Atarfe
GranadaAndalucía
Arabism derived from aṭ-Ṭarf ('the end, the edge'), from classical ṭarf, applied to the western limit of the Granada meadow.
Town of the Granada meadow with the archaeological site of Medina Elvira, old capital of the Granada cora in the 8th-11th centuries before the foundation of present-day Granada.
Evolution of the name
- aṭ-Ṭarf Andalusi Arabic 9th–11th centuries
- Atarfe medieval Castilian from 1492
Reflections, to the letter
Aṭ-Ṭarf means «the edge», and the edge is underfoot. Right where Sierra Elvira stops climbing and the plain of the Vega begins lie the ruins of Medina Elvira, the city that came before Granada. There, between rock and flatland, the name lands at once: Atarfe was born on the shore of the mountain, on the rim where the heights give way to the orchards.
Glossary
- Arabism
- A word or place name in Castilian, Portuguese or Catalan borrowed from Andalusian Arabic. The Peninsula preserves thousands: aceite, azúcar, almohada, alcázar, azulejo, Guadalquivir, Atalaia, Azofra, Azambuja.
- Medina Elvira
- Andalusian city of the 8th to 11th centuries, capital of the cora (administrative province) of Ilbira (Granada) until 1013, the year in which the Zirid dynasty transferred the capital to Madinat Garnata (Granada). After the transfer, Madina Ilbira was progressively abandoned and its stones reused in modern constructions. The site, excavated since 2002, has uncovered two hectares with aljama mosque, baths and residential zone.
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Camino Mozárabe