FIVE Hours at the Alhambra...

Our focus today was to explore the last and greatest Moorish palace, the Alhambra... one of Europe's top sights. Attracting 8,000 visitors a day, it's the reason most tourists come to Granada. Nowhere else does the splendor of Moorish civilization shine so beautifully.

The last Moorish stronghold in Europe is, I read, really a symbol of retreat. For centuries, Granada was merely a regional capital. Gradually the Christian Reconquista moved south, taking Córdoba (1237) and Sevilla (1248). The Nazarids, one of the many diverse ethnic groups of Spanish Muslims, held together the last Moorish kingdom, which they ruled from Granada until 1492.
It was mind-blowing to think that while Europe slumbered through the Dark Ages, Moorish magnificence blossomed- ornate stucco, plaster stalactites, colors galore, scalloped windows framing Granada views, exuberant gardens, and water, water everywhere. Water, so rare and precious in most of the Islamic world, was the purest symbol of life to the Moors. The Alhambra is decorated with water: standing still, cascading, masking secret conversations, and drip-dropping playfully. Currently it's also being used for making great coffee!

There’s architectural perfection in so many areas of the Alhambra. Perhaps that’s why it’s such an important site to see—aside from its ancient history. Ultimately, it’s a medieval fortress and palace and has been a UNESCO site since 1984. It is best known for the Nasrid dynasty buildings of the 13th and 14th centuries. This was our focus for most of our visit.
The name “Alhambra” means red fortress, or castle, because of the red earthy building materials that characterize it. It’s not one big palace but a complex of buildings, palaces, and gardens that don’t all date from the same period and didn’t serve the same purpose.
We were all most excited about the Palacios Nazaríes, the jewel of the Alhambra- the Moorish royal palace. Our explore took us through three basic sections: royal offices, ceremonial rooms, and private quarters. Built mostly in the 14th century, this palace offered us the best possible look at the refined, elegant Moorish civilization of Al-Andalus (the Arabic word for the Moorish- controlled Iberian Peninsula).
I loved these Touch Points, "Despite the apparent hardness of the materials to decorate the Alhambra are many factors that can cause spoilage. Over time rubbing, body oil and dirt from hands can damage even the strongest stone irreversibly."
To think of all who wandered over these 700 year old tiles... WOW.
One can only image the beauty of the filigree windows knowing they once were filled with stained glass.




Muslims avoided making images of living creatures that was God's work. But they could carve decorative religious messages. One phrase- only Allah is victorious is repeated 9,000 times throughout the palace. Find the character for "Allah"-it looks like a cursive W with a nose on its left side, with a vertical line to the right. The swoopy toboggan blades underneath are a kind of artistic punctuation used to set off one phrase.

Throwback Thursday: Here is a photo of me and my boys from our first visit to the Courtyard of the Lions. Wonderful memories were evoked.
Conquering Christians disassembled the fountain to see how it worked, rendering it nonfunctional until it finally flowed again in 2012. So I guess this is the first time we've see it in its original glory.




I wandered around in complete awe, allowing my imagination to run wild. Originally, the whole place was painted with bright colors, many suggested by the Quran: red (blood), blue (heaven), green (oasis), and gold (wealth). Throughout the palace, walls, ceilings, vases, carpets, and tiles were covered with decorative patterns and calligraphy, mostly poems and verses of praise from the Quran and from local poets. Much of what is known about the Alhambra is known simply from reading the inscriptions that decorate its walls.

I was really excited to see the Hall of the Kings (Sala de los Reyes). Famous for its paintings on the goat-leather ceiling depicting scenes of the sultan and his family, it was a must. The center room's group portrait shows the first 10 of the Alhambra's 22 sultans. The scene is a fantasy, since these people lived over a span of many generations. The two end rooms display scenes of princely pastimes, such as hunting and shooting skeet. In a palace otherwise devoid of figures, these offer a rare look at royal life in the palace.




Around every corner was a wonder. The Courtyard of Myrtles was part of the palace's standard design. Moors loved their patios, with a garden and water, under the sky. The apartments of the sultan's women looked over this courtyard: two apartments for wives on either side and a dorm for the concubines at the far end (a man could have "as many concubines as he could maintain with dignity"). In accordance with medieval Moorish mores, women rarely went out, so they stayed in touch with nature in courtyards like this one. The wooden screens (jalousies erected by jealous husbands) that allowed the cloistered women to look out without being clearly seen. The upstairs was likely for winter use, and the cooler ground level was probably used in summer.

