Please Push F11 to see full screen
Before the Alhambra became one of the most beautiful palaces of the middle ages, it was a fort. And what better place for a fort than this steep hill separated from the town below by a river. Once this hill was kept bare by the fort's defenders. It would glow red at sunset due to a thin layer of oxidized soil. Its name, "al-hamra" not only honors the founder of the Nasrid dyanasty, Muhammed ibn al-Ahmar ibn Nasr -- but also puns on the color of its soil.
The hilltop forms a rough triangle and at its western end rises the Alcazaba citadel which today is pretty much an empty fortress. Started as a 9th century fortress, the citadel reached its building peak with its great sultans of the 14th century: Yusuf I and his son Muhammad V. Long before that, this served as the feudal castle and home of the early Nasrid sultans. Some archeologists speculate that the Romans may have once fortified this site. The opposite side contains a bulwark fortified with cannon -- and aimed at the Sultan's town of Granada. As their power faded, they may have feared their own more than they did Ferdinand and Isabel who did them in in 1492.
Underneath this now-lovely space rest pieces of the Sierra Nevada deposited here 6 million years ago. Since then the stone has settled into four terraces. The entire citadel is about 2200 feet long and about 600 feet at its widest. About 1.2 miles of walls surround it between 30 towers some of which have been restored.
Alhambra was a city with many buildings and at least 7 different palace complexes. Most tourists start here with this palace of the Nasrid sultans. The Catholic monarchs who drove the last of the Moors from Spain had no fixed residence. (In fact, they were on the go so much that they virtually governed from horseback.) Their grandson, who became Emperor Charles V, could therefore make his home in the Alhambra, sparing it from destruction.
Three Nasrid palaces remain today and they are extremely popular; tickets with start times are required to control the crowds at this most popular tourist site in Spain. The oldest surviving part is the Mexuar chambers where the administrative activities were carried out -- allowing the other two palaces to serve primarily as residences for the Sultan and his harem. This room was extensively modified by the Christians, making it difficult to tell what it was like during the Moorish realm. Note the railing of a choir added later.
Attached to the Mexuar is this oratorio overlooking El AlbaicĂn, the old Moorish quarter of Granada at the bottom of the steep hill Since Muslims pray 5 times per day, prayer spots such as this were built adjacent to palace great rooms. Unlike nearly every other room in the Nisrad palaces, this room is not laid out perpendicular to the citadel walls, but rather is orientated towards Mecca to the southeast. To help focus the prayer, the wall contains the niche called the "mihrab." Note the alabaster capitals.
Some of the Artesonados (elaborately adorned wooden ceilings) are original; generally the darker the ceiling, the older -- not unlike stain glass in a Gothic cathedral.
Many Moorish craftsmen stayed in Spain after the Christian reconquest. They became known as Mudejars (which means "permitted to remain.") Their application of Muslim techniques to Christian design eventually became its own architectural style.
The Courtyard of the Mexuar separates the administrative center from the residential palace of the Comares. This view looks back at the Golden Chamber where visitors may have waited to be admitted into the administrative area of the Mexuar or the residence of the Sultan.
This is the opposite view of the courtyard looking at the elaborate facade of the Comares palace. Restored in the 19th century, the design gets more elaborate as it rises from the 3 marble steps...
...to these mullioned windows and the top edging. This facade was added to commemorate the 1369 battlefield success of the Sultan Muhammad V who created the Palace of the Lions that we will see in a moment. The calligraphy at top and bottom of these windows reminds viewers of the motto of the Nasrid dynasty: "The only conqueror is God."
Passing through a series of beautifully decorated rooms with artesonadal ceilings and right corners (the better to defend from attack), viewers walk into the serene Comares courtyard, the first of several reflecting pools.
While built as a residence for the Sultan, the tower at rear was used as a Throne room. This pooled area is called the courtyard of the myrtles after the evergreen and aromatic hedges that line the pool. Water is a common motif in Moorish exteriors. While contributing to the serenity of the setting, it also doubles the visual impact of the palace through reflection. This was originally an open space when created by Yusuf I; his son, Muhammad V closed in the fourth wall to make it a true courtyard.
