Construction of Giralda

The Giralda is the bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Spain and one of the city's best-known landmarks. It was built as the minaret of the great mosque of the Almohad dynasty in the twelfth century, in the brick style of Moorish architecture, and was designed by the architect Ahmad ibn Baso. After Seville was conquered by Ferdinand III of Castile in the thirteenth century, the mosque became a cathedral and the minaret became a bell tower. In the sixteenth century, the Renaissance architect Hernan Ruiz added the upper bell stage, topped by a statue of Faith that turns with the wind, which gave the tower its name, from the Spanish word for weather vane. A ramp inside allowed the muezzin to ride a horse to the top.

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