Alhambra

Today was pretty much devoted to a visit to the Alhambra, the beautiful Moorish fortress overlooking the city of Granada. Since our tour was not due to start until 2:00 pm we did take the opportunity to (a) sleep in and then (b) take a stroll through the Jewish quarter of Grenada. Besides a Jewish museum I can't say there was much visual difference between this and the Moorish quarter we visited yesterday. This is easily explained as Isabella and Ferdinand also had the Jews expelled in the late 15th century and the neighbourhood was nominally Christian from that point on.

Over time the Alhambra has evolved from a Moorish fortress, Sultan's palace and seat of government to include no less than 3 internal palaces. One is clearly Moslem Moorish, the other two while built by Catholic rulers still borrowed heavily from moorish elements in their design and decor. In some places the original moorish plaster work was kept in its entirety but with a Spanish coat of arms slapped onto it to identify the new owners.

One period I did not know about was a 200 year stretch between 1755 and 1955 when the Alhambra was basically an abandoned ruin. It was occupied as a kind of squat by gypsies and other homeless persons who in their efforts at cooking managed to burn parts of it to the ground. The work undertaken to bring it back to the UNESCO rated marvel it is today required quite a lot of restoration of tiles and ornate wooden ceilings either destroyed or looted during this period.

Throughout the Alhambra, and it is huge, both inside and out there are gardens. The palaces all have internal patios of varying size and function. Some are there to impress visitors, some as a quiet retreat for the royal family members, some to provide fresh fruit and fragrances for the court ladies. It's great fun wandering about through the vast halls and chambers and discovering them. Most famous I suppose is the Patio del Leones, so named because of a central fountain supported by 12 statues of lions. Water runs to the fountain from an ingenious system of catchments and cisterns and flows away in 4 channels forming a perfect cardinal point compass design. Such an arrangement of the waterways is unmistakeably Moslem Moorish. The precision of their geometry and sense of symmetry speaks out loud and clear. However there are 12 lions holding up the fountain which makes it impossible to be perfectly symmetrical from all directions. That would require exactly 8 lions. So what's going on here? Well, the fountain is a Jewish design and the lions (alledgedly) represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Some theorists have it that it was a gift to the Sultan from his faithful Jewish subjects but we may never know for sure.

There is a 4th palace to the Alhambra, though not physically inside the fortress walls. The Generalife or summer palace is a short distance away. Stand by to be amazed by the beautiful gardens as you approach it, all laid out in a classically Moorish symmetrical design. Much of it has been devoted to gardens of roses in a bewildering variety of colours and at this time of year all in full bloom. Just heavenly to see and adding a soft fragrance to every breath you take. Immaculately manicured hedges to fringe the beds, arches of oleander and wysteria, little secluded boisettes for discovering and to seek a little privacy from the crowds, this place has it all. The palace itself has a long featured patio with water provided by 32 outlets, each squirting with a slightly different note representing the 32 tones of Moorish music.

Piccies below.

Our intrepid tour group sets off.
Our guide set a cracking pace, which reminded me of why I hate tour groups.

A quick snap of the entrance gate as we scampered through.
To be fair, we could return to take photos at our leisure after the tour finished.

Another quick snap of the entrance gardens.

The patio outside the ambassador's waiting room with its long pool leading to the Throne room.

Wonderful ornate Moorish geometric designs and scriptures adorn the walls, columns and doors throughout the Alhambra.

The ambassador's view of the throne room.
If you were a visiting ambassador and greeted with this sight, wouldn't you be impressed too?

 The Patio of the Lions, a famous iconic symbol of Grenada.
There are twelve lions, all different, supporting the fountain. Note it is a  Jewish sculpture.
If it were Moorish there would have been 8 lions to maintain the perfect symmetry.

Ornate mathematically precise geometric designs in the adornment around the doors and arches.
Stalagmites are ornately represented under the arches also.

There are 128 columns in the Patio of the Lions and each with a different design in the capital.
Nobody really knows why that number or even if it is significant.

Fabulous decoration in the walls, arches and architraves.

 The Fountain of the Lions.

A ceiling vault, representing the universe in accordance with Moslem doctrine.
There are 7 layers to its design with the pinnacle at the centre.
These represent the 7 levels of achievement needed to reach paradise.

Wall and ceiling decoration. Just astonishing detail.

An internal garden patio, viewed from a watch room.
There are lots of such places strewn throughout the palaces.

We saw the Alhambra viewed from Mirador San Nicholas.
Here we return the favour and view San Nicholas from the Alhambra.

Another internal garden patio.

 The central water feature of the Generalife or summer palace.
32 gravity fed outlets each representing a tone in the Arabic musical scale.

A arch avenue of oleander in the gardens of the Generalife.

 There is a very beautiful rose garden and at this time of year they were in full bloom.
A beautiful blend of colour for the eye and scent for the nose.

The Generalife or summer palace.