Gate of Almodóvar

The Puerta de Almodóvar, an Arabian-era gate, once served as an entrance through the Roman walls of Córdoba. Its name comes from the old road leading to the town of Almodóvar del Río, about 23 kilometers away. During the Islamic period, it was also called the Gate of Nogal (Bab al-Chawz) or the Gate of Badajoz.

It is one of only three surviving gates from Córdoba’s medieval wall, along with the Puerta del Puente and the Seville Gate, and it is the oldest and least altered of them. The gate lies within the city’s historic center, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

**Architecture** The current structure, built in the 14th century atop the earlier Arab gate, consists of two rectangular towers linked by an arch with a high barrel vault. This arch, set within a slightly projecting rectangular border, was walled up at the start of the 19th century, with a lintelled door cut into the new wall. The monument is built from cut sandstone blocks, with brick additions. A protruding molding runs along the base of the parapet, while the top retains complete crenellations and a walkway.

**Cairuán Street Promenade** Outside the wall, a stream flows between paved walkways that connect this gate to the Arco de la Luna. This area, just outside the Judería, once held an ancient Jewish cemetery. Previously called the Huerta del Rey ("King's Garden") due to its closeness to the Alcázar of Córdoba, it was renamed Cairuán Street on May 27, 1968. This change honored Córdoba’s twinning with the Tunisian city of Kairouan, recognizing the historical link between the Fatimid Caliphate and the Caliphate of Córdoba, as well as architectural similarities between the Great Mosque of Kairouan and the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba.

During this period, mayor Antonio Guzmán Reina restored the promenade and installed statues of two notable Cordobans. The first, near the Almodóvar Gate, is a bronze statue of the Roman philosopher Seneca by Amadeo Ruiz Olmos, inaugurated in 1965 by members of the International Congress of Philosophy to mark the 19th centenary of his death. It was funded by bullfighter Manuel Benítez "El Cordobés" as compensation for urban development issues caused by the construction of the Los Gallos Hotel. Two years later, a monument to the Muslim polymath and jurist Averroes was inaugurated in the southeastern section of the promenade.