Torre de Belen - Cordoba

The Torre de Belén ( Tower of Bethlehem ) has a square plan of 7.4 meters on each side and is built with limestone corbels consisting of a rope and two tizones. The entrance to the tower consisted of two doors that formed a right angle. The outer door (to the north) has the shape of a horseshoe arch. The inner door (to the east) is the only one that currently leads to the ground floor, which was converted into a hermitage (hence the name Torre de las Imágenes or Torre de San Benito (Tower of the Images or Tower of Saint Benedict).

The tower has two floors covered by a brick vault in the shape of a semicircular hood. On the first floor are the entrances to the corridors of the wall (to the north and south, through semicircular arches), and to the three openings in the eastern wall, covered by semicircular arches, where the bells of the chapel located. There are two theories about the construction of this tower: one defends its Almohad origin (12th century), while others place it somewhat later, in the Christian period.

Willem Vandenameele