Andalusian follow-up

On the way back to the U.S., I began reading a book that pulls together most of the historical events explored during this trip. If you are interested in learning more about the Islamic period in southern Spain, you may wish to check out this book:

Ornament of the world: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians created a culture of tolerance in Medieval Spain, 2002, by María Rosa Menocal, Professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Yale University.

Prior to the trip I read another book that is a fictionalized story of the fall of Granada in 1492, from the perspective of a Muslim family who had been living in Andalusia for many generations. It is an engrossing read and is part of a sequence of five books called “The Islam Quintet”. I’ll now have to find the other four!

Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree (The Islam Quintet), 1993, by Tariq Ali, British-Pakistani writer, journalist and filmmaker.

We arrived back in Ashland, Oregon in time to catch the end of the beautiful fall season. Lithia Park, in particular, is adorned in its finery of reds, oranges, and yellows—a treat for two people who’ve been away from this seasonal display for 30-plus years! By the way, the building reflected in the pond is the Elizabethan theater that is part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s trio of stages. Ashland’s worth a visit any time of year!

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Thanks for joining me on this fascinating trip, and thanks to all who provided comments along the way—the feedback is very helpful. I promise to revive the blog again soon.

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