Washington Irving is very famous in Granada. His history here is an interesting one. Shortly after completing a biography of Christopher Columbus in 1828, he travelled to Granada. At first sight, he described it as "a most picturesque and beautiful city, situated in one of the loveliest landscapes that I have ever seen." Irving was preparing a book called A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada, a history of the years 1478–1492, and was continuing his research on the topic. He immediately asked the then-governor of the historic Alhambra Palace as well as the archbishop of Granada for access to the palace, which was granted because of Irving's celebrity status. He gathered legends and tales about the Alhambra, and then left for other parts of Spain. The following year, he returned and lived in this apartment for about three months, and was given access to its archives. Irving was inspired by his experiences to write Tales of the Alhambra.

How interesting to be able to see the Moorish baths' skylights from above. Wild.
According to Fairchild Ruggles, "Islamic gardens are spaces where nature, design, history, and spirituality intersect. But they also fulfill the practical purpose of providing respite from the heat."
After leaving the Palace, we strolled the lush grounds and found ourselves at El Partal. This is one of the parts of the Alhambra that has been most heavily reconstructed. Yet it only has one of its four sides left, which often leads people to mistake it for a garden pavilion. The gardens around it are mostly from the 20th-century transformation of the Alhambra. It’s a great spot to take a picture with a beautiful balance between architecture and nature.




A first for all of us was a visit to Generalife.
This elevated palace occupies the slopes of the Hill of the Sun (Cerro del Sol), from which there is a complete view over the city and the valleys of the rivers. There are different interpretations of the meaning of its name: the Governor's Garden, the Architect's (alarife) Garden, the Vegetable Garden of the Gypsy, etc. The Generalife became a leisure place for the kings of Granada when they wanted to get away from the official affairs of the palace.
It was built in the 13th century and it was redecorated by the king Abu I-Walid Isma'il (1313-1324), as it is explained by an inscription that dates from 1319. This means that the Generalife was built before the lower Palace of Comares. In spite of it being very close to the Alhambra, and the close relationship between the two complexes, it is considered to be outside the city. A rebellion against Mohammed V even broke out in the Alhambra while he was in the Generalife.
Here there is no kind of decorative excess or points of interest in its architecture. Unlike the Alhambra, all the buildings of the Generalife are quite solid, but in general poor and simple. This indicates an intimate and peaceful atmosphere that the kings were looking for when they retired to these gardens to rest. There are only some decorative motifs of plasterwork, which are not very varied, but are exquisitely fine and tasteful.
This video demonstrates how truly exceptional the craftsmanship of the Palaces. Viewing it makes me admire it all even more thoroughly. It is truly unfathomable that the builders in the 13th century could create such a masterpiece.
Our final stop was at the Palace of Charles V and the museum it houses. The decision to build his Palace in the Alhambra symbolized, for him, the triumph of Christianity over Islam. Thankfully, Charles respected the splendid Moorish palace and built this modern Renaissance structure for official functions and used the existing Palacios Nazaries as a royal residence.
Built between 1533 and 1559, it wasn't until 1619 that the construction of the high colonnade of the courtyard was completed and the works continued until they were definitively abandoned in 1637, leaving the roof unfinished. Weird stuff.
Houses in this palace was at the National Museum of Spanish-Moorish Art.
The Museum possesses the best collection of Nasrid Art in the world, with specimens coming from artefacts found in archaeological excavations and restored in the Alhambra.




It was Washington Irving whose love of the Alhambra, and the tales he wrote about it, who rekindled interest in it, thus causing it to be recognized as a national treasure.

So, as a conclusion, I offer you the words of Mr. Irving, "Perhaps there never was a monument more characteristic of an age and people than the Alhambra; a rugged fortress without, a voluptuous palace within; war frowning from its battlements; poetry breathing throughout the fairy architecture of its halls." What a thoroughly engrossing and delightfully exhausting day. I🤎Granada.

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1 comments:

Four Points Bulletin said...

Such beautiful detail in the Alhambra. You could return everyday and notice something new each time. Or you could take a tour and have someone point it out for you! Ha. So pretty.

June 20, 2024 at 7:47 AM

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