Abdel Aziz Tower

Look to your left and you’ll spot an old tower on the corner. It’s easy to miss, but this is one of the last remaining parts of the defensive wall built by the Almohads in the mid-12th century to protect the old city center. The tower was once part of a long wall stretching from the Alcázar to the Torre del Oro on the Guadalquivir river banks. Fun fact: the towers along this wall change shape the closer they get to the river. This one, the Abdel Aziz Tower, is hexagonal, the nearby Silver Tower is octagonal, and the Torre del Oro has twelve sides—called a dodecagon, just in case you wanted to impress your friends. The tower is named after Emir Abdel Aziz, governor of Al-Andalus and son of the famous Musa. He lived in Isbiliya—what is now Seville—from 714 to 719, before being assassinated by his cousin. Legend has it that when King Ferdinand III captured the city, the banner of Castile was raised from the top of this very tower.