Ibn Qasî Refuge - in search of Paradise

The house has 3 bedrooms and has been decorated with furniture we recovered. It's our second home and a place of refuge and relaxation where we like to spend some time. We built the house from a warehouse of agricultural implements and a small stable. We use characteristic materials of the houses of the place, namely the ceilings in cane and the floors in clay tiles, made by hand in Santa Catarina da Fonte do Bispo, in the neighbouring Algarve. The space Ibn Qasi was a Sufi political leader who opposed the Almoravid dynasty. He was an ally and friend of D. Afonso Henriques, first King of Portugal. It was probably a muladi or descendant of Christian converts, of Roman origin, deriving its name from the Latin Cassius. As a religious and Sufi boss, he gave rise to the Muridîn movement. It came to rule, albeit briefly, a relatively considerable portion of Gharb al-Andalus from Silves. It will also have been emir de Mértola, a village at the base of whose castle we can see a statue of you today. Your hosts will have reconquered Mértola and Ibn Qasî will have taken refuge in Alcaria dos Javazes. This place, for its altitude and location, would allow you to control the movements of those who opposed it. As we gave the name Refuge Ibn Qasî to our home we wanted to remember and honor someone who perhaps according to legend here will have passed. Registration Details 103389/AL