What if the name of an ancient mosque could explain what happened to a Roman road?
In Toledo, traces of the past can even be found in place names. The present-day Mezquita del Cristo de la Luz was built in the year 999, but its original name was linked to its location: Bab al-Mardum, the ‘bricked-up gate’ or ‘blocked gate’ of the ancient city wall.
And right at its feet lies another, much older story.
During archaeological excavations carried out in the area surrounding the mosque, the remains of a Roman road were discovered, consisting of large, carefully fitted granite slabs. It was part of the road network of ancient Toletum, centuries before Toledo became the Islamic city of Tulaytula.
What happened to that road?
The ancient Bab al-Mardum was one of the entrances to the city. Over time, the gate was closed off and rendered obsolete within Toledo’s defensive system, whilst the urban landscape continued to change.
It is possible that these changes also affected the road that ran through the area. Over the centuries, the ancient road was buried beneath new layers of the city, and the mosque that we can still visit today was built on this very site.
But the history of the place did not end there.
The Mosque of Cristo de la Luz is the result of different eras that have been superimposed upon one another. Beneath it and all around it, we find traces of the Roman Toletum, the Islamic Tulaytula and the later Christian Toledo.
Following the Christian conquest of Toledo in 1085, the old mosque was transformed and, in the 12th century, its characteristic Mudejar apse was added.
The result is a veritable urban manuscript: a city built upon another, in which each era leaves its own mark without completely erasing the previous ones.
So, when you visit the mosque, start by looking at the ground.
Before looking up at its arches and vaults, look for the remains of that ancient road and imagine the people who might have walked along it long before the building existed.
Then, look up.
In just a few steps, you will have travelled from Toletum to Tulaytula.
And that is one of the great wonders of Toledo: walking through a modern city whilst, beneath our feet, the paths of all the cities that came before still remain.
