11/22: Granada's AMAZING Alhambra

For those of you who have expressed an interest in places we stayed in this trip, one of the best was this hotel in Granada where we rented an apartment for three nights. The open patio was surrounded on all sides by decent-sized apartments but there were also regular hotel rooms with the option of breakfast.

Having a small kitchen, and especially one that was as well equipped as this, was great as it allowed us to prepare simple breakfasts and dinners rather than having to go out all the time which gets tired (plus expensive!) on a such a long trip.

The reason we, and most tourists, came to Granada was to visit the Alhambra, the last and greatest Moorish palace and one of Europe's top sights. The Christian Recquista took control of Cordoba in 1237 and Sevilla in 1248, but the Nazrids, one of the many diverse Spanish Muslim groups, was able to hold together the last Moorish kingdom in Granada in southern Spain until 1492. The Alhambra actually consisted of four sights grouped together atop a hill overlooking the city. We had bought tickets for a timed entry months ago as over 8,000 visitors a day tour the palace and its environs!

We huffed and puffed our way up the steep hill toward the Alhambra, entering through the Puerta de las Granada, the initial gate only.

Even if was another chilly and wet day, it was impossible not to be grateful seeing such a beautiful path strewn with autumn's splendor.

The fountain was very pretty but I didn't notice a name.

The monument honored 'the first man of American letters,'  Washington Irving, who moved into the Alhambra in 1829 "determined to linger here" he said, "until I get some writings under way connected with the place."

The Justice Gate was the last of the gates before we came across the first part of the Alhambra, King Charles V's Palace and its Museum of Fine Arts. 

The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who ruled over Spain as Charles I, respected the splendid Moorish palace so much he built a modern Renaissance palace to make his mark and used it for official functions. He used the existing Palacio Nazaries, the main sight, as his residence. 

The unique circle within a square design was created by a pupil of Michelangelo. According to Rick Steves, it's considered Spain's most impressive Renaissance building. It's possible Charles' palace was designed to have a dome but it was never finished. His son, Philip II, abandoned it to build El Escorial, his own, grander palace outside of Madrid that we toured when near the capital. IF I could have held a tune, it would have been a perfect place to test the reputedly great acoustics while standing in the center!

I climbed the stairs and listened while Steven, who has a lovely voice, sang to me!

I had never seen mottled, marbled columns like these previously. They looked far more attractive from a distance, I thought, than up close.

On the palace's ground floor was the first public museum in Spain. Opened in 1839, the Fine Arts Museum contained works of art confiscated from religious orders! The collection was added to in the 20th century so it now had more than 2,000 items. Luckily, we had enough time to see the museum for a bit before our admission to the Alhambra's main draw, the Palacios Nazaries.

Most Spanish paintings in the 17th century depicted religious themes but there were a smaller number of paintings were also created that featured secular topics, the most frequent formats being portraits, landscapes, battle scenes and still lifes.

These paintings were called "Visions of Spain through the Victorian era and the 'Romantic Model." I confess to being ignorant about knowing anything about the 'Romantic Model.'

The 1936 God of Fruits by Gabriel Marcillo Raya was a 'guest piece' but there was no explanation as to what that was or why this painting was selected to receive such a honor.

The museum brochure stated the quality of Still Life with Thistles and Carrots alone made a visit to the Museum worthwhile but it didn't do much for me. Anyone care to express their thoughts on this piece?

This sculpture was far more to my liking.

The museum also had some beautifully displayed artifacts, including pottery, tiles and furniture but we had to leave without seeing it all because of not wanting to miss our 10:30 admission to the palace. If we did, we wouldn't be allowed in! We returned a few hours later to see more of the museum, so some photos were from our later visit.

These pots must have been greatly restored as they came from the 12th and 13th centuries.

What a fine 9th century carving of a lion.

The chair was dated from before the 14th century!

Wouldn't it be amazing to have a carved door like this? I could only imagine the hundreds of hours it would have taken to make such a masterpiece, let alone the level of expertise.

It was adorable seeing the children's toys from the 14th and 15th centuries.

It was at the palace entrance where we got our first impression of what we'd waited so long to see: gorgeous and intricate decorations even on the exterior walls.

Once inside, we were struck by the beauty of the Golden Room and its remarkable ceiling and tiled walls.

