Salam, time travellers. My name is Samir, and I will be your guide today on this journey into the late Me-dieval town of Arcos. I am a doctor born into a Muslim family, and if the truth be told, my story unfolds in an era brimming with uncertainty, in which the horizon of our lands is swayed by the tension between two major cultures, Muslim and Christian. Somewhat trying times, undoubtedly, yet a period of great knowledge, of exchange and undeniable shifts.

In these testing times, I chose to convert to Christianity to safeguard my life and my profession, without relinquishing what I once was. Throughout my tale, we shall wander the streets of a border town, from the period of the Taifa of Arcos in the 11th century, until the complex current backdrop of a border where cultures converge, in which living in harmony, tension and knowledge exchange were the watchwords of fifteenth century life. Stroll with me among forts with prayers heard from afar, mixing with science, faith and contradictions. You will learn that, even in times of conflict, humanity always seeks out the means to understand and heal.

Join me, as each stone unearths a tale worth telling.