The place where the Cathedral of Seville stands has traditionally been the site of religious bildinhs as traces of a Visigothic church,
which was demolished in the wake of Arab domination, have been found in its vicinity.
The main mosque of Seville had been built during the capuphate of Abad al-Rahman II in the 9C and it sed to stand where El Salvador Church is today.
The splendour of the Almohads turned Seville into a populous city, which is why the caliph Abu Yacub Yusuf began to build a new,
much larger mosque on the site of today`s cathedral. The construction work took place under the direction of the architect Ahmed Lbn Baso, who supervised
the building activity from 1172, when it began, until 1176, by which time the main fabric of the building had been finished.
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The mosque had a rectangular ground plan with 17 aisles running from north to south. The elevation consisted pf pillars and pointed horseshoe arches. The building
was reached after crossing a large courtyard or patio, which also consisted of brick pillars and pointed horseshoe arches, still partly preserved as today`s Patio de los Naranjos.
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