The Alhambra

The city of Granada (which translates to Pomegranate) is a rather beautiful, two and half hour drive from our temporary winter home here in Las Negras. The expansive city is nestled in a wide, basin-like valley, encircled by mountains and is reminiscent of an Alpine city complete with tile roofed homes that climb the green hillsides toward the snowcapped mountains to the east.
The city of Granada is not only beautiful and worthy of touring on its own merits but it is home to one of Spain’s major tourist attractions and UNESCO World Heritage Site, The Alhambra…a jewel box of Islamic architecture loaded with open work plaster, stalactite-like ceiling decorations, horseshoe arches and colorful mosaic tile with column arcades, fountains with running water, and reflecting pools around every corner. I must admit that I was a little weepy as I first entered the palace and saw that just about every surface, from the corbels at the eaves to the fluted edge of the fountains, had been thoughtfully embellished by immensely talented artists all for the sake of beauty with the consistent theme of "paradise on earth." The entire place is a visual and spiritual feast!
The Alhambra, as it stands today, is a 14th century palace and fortress complex that was the residence of the Muslim rulers of Granada. The palace fell to the forces of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492 and as the tale goes, the young Muslim
ruler looked back on his beloved palace with tears in his eyes only to hear his mother say…”you cry like a woman for the palace you could not defend as a man”. Yikes! Wouldn’t want to be him!

Over the centuries the complex has undergone many construction phases and transformations from its 9th century foundations as a citadel through the 16th century, Renaissance style palace built on the grounds by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
Designed to reflect the very beauty of Paradise itself, the Alhambra is made up of gardens, fountains, streams, a palace, and a mosque, all within an imposing fortress wall, flanked by 13 massive towers.


I’ll now let the photos paint the picture…..