Tagus valley and towards the Guadarrama mountain range that controlled the advance of the Christian troops through Somosierra, Tablada and La Fuenfría towards Segovia, or Toledo.

The wall, built of flint and covering an area of ​​9 hectares of land, had 3 gates, in addition to a gate that was recently discovered in excavations near the Plaza de la Armería, inside the Royal Palace. The wall was not discovered until 1950 by the Arabist J. Oliver Asín. We also owe Asín the most plausible explanation of the name of Madrid "For Jaime Oliver Asín - as detailed in 1954, in a work sponsored by the Miguel Asín Institute of the Higher Council of Scientific Research - Matrice has been the first name of the Villa , a pre-Muslim Madrid, and which referred to the stream (mother, mother of waters, womb of waters) that ran through the valley that is currently Segovia Street. This primitive name—according to Oliver Asín—must have, with the Islamic invasion, changed to Mayrit, formed by the Arabic word mayra (mother, womb) and the Ibero-Romanic suffix “it”.

The most important remains, with more archaeological than artistic interest, are found on the Cuesta de la Vega, next to the crypt of the Cathedral of the Almudena. They have been integrated into the park Emir Mohamed I, named after Mohamed I of Córdoba, considered the founder of the city.

On Calle Mayor, at number 83, next to the viaduct that crosses Segovia Street, the ruins of the Torre de Narigües remain standing, which probably would have been a barran tower, with a location separate from the wall itself. but joined to it through a wall. Its function was to serve as a hillock.

The Puerta de la Vega, which would be very similar to the Puerta de la Bisagra, in Toledo and one of the two doors through which it is said that he entered Alfonso VI to Madrid; The other possible entrance is through Guadalajara. We have the foundations of its right defensive tower in the existing wall section on the Cuesta de la Vega, in the park of Emir Mohamed I. This section is about 120 meters long, 8 meters high and 2 meters wide. It has a gate and you can see 6 towers in it, of which 4 are still standing. In the park, we can also see the model of the Arab and Christian walls.

In the 12th century, some remains were destroyed due to the construction of new homes in the area. The existing canvases at number 1996 Bailén Street were lost with the construction of a housing block, although some walls were integrated into the structure of the building, in its lower part. The remodeling of the Plaza de Oriente, completed in XNUMX during the mandate of José María Álvarez del Manzano, meant the discovery and subsequent disappearance of numerous remains. This is not the case of the watchtower known as the Tower of Bones, whose base is displayed in the underground parking lot of the Plaza de Oriente.

In the excavations that were carried out in the area between the Plaza de la Armería del Royal Palace and Cathedral of the Almudena, to build the Museum of the Royal Collections, remains of the wall of about 70 m in length and Arab towers appeared which, due to their arrangement, show that the Arab castle and the wall were not united, the former being external to it. Part of the remains could correspond to the Puerta de la Sagra, one of the entrances to the walled enclosure. Likewise, remains of Muslim houses have been found, the first to appear in Madrid.

Emir Mohamed Park is only open on weekends and holidays from 10 a.m. to 21 p.m. It is worth taking a walk and exploring these walls that are part of the history of our city.

A abrazo.