As every other Muslim city, Cordoba was above all a large market, called the souk. Traders and artisans would open shops in the streets, in a narrow, extended corridor which spread out nearly the length of the entire city, offering to the customers the products that they made themselves or that had been brought from all over the world.In the old days, at the souk were sold very different products, such as wool, perfumes and so on. The souk burnt down on many occasions along its history, until the 10th Century when the “alcaicería” was created. This was a royal market protected by the caliphate guards, used for selling the most luxurious and other imported products, such as silks, perfume, spices, etc.This building served both as a warehouse and as a hotel for travellers. The mediaeval souk has given way to the current Town Crafts Souk, housed in a Mudejar style building counting with tow floors and with a large arcaded courtyard, where craftsmen of Cordoba demonstrate their skills in working with leather, ceramics and precious metals such as gold and silver.