The antechamber in front of the tower is called the "Ship Room." Islamic ornamentation fills much of its facade. Like a monochromatic kaleidoscope, it is both abstract and repetitive...
...but broken by the asymmetrical calligraphy which completes much Islamic architectural design. Calligraphers were highly respected and many Ottoman sultans mastered the art themselves. Given that the human form and face could not be depicted in their religious art, Muslims turned their artistic endeavors to script.
Behind the ship room, the throne room, called the Hall of the Ambassadors. Here the Nasrid Sultans ruled. It's also called the Hall of the Comares -- a word derived from the Arabic word for stained glass. Long after the Moors vacated the palace, a nearby explosion of a gunpowder magazine destroyed the original stained glass windows in 1590. This funky shot is really several photos "stitched" together to show the breadth of the room...
....and here's a vertical stitching to show the 150 foot height and the great ceiling, made of over 8000 separate pieces of wood in 7 concentric circles. From the outside, this is an imposing structure resembling the keep of a castle. However, it was not designed for defense as the deep niches containing the lower windows would have made the room easy to penetrate. The upper 5 windows let in light; the opposite wall had these as well but they were plugged up to keep the south wall from collapsing. Important people here sat in the corners of the room -- just as they would in a desert tent.
The Dutch artist Escher was inspired to create his experimental drawings after visiting Alhambra in 1926 and 1936. Here an artist's model poses in front of an inspiring doorway. Unlike Islamic art, this one never repeats herself.
Nasrid stucco sealed the brick and wood that their builders preferred over stone. This allowed air to pass through the wall and lessen the impact of seasonal changes in humidity. Many stucco designs are pure abstractions, but a common recognizable element is the shell -- symbol of water and life (and ironically the symbol of Christian Spain's patron, Saint James.)
Next to the Courtyard of the Myrtles stands perhaps the most beautiful exterior in Medieval architecture, the Courtyard of the Lions, surrounded by the galleries that lead into its elegant palace rooms.
This Arabic cloister is made up of cubic capitals which were originally painted in many colors. At first glance, they look monolithic but, in fact, are varied.
The east and west ends of the courtyard hold a gazebo-sized rooms capped by this interior dome. Much discussion has taken place over whether this was the original design vs. the whimsy of an inaccurate restoration architect. This picture, unfortunately, does not do justice to the half dome constructed with many pieces of wood.
The capitals support highly decorated wood spandrels forming curtain arches.
Another view of the small pavilions at either end of the courtyard -- these resemble the high tents described in the Koran. But there is one huge missing element in the courtyard of the lions....
...The lions themselves are gone; they are currently being restored. One was taken out early to test the concept and he has reinvented himself and is on display in the Alhambra museum where we snapped this picture in the Palace of Charles V. These lions are much older than their courtyard, probably from the late 10th century.
But never fear, we have this picture taken on our first trip to Granada in the horrid fall of 2001 where all 12 lions showed up for their portrait. Our digital cameras were much more primitive in those days so we will have to return some day to the courtyard of the lions when these marble critters return in their glory to spit the cooling water.
Sultan Mohammad V built this courtyard, supervising the work so closely that he was often covered in lime and plaster. He ruled twice, having been deposed by his cousin for two years. While in exile, he was exposed to Benedictine cloisters. He returned to power in 1362 and began building with a vengeance.
The lions would hold up the fountain where the wooden structure is in this picture.
In Mohammad V's day, the Spanish Christians and their Moorish counterparts shared craftsmen and decorating techniques.
The garden has been completely redone to control water that could harm the foundation of the palace. The orange trees are even planted in pots below ground. Pavilions such as this front the east and west sides of the courtyard.
The north side of the courtyard of the lions leads through its elaborate portico to the ...
...spectacular hall called the Hall of the Two Sisters -- after two small Macael marble slabs in the floor. But no one looks at the floor at first with a ceiling such as this. The enormous 8-pointed star of the Mocárabes is the masterpiece of the symmetrical stalactites of Nasrid ceilings. Stalactites have been an element of Muslim decoration since at least the 10th century. They remind Muslims of the cave where Archangel Gabriel revealed to Mohammad the Koran. Here high windows draw out the hot air in the summer. There are no lower windows to let in the summer air. Summer temperatures inside rarely rise above 70 degrees.