Plaster was one of the most common materials used in the decoration of the Alhambra; it was used in geometric forms and covered the interiors and exteriors of buildings.

Decorative calligraphy were mostly poems and verses of praise from the Koran and from local poets. Much of what is known about the Alhambra is from reading the inscriptions that decorated the walls.

We had wonderful, if again cloudy, views of Granada spread out over the hills. 

Another room had an equally striking ceiling and drop dead gorgeous walls.

The Courtyard of the Myrtles, the so-called 'money shot' of the Alhambra and the typical postcard photo, was named for the fragrant hedges on either side of the pool. Moors loved their patios with a garden and water under the sky. Moorish women rarely went out in medieval times, so they stayed in touch with nature in courtyards like this. 

The lattice screens, erected by jealous husbands, were designed for cloistered Muslim women who could peer out without being seen from the outside.

The same image from before but from the other end of the reflecting pool. The upstairs was likely for winter use and the cooler ground level was probably used in summer.

The palace's largest room, the Grand Hall of the Ambassadors, functioned as the throne room where the sultans, seated on a throne received foreign emissaries.

The domed ceiling was inlaid with a mind-boggling 8,017 pieces of wood like a massive jigsaw puzzle! It had seven circles with stars because Mohammed had to pass through seven heavens to get to God. Ceiling decorations were critical as the Alhambra was made to look up from the floor.

In 1492, after a 700-year-long battle, in this room the last Moorish king, Boabil, signed the terms of his surrender which signified the end of the Reconquista. It was also here that Christopher Columbus made one of his pitches to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to finance his sea voyage to the Orient. The queen gave her permission even though the king and advisers from the University of Salamanca believed Columbus was mad because they thought he'd underestimated the length and cost of the journey. I'd have to say it was incredible to think we were in the same room where Columbus had once stood.

The filigree windows once held stained glass and had heavy drapes to block out the heat.

The Muslims avoided depicting images of living creatures as that was God's work, but they could carve religious messages. One message - "Only Allah is victorious" - was repeated 9,000 times throughout the palace. Look for the character for Allah below; it looks like a cursive W with a nose on its left  and a vertical line after it. Other writings were dedicated to the king at the time.

The rooms around the Grand Hall were reserved for the king's viziers and ministers.

The delightful Courtyard of the Lions was named for the famous fountain in the center with its twelve different lions, six male and six female, surrounding the fountain. Unfortunately, after the conquering Christians disassembled the fountain to see how it worked, they weren't able to make it work again! It didn't begin working again until 2012. 

Four channels of water carried water outward from the center of the courtyard, figuratively to the four corners of the earth and literally to the private royal apartments.

The arched gallery that surrounded the courtyard was supported by 124 perfectly balanced columns. Six hundred years ago, the Muslim Moors were able to read the Koranic poetry, and could understand the symbolism of the lush, enclosed garden which was considered to be the epitome of paradise on earth.

Just off the courtyard was the Hall of the Abencerrajes, the sultan's living room, whose name came from a 16th century legend. The room had exquisite tiles.

We were so lucky to view the Hall of the Kings as it had only opened the previous week. Paintings on the goat-leather ceiling showed stunning scenes of the sultan and his family. 

The portrait depicting the the first 10 of the Alhambra's 22 sultans was a fantasy since, of course, the people lived over many generations. This was the only room where we'd seen any color other than cream, and also paintings of figures and a rare look at palace royal life. The rich colors were spectacular and gave us a sense of what the palace had been like when it was painted with bright colors, many suggested by the Koran. 

The room faced the lions' fountain.

The room had been closed for decades because of restoration work on these "stalactites." How phenomenally lucky we happened to be in the right place at the right time!

The architecture and architectural detail throughout the palace was astounding. It must have been blindingly beautiful when it was finished. Even as it is now, I was in awe at what we saw!

The Room of the Two Sisters was the next spellbinding room. It was nicknamed for the giant twin slabs of white marble on the floor. This was a typical royal bedroom with alcoves for private use and, of course, a fountain! Running water helped cool and humidify the room but also added elegance and extravagance, as running water was a luxury only most people could dream of.

We could see a hint of stained glass that survived in the breathtaking ceiling.

The sitting room had low windows because Moorish people sat on the floor.

Graffiti by the 17th century artist, Pedro Cano!

