I Wonder Why...?

Throughout history, the Iberian Peninsula has been home to many peoples and civilizations, such as the Roman, Visigothic or Phoenician, among others. Many of them have left a very important historical and cultural legacy, however, the Muslim one is, without a doubt, the one that has had the most influence at all levels: cultural, historical, gastronomic, etc.

An example of this is the numerous buildings and fortresses that run through the peninsula, such as the Alcazaba de Almería, Castillo de Vélez-Málaga, and of course, the Alhambra.  Many of them are in a good state of conservation, however, over the years and lack of care, others are at risk of abandonment. This is the case of the Caliphate castle of Gormaz, in Soria, which happens to be the longest in Europe.

This fortress stands imposingly on a hill from which it dominates the Duero valley. Made almost entirely of carved ashlars, it has two differentiated areas separated by a moat, today covered: the fortress and the walled enclosure.

In the fortress, the 10th-century Almanzor tower, the weapons room and the Torre del Homenaje stand out, with caliphal rigging and reused caliphal embedded beams, which act as the entrance door to the fortress, with a total of seven towers. The walled enclosure consists of about 1,200 meters in perimeter, 446 meters long and 60 meters wide, thus being the largest construction in all of Europe from the 9th and 10th centuries.

This impressive castle was built during the Caliphate of Córdoba in the 9th century and later enlarged to adapt to the orography. It had its heyday during the time of Gálib and Almanzor, and suffered numerous sieges due to its strategic and military location, although it also served the Cordovan caliphate to dominate the entire Duero valley. It conserves an impressive caliphal double door with a typical horseshoe arch, located to the south and, although it is not the only entrance, it must have been the most common.

The Gormaz fortress is in a poor state of conservation, which has made it enter the Red List of Heritage for its "uneven state of conservation". This inequality is mainly due to its enormous dimensions and is also the result of the different unequal interventions carried out. 

The best way to go to this castle is by private vehicle. From Soria, the distance to the fortress is approximately 66 kilometres, with a journey time of about 55 minutes along the SO-100 road.

Ever heard this as a child? : “What language do you need me to use so you’ll pay attention?”

It turns out that there is some truth behind the question. A series of recent scientific studies suggests that we think and make decisions differently if we process the information in a language other than our mother tongue.

Even if we grasp the notion equally well in both languages, our final decision on the matter will tend to be better thought out, less emotional and more results-oriented.

A leading expert  on bilingualism at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Albert Costa, believes it is good for deliberative thinking; it makes you think twice about things.

Costa began his research with the tramway dilemma: would you push someone onto the tracks if that death were to save the lives of five other people? The moral conflict involved in sending someone to their death appears to vanish when the question is put to subjects in a language other than their mother tongue.

The proportion of people willing to sacrifice a person for the larger good shot up from 20% to nearly 50%, with the only difference being that they processed the question in a second language.

It appears that processing information in a foreign language makes us less prone to emotional thinking and more focused on efficient results. We become less moralistic and more utilitarian.

The research also finds that thinking in another language increases our tolerance for risk-taking on anything from planning a trip to embracing a new breakthrough in biotechnology.

As the Nobel winner Daniel Kahneman explains, our brain seems to have a System 1, which focuses on fast, instinctive and stereotypic thinking, and a System 2, which deals with issues requiring greater consideration.

In our native language, we may be more prone to using System 1, while the additional effort required for thinking in a foreign language might trigger System 2. This could explain the higher percentage of people who overcome loss aversion and moral dilemmas in a foreign language.

For instance, these insights might be useful during negotiations that require participants to put their personal feelings to one side and focus on the greater good.