The Aljafería Palace is the only fortified Islamic palace that dates to the middle ages. The construction works of the palace have been completed in the second half of the 11th century. It is a palace of quadrangular plan with rounded towers except for one of them, known as the Troubadour’s Tower, which has a rectangular plan. The rooms are arranged around the courtyard, which is open to the sky. Its roofs, coffered ceilings and plasterwork decoration are some of its greatest charms. It is currently the headquarters of the Aragonese Parliament.
I personally consider the Palace of the Aljafería as one of the most emblematic complexes of monuments in Zaragoza, which it shares with the Cathedral of San Salvador. The state of what the visitor sees now is the result of a distinct thousand year history, during which it has been successively used as a royal palace, seat of the Inquisition, military barracks and since 1985, seat of the Aragonese Cortes.
