New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1911-06-07
MILLIONS md IN
ARABIC P0MPEI|.
Spanish Government uncovsr5
Ca||ph's Palace Near CoIdova
NAY DISCOVER $4o,o0O,OOQ.

MAY mSCUvER @,UuU,UUu.
Only Authentic Relic Of Moslsm .ooeu.
patton Of Ibsrian Peninsula Being
Explored Secretly In Hope Of Find.
ing Treasure Buried When Moorish
Town Was Sacked.
The Spanish government has dis
covered and now secretly is uncover
ing an Arabic Pompeii on the noun
tain side at old Cordova, near the
snow clad peaks Of the Sierra Neva-
das. No one but government employ
ees is allowed among the ruins for
oketching or photographing purposes.
Such objects Of art as have been re-
covered intact are being put unlabeled
into the museum in modern or new
Cordova, and it is announced that the
scientific world must wait until the
whole work Of excavation is completed
before getting particulars.
AZ-Zahra is the ancient name Of the
Moorish or Arabic Pompeii, the only
place of the kind in the world. It was
the pleasure resort of the great Caliph
Abderrahman ILL.,, built by him near
Cordova between the years 936 and
961 A. D. and added to by his son,
AlHakem. and by Almansur, the
vizier Of his grandson, Hisham II.
The beautiful place was completed In
600 IN, 1000 cookod
and destroyed by the Spaniards when
they reconquered the peninsula. 1t is
the only authentic relic of the Moslem
occupation.
Expect to Find Treasure.
It is said the secrecy that marks the
excavations by King Alfonso's off,
Gals is due to the tradition Of i'm
mense treasure of gold and silver and
rubies and other gems hidden by the
famous caliph and his successors. The
extent of this treasure is conjectural.
but it has been reported it originally
exceeded $4O,OOO,00O. How much of it
was found or overlooked by the re-
conquering Spaniards Of the eleventh
century will, of course, never be
known.
The discoveries take in not only AZ
Zahra, but also its suburb Of Balls.
The place is three miles from Cordova,
on the declivity of a mountain. The
resort was divided, according to the
fourteenth century historian, An-Hu-
wairi, into three parts. That nearest
to; Srh hr tho
caliph, who had there his palaces.
pleasure grounds, etc. In another re-
sided the servants and eunuchs of the
caliph's household and his body
guards. The remaining third was laid
out in gardens and pleasure grounds,
over which the palace of Abderrahman
had a commanding view.
A century or so after the reconquest
Hieronymite monastery of the Ro-
man church-that of San Jeronimo-
was built on part of the ruins of the
palace. The monastery itself is now
half in ruins, though from distance
the grand and commanding pile looks
to be still in Il state Of completeness.
Valuable Carving Found.
The style and decorations Of the
caliphs palace so far as uncovered
show it to have been on Egyptian or
Copto-Arabic lines. The carved repre-
sensations Of animate life, prohibited
in orthodox Mohammedan architecture,
were introduced ut AZ-Zahra because
the caliph was only half Arabic, his
1,px- S,,Sr n iSfi
an of Seville, descendant Of the
Gothic Princess Sarah by her Yemen
tie husband. Almansur himself was
a pure blooded Yemenite.
The excavation has uncovered three
terraces of houses. The houses in
Balls, suburb which was built In
two years. have carvings, but none OF
the magnificent metal and marble
work that prevailed at Az-Zahrah.
Some Of the floors were of brick, 9th
ers Of red tile or slate; many were of
marble in mosaics. The walls were all
decorated.
Each terrace of houses was connect
ed by secret underground passages, the
entrances to which were covered by
slabs Of stone or marble. There were
10 staircases. The outside commune
cation Of one house with another was
by means of the hanging gardens,
which have altogether disappeared.
The whole Pompeiian resort, 1t
should be remembered. was never
again occupied after the sacking, ex-
cept by the monks who built the mon