Islamic Poet of Love

Eleventh-century Córdoba was at the heart of the rich culture of Muslim Andalusia. Among its greatest creative figures was Wallada, princess, patron and poet, and one of the most influential women writers in European history.

Portrait of Wallada by the contemporary artist José Luis Mun̄oz at the  Sepharad House Museum in Córdoba’s Jewish Quarter.

Wallada Bint-al Mustakfi may be the most influential writer that historians ever forgot. 'Wallada became a legend in Córdoba, more myth than history', said the Spanish journalist Matilde Cabello. 'I heard about Wallada from my father as a child. But I didn't know she was a real person.'

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