Here's a stitched-together version of the Hall of the Two Sisters showing about half of what may be one of the greatest ceilings in the world. Not shown is the fountain which reflects that ceiling -- and suggests to the room's occupants the water garden theme of this palace.
Just to the north of the Hall of the Two Sisters is the Mirador (outlook) of the Lindaraja gardens. Before the Christians took back Granada (and with it the last Moorish outpost in Spain), this view encompassed the whole city of Granada. Later the Catholics built a north wall on the Lindaraja, making it resemble a cloister.
King Charles I remodeled some of these rooms, thinking he would stay here in the early 1500s. Artists created beautiful Flemish ceilings -- as if this place needed another beautiful ceiling. Charles' new bride, cousin Isabel, tried staying here but got spooked by frequent earth tremors -- and promptly moved out.
Had Isabel stayed, she would have these lovely views of the Lindaraja courtyard with its lovely fountain (nowadays, a copy) ...
...and a French garden now enclosed in a cloister-like north wall added by the Catholic kings who succeeded the Moors.
Beyond the last great remaining Nasrid palace is the Partal. This porticoed structure is called the Tower of the Ladies.
The Tower of the Ladies the dominant structure in this area of landscaped terraces (developed in the 20th century). Once it contained a beautiful neighborhood of Muslim mansions and their beautiful gardens -- as well as another palace, built by poet and Sultan Yusuf III. The Christian governors of Granada lived here until 1718; eventually it was torn down.
The Tower of the Ladies is essentially a Mirador with views of the Albaicin, the Moorish town at the foot of the Alhambra mountain. It is the only surviving structure in an early 14th century palace. Therefore this is one of the oldest buildings still standing in the Alhambra complex.
Besides the Mirador of the Tower of the Ladies, three 14th century Muslim houses remain. This mid-20th century fossil was a temporary visitor.
From the Partal leads a long path past the many towers of the citadel of the Alhambra. The original defenses were supported by at least 30 such towers and 22 still stand.
Many of these towers were converted to lavish living quarters in the later years of the Nasrid dynasty -- complete with the lavish ceilings and tiled walls found in the major palaces of the Alhambra.
The path leads east to the extensive gardens known as the Generalife. Once there were many gardens on the hill rising above Alhambra (called the Hill of the Sun.)
The lower gardens were originally the palace orchards. This whole hill was crop-bearing in times of the Sultans.
These orchards originally stretched to the top of the hill. The present implementation started in 1931 and finished in 1951 and probably has little to do with the medieval gardens except for the presence of water, a Moorish trademark. Squirting fountains such as these were unknown as the water pressure from hill top cisterns would be insufficient. Modern "restorers" must feel the need to be evocative rather than duplicative of the Moorish original.
In the distance rise the moody Sierra Nevadas, Europe's 2nd highest mountains (after the Alps). Most of the year they are snow covered, hence their name.
Cypress trees (usually associated with cemeteries since their roots are gentle with the tombs below) line the path and form a number of interior alcoves here. Muslim landscapers preferred Cypress as it forms dense evergreen screens. Myrtles and box also are used in hedges...
...and over 160 different species of plants provide color throughout much of the year such as these cockscombs.
The gardens rise to this long water courtyard.
The north pavilion had the second story added by the Christians while the rest of the garden is much earlier. Take a look at the starkness of the upper story versus the lavish ornamentation below. Your subdivision would probably not allow such an "enhancement."
At the north end, this elaborate portico leads to a Mirador.
The view looking south from the north pavilion. Christians also made the west (right) side a gallery so they could see the Alhambra palace and the Sierra Nevadas beyond. Muslim gardens are typically enclosed and private with exterior views only available by entering one of the buildings which served as a mirador.
East of the long water courtyard, the north pavilion extends to a double galleried lookout with its own garden to the south. This "Cypress Courtyard" has a U-shaped pond added since the Moors departed. It is also known as the "Courtyard of the Sultana" since one of the queens arranged trysts with a nobleman. Supposedly when the sultan discovered the affair, he had all of the men of the tribe killed.
