"When Ferdinand III the Saint entered the city of Córdoba, it was divided into two main walled sectors: the upper Medina enclosure, which under the rule of the new lords was renamed the Villa enclosure, and the Ajerquía enclosure, larger, lower, and flatter than the former. These two enclosures were separated by the eastern wall of the Medina wall and connected by three gates and two wicket gates, with a large esplanade running along this wall.
During the late medieval centuries, the city expanded to the west and southwest with the San Bartolomé neighborhood, the Alcázar of the Christian Monarchs, and the enclosures called the Castle of the Jewish Quarter and the Old Alcázar, as well as numerous orchards, including those of the Alcázar of the Christian Monarchs and several monasteries. Thus, in the 14th century, the walled enclosure of Córdoba, built during the Almoravid period (12th-13th centuries) reusing part of the original Roman walls, was expanded to the west, first forming a complex known as the Jewish Quarter Castle, and later with the enclosure of the new Old Alcázar neighborhood, both in the 14th century.
At the beginning of 1399, the municipal council of Córdoba requested authorization from King Henry III to repopulate the so-called Old Alcázar, stating that no buildings existed on the vast site. The king accepted the proposal and determined that crossbowmen (to differentiate them from mace crossbowmen) should settle there with their families. The crossbowmen living in the Old Alcázar enjoyed special privileges in exchange for assisting in the defense of the neighboring Alcázar of the Christian Monarchs. The city of Córdoba has been walled since ancient times, and five walled enclosures can be distinguished: the Villa or Medina, the Ajerquía, the Castle of the Jewish Quarter, the Old Alcázar, and the Alcázar Garden.
The Old Alcázar Quarter, or San Basilio Quarter, included in the area declared a World Heritage Site of the city of Córdoba, is a unique example of late medieval (Christian) urban planning, very different from the Islamic one (the old Islamic Medina and the walled Roman city). Among other features of this enclosure, the Seville Gate, the Belén Tower, and the Royal Stables arch stand out.
The Belén Tower has a square floor plan, measuring 7.4 meters on each side, and is built with limestone ashlar masonry consisting of a rope and two headers. Access, in a bend, was through two doors forming a right angle. The outer door (to the north) is shaped like a pointed horseshoe arch. The inner gate (to the east) is the only one that currently leads to the ground floor, which was converted into a chapel (hence the name Tower of Images or Tower of Saint Benedict). The tower consists of two floors covered by a brick vault in the shape of a hemispherical cap. The second floor contains the access to the wall's patrol paths (to the north and south, through semicircular arches), and the three openings covered by semicircular arches in the east wall, where the chapel's bells were once located. There are two theories about the construction of this tower: one maintains its Almohad origin (12th century), while others place it somewhat later, already in the Christian period.
Seville Gate: In Arab times, a Seville gate already existed, known as the Drogueros Gate, which does not correspond to the current one, which is of Christian construction. The Drogueros Gate could coincide with the Royal Stables Arch. With the Christian conquest and the construction of the walled enclosure of the Old Alcázar, the Seville Gate was built on its current location, and it constituted the most direct exit to the road leading to Seville."

Acisclo Pedraza

"The conservation is very good, easy access, a must see."

Chechu

"O que gostei mais foram os jardins! Muito bem cuidados e arranjados!"

Tiago Oliveira