Wadi-Al-Hijarah means Guadalajara in Arabic. Other cities like Medina or Cordoba are Arabic city names.?

Question

My question is: Did you know that?

Many Cities in Latin America were founded by Arabs.

History tells us little about Tarif ibn Malik, the Berber officer who landed in Spain in the early months of AD 710, heading a reconnaissance mission of 100 cavalry and 400 foot soldiers. But the place where he landed is named Tarifa in his honor, and Ibn Malik, as the first Muslim to enter Spain, takes pride of place in the long list of names - verbal historical markers - that testify to 800 years of Muslim civilization in al-Andalus.

Hard on Tarif's heels came that remarkable horseman Tariq ibn Ziyad, who stepped ashore in Algeciras Bay, a name derived from the Arabic al-Jazirah al-Khadra' - Green Island - which is probably how those desert warriors viewed fertile Spain. Tariq, at the head of his light cavalry, swept right up through the Ibe­rian Peninsula to the Bay of Biscay. His name is perpetuated where his campaign began, at Gibraltar, Jabal Tariq, or Tariq's Mountain.

Arabic place names are most common around Valencia (called Balansiyah in Ara­bic) and in the vicinity of Malaga (Malaqah), Granada (Gharnatah) and Seville (Ishbiliyah), despite the many changes imposed by Ferdinand and Isabella after the reconquista. There's little trace of the Arab presence, however, in Galicia, Asturias and parts of Navarre, Aragon and Catalunya, which are moun­tainous, inhospitable and were more easily defended against invaders. Besides, we know historically how the Muslim advance was checked in Cantabria around 718 and in Aragon about the same time. This helps explain why only 30 percent of Spain's Arabic place names are found north of the Tagus River, while over 65 percent occur south of that line.

The Arabic word madinah, or city, is found occasionally in Spanish place names - for example, Medinaceli (Madinat Salim, the city of Salim), Medina-Sidonia and Medina del Campo - while the descriptive qal'ah, meaning fortress or castle, is found in Aragón at Calatayud, or Ayyub's Castle, referring to one of the key leaders during the early years of al-Andalus, as well as in old Castile at Calahorra (from Qal'at al-Hajar, stone castle, or perhaps al-Qal'ah al-Hurrah, free castle) and in new Castile at Calatrava (Qal'at al-Rabah, Rabah's castle). All in all, the word qal'ah is found imbedded in at least another half-dozen place names.

We get a glimpse, too, of some of the first Muslim families settling in Spain from use of the prefix ben- or beni-, from the Arabic ibn, son of, or bani, sons of, in the names of towns and other settlements.

Answer 1

The Spanish beat the hell out of any word in any other language used to describe their country. Gades (Carthaginian) = Cadiz. Caesaraugusta (Latin) = Zaragosa.

Answer 2

What Does Wadi Mean

Answer 3

Guadalajara in Arabic means: wadi el hejara (valley of stones)

Answer 4

Hi,

I knew about Medina and Cordoba. I did not know about Guadalahara.

The Moors had a huge infuence on Western Civilization.

And your point is?

Did you know the word OK is Swahili and the only word that slave holders would allow them to use?

Dah dude