To approach the upper terrace of gardens, one takes the "water stairway." This is a beautiful set of steps embellished by black and white stones (found in different rivers that form Granada's base). Water flows down where the banisters would be. We found this area very slippery in the on-again, off-again rain that plagued our day.
Here's a closeup of the water-banister. The Moors succeeded the Romans in mastering public plumbing. In this case, the founder of Alhambra built a waterway from the Darro river 3.5 miles upstream. Starting high up on the hill, it provided water which flowed through these gardens and into the fortress and palace below.
And now, as the zany sages say, time for something completely different. Despite the fact that we are in the place of incredible Moorish medieval architecture, Dick's favorite building was the Renaissance palace of Carlos V.
This may not belong here -- but it is beautiful and one of the best proportioned buildings anywhere. Carlos V, grandson of the conquering Ferdinand and Isabel who drove the Muslims from Spain, thought he would build a palace to rival that of the Nasrids.
The Moors were tolerant rulers and the Christians had a neighborhood adjacent to the Nasrid palace. This palace was built in that spot. While it may have been incongruent within a Moorish jewel, its very existence probably saved the Alhambra from destruction. You couldn't destroy a palace of the king and its grounds.
Here's a software conglomeration which does not do justice to the front facade of the palace. It is, indeed, flat -- the side of a square. It's built in the style of its day -- Italian Renaissance. Emperor Carlos V took little interest in its construction; he left that to the governor, a scion of the noble Mendoza family. Note here the 8 Ionic pilasters which will be repeated en masse in the interior portico. Also note the circle and the square window patterns of the first floor. The crest of Carlos's son, Philip II, centers the whole facade.
A bird's eye view shows the perfect circle within the perfect square -- completely symmetrical except for the rise of the chapel roof at one corner. The roof over the circular galleries was added only in 1960.
Architect Pedro Machuca had trained with Michelangelo and Rafael. While appearing today quite classic, this was a radical building for its day as much Spanish monumental architecture was emerging from the Gothic era.
Here Doric (lower level) and Ionic (upper) capitals hold up curving Tuscan lintels on both floors.
Construction of the palace started around 1528 -- two decades before Michelangelo became architect of St. Peter's in Rome.
Here's the interior of the gallery. Ironically, this was never occupied as a royal palace -- or even finished. Emperor Carlos concluded that the seat of his realm must be more central in Spain than the southern city of Granada.
Groups meet at the center where acoustics tend to be excellent, focused in by the walls.
And a close-up of the facade before moving on to some of the lesser buildings of Alhambra.
Let's explore a few of the interesting, but much less spectacular, buildings within Alhambra. This tower is that of the old convent of San Francisco. It's now a luxury hotel, part of the Spanish Parador system. Guidebooks love this place and suggest booking a year in advance. We got in that afternoon due to a cancellation.
This is a lovely place built on the ruins of another Nasrid palace. At the left end of this picture was the center of the Moorish home converted by the Franciscans into a chapel. In this chapel, Ferdinand and Isabel, the Catholic Kings who drove the Moors out of Spain and launched Columbus making them perhaps the greatest of Spanish rulers -- were laid to rest according to Isabel's will. (At least for a few years until their grandson created a lavish tomb down the hill in town and moved their bodies in 1521.)
Here's the cloister. Where Moors strode and Franciscans prayed, we had breakfast.
The grounds of the Parador recreate the spirit of the Moorish gardens that once surrounded this palace. The Royal Waterway which brought water from down the hill flowed through here into ponds, fountains, and baths.
Nearby and not very well preserved are the remains of another palace, built along the southern fortress wall and using one of the wall's towers as its main hall. This was late 13th or early 14th century and belonged to the Abencerrage tribe.
As was typical, the Christians built a church on the spot where the mosque once stood in the complex. This one was fairly undistinguished.
The rain finally cleared at the end of the first of our two days in Alhambra and Dick found...
...his pot of gold. Were you wondering how her hair got blond? THE END: See all of our travel pictures by cutting and pasting this link into your browser: http://www. dickschmitt.com/travels.html
