Water transportation across Caliphal Andalusia was shaped by innovative pipeline systems. Between the 8th and 15th centuries, water supply was ensured through public fountains, underground canals known as qanats, and public baths. Islamic architecture and Andalusian art not only integrated water into enclosed spaces for practical use but also elevated it as a symbolic element—allowing gardens to thrive and reflecting the abundance and richness of the land. In Caliphal Andalusia, people devised various innovative methods to transport and distribute water, considering it a communal asset. Drawing from both pioneering agricultural practices and ancient models, they accessed this vital resource through pipelines, public fountains, water carriers, and even the underground qanat system, which brought water all the way to Madrid. The city's name is inspired by Mayrit, or mayra in Arabic, meaning "water channel." Between the 8th and 15th centuries, before the fall of Granada in 1492, Al-Andalus integrated various ways to manage its water reserves, even capitalizing on the development of Islamic architecture and its aesthetics. German physician, geographer, and cartographer Jerome Münzer from the late 15th century mentioned some of these accounts in his writings, not without a sense of wonder. In his work "Journey through Spain and Portugal," based on his travels from 1494 to 1495, the author revisits these spaces in the early years following the end of the Reconquista (722 - 1492). Describing the cities of Barcelona, Madrid, and Lisbon, as well as monasteries and sanctuaries, he also provides insights into local economic and cultural aspects. Fascinated by the magnificent Alhambra palace-fortress, Jerome Münzer also lingers on the Andalusian landscapes, where he finds "so much beauty, with water channeled everywhere with such artistry that nothing more admirable can be found." "Crossing a mountain, the flowing water is conducted along a canal and distributed throughout the fortress," describes the author, in an evocation of the ingenuity to channel this vital resource, making it an inseparable component of the domesticated space. History: Gharb Al-Andalus, the rich and lesser-known part of Arab-Muslim Portugal The Andalusian garden, where water expertise meets botanical experimentation Beyond the functional, agricultural, and hygiene uses integrated into Andalusian social organization, water indeed became a subject of ornamentation, as confirmed by Jerome Münzer's travel diary. In Andalusian art, it long allowed the integration of living nature and movement into enclosed architectural elements, creating illusions of spaces and color games with medieval muqarnas, in combination with three dimensions. It also helped to reflect light, in addition to bringing a particular musicality to these places intended for tranquility. In interiors as well as in the famous Andalusian gardens, streams and small fountains also and especially made vegetation flourish, renowned for symbolizing natural beauty and the abundance of the land. They widely introduced the scents of cloves, roses, lilies, or orange blossoms, typical of the Mediterranean. Moreover, the poet and agronomist Ibn Luyūn (1282 – 1349) considers that in Al-Andalus, agricultural activity and water management are inseparable, as he exhaustively developed in his "Treatise on Agriculture." In his writings on this subject, Ibn Luyūn notably emphasizes that "Allah has placed in agriculture the majority of the goods necessary for human sustenance, and that is why its interest is great, concerning the utilities it contains." In this context, gardens connected to the water distribution network embodied the ideal place for botanical experimentation for pharmacopoeia, as well as for the Andalusian filāḥa. Known for having thrived on the lands of Al-Andalus thanks to its ingenious and multidisciplinary combinations, between scientific development and improved ancestral techniques, the primary activity was indeed reinforced by this vegetable garden, which served as a place for the introduction and acclimatization of various plant species. This use particularly prospered until the 13th century, with the contribution of new varieties from Asia, through the East and North Africa, including cinnamon, incense, alongside the rise of saffron, date palm, sugar cane, and cotton, which allowed the textile industry to flourish, citrus fruits, and the pomegranate tree, a plant with strong spiritual and civilizational symbolism. Andalucia / DR History: How Arab expertise shaped Al-Andalus agriculture In the Iberian Peninsula, the rise of these practices was primarily the work of botanists, agronomists, and scientific scholars, supported by the Umayyad rulers. Having governed the Muslim world from 661 to 750, before extending to Al-Andalus from 756 to 1031, they established adjoining gardens to their palaces, giving rise to "royal gardens" connected to the waterways. Beyond the gardens, the ingenious use of water during the caliphal era was also evident in the hammams, these public baths significantly present in the cities of Al-Andalus. In the 10th century, there were reportedly 300 to 600 only in Cordoba. Others are found in Granada, Seville, Toledo, or Valencia, during a medieval period where these hygiene points were almost absent from other regions of Western Europe. Spaces witnessing water management and quality This usage clearly illustrates the complex nature of hydraulic management in Al-Andalus, combining daily use, hygiene, irrigation, and transformation of exterior and interior landscapes. In this sense, the quality of water was another equally important requirement in the conveyance of this resource. As early as the 12th century, classifications were made, starting with that of Ibn Rochd. In his treatises, the Andalusian physician and philosopher mentions that the best drinking water would be that which comes from dusty earth. Next comes "that from springs facing east, the crystalline, tasteless and odorless sweet waters, as well as those clear and light." Physician and vizier of Granada in the 14th century, Ibn Khatib even considered water as "one of the pillars of the body." Therefore, he believes that the best quality is that "from the hot earth source and continuous flow," followed by rainwater. A noria in Cordoba History: Textile, a prosperous economic activity in Al-Andalus But from the 11th century, the interest in irrigation and water conservation accelerated the construction of dams, built on a significant part of Andalusian rivers. The river network also saw the emergence of norias. The interest in managing this resource, for the benefit of the collective, aligned with other practices of normative dimension, which would find their origins in Assyria, nearly 2,000 years BC, or in the Roman Empire (4th century BC – 5th century AD). Thus, the distribution of water in Al-Andalus was entrusted to a trustworthy person, called Sahib al-Sâqiya. Denoting the interest in regulation to ensure access to this commodity, a Qâdi al-miyah was appointed, along with an Amin al-Maâ. After the fall of Granada in 1492, these functions did not disappear. They found their extension in the role of alamin in Castile, or alami in Valencia, up to present-day Spain. In the Iberian kingdom, there is thus a Water Tribunal, or a Council of Good Men, composed of seven geographically representative members. Since 2009, UNESCO has included this management in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The council has jurisdiction over an assembly of landowners exceeding 23,000 members. As for the tribunal, it consists of "eight elected syndics, representing nine communities" of about ten thousand members.
