Nostalgia for al-Andalus in early modern Moroccan Voyages en Espagne: al-Ghassani?s Rihlat al-wazir fi iftikak al-asir (1690-91) as a case study

Abstract

The present article proposes that we turn our attention to al-Ghassani's (d. 1707) Ri lat al-wazir fi iftikaki al-asir (The Journey of the Minister to Ransom the Captive) to trace some of the most original and thought-provoking literary and cultural manifestations of nostalgic/elegiac depictions of al-Andalus in Arabic-Islamic writing in the post-Reconquista era. Ri lat al-wazir fi iftikaki al-asir, the article argues, abounds with tropes and motifs typical of neoclassical and modern Arabic Andalusiyyat. This is especially true of the section that records the author's physical encounter with al-Andalus. Finally, the essay makes the case for additional scholarly exploration of the themes of memory, loss, and nostalgia in other early modern Moroccan Voyages en Espagne.