THE ALHAMBRA

The Alhambra is a complex of citadel, palaces, gardens, homes and workshops built by the Moors of Spain in the Middle ages. It sits high on the Red Hill, after which it is thought to be named, and has glorious views of Granada and the surrounding countryside and neighboring hills. Shaped something like a ship, at its prow is the citadel, the Alcazaba. These were turbulent times: the Alcazaba was begun in the late 800's then rebuilt and enlarged in the 1200's as the Muslim hold on Spain was weakening. From then until the mid 1400's, while the Moors led by Nasrid kings still had power in southern Spain, the palaces and other structures were built. In 1492 (yes, that famous year) Isabel and Ferdinand (yes, that famous couple) conquered the last of the Moors holed up in the Alhambra. They were led at the time by the unfortunate King Baobdil one of many great characters about whom Washington Irving writes in Tales of the Alhambra. This, then, was the end of Muslim rule in Spain.

Luckily, then and since then the Alhambra was not destroyed and in fact much of it has survived and is still being restored. The Catholics under Charles V built a monster palace right in the middle of the Alhambra. This is probably an ok Renaissance building, but something like the Victor Emmanuel Monument in the center of Rome, this palace was not sensitively placed here.





A UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Spanish have done a terrific job making it possible for the million + tourists who visit every year to have an experience that is organizationally only minimally difficult but allows for a relatively uncrowded chance to see the Nasrid Palaces. These palaces are the most fragile and most spectacular part of the site.

The best guide book I found was not the "official" one but one called, THE ALHAMBRA and Granada IN FOCUS, published by Edilux in a format similar to the DK guidebooks.


Above the Alhambra is the complex called the Generalife which includes a summer palace.. These photos, I hope, show some of the waterways through the Generalife. The stairs with the white walls have water running down the hand rails as well as down the center:
This water then runs through many of the fountains and pools of the rest of the Alhambra. This is apparently one of the few remaining original Nasrid features in this part of the gardens. Most of the rest of the gardens have been altered quite a bit to the tastes of Renaissance and later times.












The Wine Gate on the way to the Alcazaba, the citadel:

Waiting to get in to the Nasrid Palaces:








The Nasrid Palaces are all attached to each other and are the most popular of the three major areas of the Alhambra. As a matter of fact, they are the only part for which a tourist's entry is timed, and boy, you had better be there within the time you are alloted! My first trip up, I didn't realize that the time referred only to the palaces. I was, literally, one minute late and they denied me entrance! So I spent the rest of the day exploring the rest of the place. One good thing to come out of it was that I was able to warn a couple of women I met my next trip up. They almost missed it and didn't have the luxury of five days to return that I did.

These pics are of one of several miradors, rooms or halls with beautiful views over the River Darro and Granada. I am showing the same view twice because with my eyes it seemed I could see both the room and the view at the same time, but the camera clearly can't. Later, I'll play with Photoshop and see if I can combine them...






This mirador is also an oratory and is out of line with the rest of the palace. In fact, it is oriented toward Mecca. It is in the first of the Nasrid palaces you encounter, the Mexuar Palace.

All the palaces center on courtyards with beautiful pools or fountains in them. Water was, still is, the life blood of this place. Add a lot of sunlight and air, a consideration for the people occupying the place and a strong sense of privacy coupled with openness, and you have the building blocks of the aesthetic of the Moors.

This is from the Mexuar courtyard:













Oops! Gotta go - more to come!











Many thanks are due to Washington Irving. While images of the Headless Horseman and Ichabod Crane come to mind, for me his best effort was the Tales of the Alhambra which he wrote about a time when he actually stayed in this beautiful ruin in the spring of 1829. He was Ambassador to Spain and decided to walk from Seville to Granada with a friend. On arrival, he met some local folks who led him up to the Alhambra where he then lived for several months with others who had their home there. He heard many stories about the Moors who had built and lived in the Alhambra humdreds of years earlier. Tales of the Alhambra is part travelogue, part description of the place and people, part history, all with a large helping of fairy tale! Please read it if you get a chance.

STILL IN PROGRESS!