Ribat of Arrifana
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Ribat da Arrifana | |
 Aerial view of Ribat of Arrifana | |
 Interactive map of Ribat of Arrifana | |
| Location | Aljezur, Faro (district), Algarve, Portugal |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°19′14″N 8°52′37″W / 37.32056°N 8.87694°W |
| Type | Excavations |
| History | |
| Founded | 1130 |
| Abandoned | 1151 |
| Cultures | Andalusī |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | since 2001 |
| Archaeologists | Rosa Varela Gomes and Mário Varela Gomes |
| Ownership | Private |
| Public access | Yes |
The Ribat of Arrifana is the archeological site of the remains of a Muslim fortification (ribat) situated in Arrifana, Aljezur municipality, in the Faro District of the Algarve region, Portugal. It was a Muslim coastal fortress built around 1130 and is the only such Muslim fortress to have been identified in Portugal, having been excavated by Portuguese archaeologists since 2001.
The ribat is located on the Ponta da Atalaia, about 1 km north of Arrifana Beach. It was constructed around 1130, probably by the Sufi and Mahdi master of Christian origin, Abūʾl-Qāsim Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Qasī, one of the leading political and religious figures in al-Andalus, the Muslim territory that covered most of Iberia during the Islamic Golden Age. Between 1130 and 1140 Ibn Qasi wrote his main work, The Removal of the Sandals, which was inspired by both the Old Testament and the Quran. In 1151 he was assassinated in Silves after being accused of betraying Islam by the followers of Abd al-Mu'min and Ibn Almúndir. After this the Ribat of Arrifana was abandoned, with the English crusader and chronicler, Roger of Hoveden, reporting forty years later that it was “recognizable but in ruins”. It is believed that the minaret was used as a watchtower in the fourteenth century. Despite appearing in written records dating back to 1786 and being clearly identifiable as a former inhabited area as late as 1841,[1] the location of the ribat was only identified by archaeologists at the beginning of this millennium. Its architectural features are inspired by the ribats identified in North Africa.[2] [3][4][5]