Madinat Alzahra
The lost city of Madinat Alzahra was built by Abdalrahman Al Nasir, the eighth Arabian Umayyad ruler of Al Andalus, and the first Caliph. After declaring his caliphate, he decided to build a city like no other. A mystical place, with great palaces, many fountains, and exotic animals. An irrigation system was built to facilitate the water from the mountain to run through the three levels that the city was constructed on. Building this jewel of a city took around 40 years, spanning the reign of Abdalrahman and his son Al Hakam. More than 10,000 workers were employed on a daily basis to build this grand city. It had marble from all around the world, ceilings and columns made of gold. The Caliph encouraged people to come and live there and offered a sum of money to help people build their houses there. This great city survived around 70 years until the Berber war on Arabs. Medinat Alzahra was destroyed and what’s left of it now is only 10 % of its actual size at the time.