The inner Muslim

The Muslim within the modern Spanish and Portuguese is sometimes not just figurative but also literal. As we rise up the floors of this palace we enter later and later periods. The ground floor is Moorish but the Christian conquerers built upwards. But this Islamic influence is unmistakable in this great hall built by the Aragonese King. It's unusually long to its width and apparently where the King would accept the visits of his noble subjects. But in among the huge wooden beams conservators found small scripts from the Koran, no doubt left by the Muslim builders recruited to build this extension. The ceiling is a stunning sight. But around the lower edge of the ceiling are letters forming a paragraph of devotion to the Spanish or Aragonese royals. In great European tradition devotion to God has been replaced by a devotion to themselves. I suppose it is just another name or banner to kill for.