The room featured dazzling geometric patterns and stylized Arabic script quoting verses from the Koran.

The plaque in the next room indicated it was the room Washington Irving took residence in to write Tales of Alhambra while living here in 1829. His stories rekindled interest in the Alhambra, causing it to be recognized as a national treasure. Irving later served as US ambassador to Spain from 1842-1846.

From an outside hallway we had marvelous views of the labyrinthine Albayzin, the old Moorish town on the opposite hillside. 

On the right side were the Gypsy neighborhoods of Sacramonte.

The peaceful Partal Gardens had been built on the ruins of the place of the same name. We were reminded that the Alhambra was the site of seven different palaces in 150 years and we'd just seen two of them!

With some regret after touring one of the most fantastic places we'd ever seen, we left the Palacios Nazaries to follow a delightful stroll through more gardens and a row of fortified towers to the Generalife Gardens, the sultan's vegetable and fruit orchards and summer palace.

Do you think it was wet out?!

The six-pointed star meant wisdom.

In spite of the weather, walking through manicured-hedge gardens, and along delightful ponds and fountains to the palace was so enjoyable.

The Tower of the Captive was constructed at the end of 13th century, though it was renovated and transformed into living quarters the first half of the 14th century by Muslim leader Yusuf I.

The second tower we passed was the Tower of the Infantas.

The thousand or so Alhambra residents enjoyed the fresh fruits and vegetables grown in the Generalife gardens.

The modern outdoor Theater, built in the 1950s, was an important concert venue for Granada. Many of the world's greatest artists have performed here. What a lovely backdrop it had!

After the theater, we saw still more luscious gardens and ponds.

The black and gray pebbled flowered, sidewalk mosaics were a great addition to the gardens' overall ambiance.

My sweetheart with the Alhambra in the background:

At last we'd reached the Generalife Palace but first we had to enter through the Dismounting Room where people of a bygone age would have dismounted onto the stone ledge and horses would drink from the stone trough!

The garden for the Moorish kings' retreat  would have been the closest thing on earth to the Koran's description of heaven. It was planted more than 600 years ago and, while there were originally only eight water jets, most of the garden's details closely matched those described in old poems. The royal aqueduct diverted water from the Darro River into the Alhambra. It was channeled through this long decorative fountain to irrigate the bigger gardens we'd just walked through and via an aqueduct into the Alhambra for its thirsty residents.

Even in late November, some flowers were blooming and there were lovely aromas from them and the herbs.

At the end of the pond, we entered the sultan's tiny three-room summer retreat and then climbed a few steps to access the upper Renaissance Gardens, created about 1600. 

Like some of the other gardens, it, too, had boxed hedges. What a very impressive engineering feat it was for the Moors to run irrigation up the hilly terrain through a series of dams and aqueducts.

I overheard a guide explain that there never would have been any fountains during Moorish times as that would have been too disturbing a scene for the sultan to muse and meditate. In the 10th century, there would have been a more controlled, serene flow so the reflective and sounds effects wouldn't be ruined. 

We decided to see more of the gardens by walking up a set of stairs, called the Escalera del Agua, whose banisters doubled as little water canals. Now, that was something we'd certainly never seen before!

From the top, we had a better view of the garden below and of the ancient tree that had inspired Washington Irving to write that this must be the "only surviving witness to the wonders of that age of Al-Andalus (Andalusia to us)."

The last garden was the flower-filled 19th century Romantic Garden.

After the busyness of Alhambra, it was so pleasant escaping the crowds and wandering through the Generalife. The greenery, ponds and pools were all so soothing to look at. Purely from a tranquility perspective, I actually preferred Generalife to the Alhambra. 

Returning to the main part of the Alhambra, we passed ruins of former palaces. What a story they, too, could have told.

What a hoot it was watching the gardener 'shave' one of the trees!

Three hours later, we found ourselves back at the Charles V Palace where we'd begun our visit to the Alhambra.

No wonder Steven was smiling so much - he was standing in front of the Gate of Wine! It led to the Alcazaba, the original "red castle" or Alhambra, and the oldest and most ruined part of the complex.

What still existed was from the mid-13th century, but there was likely a fort here during Roman times. The towers once defended a town of about 2,000 Muslims who lived within the walls of the Alhambra. 

After walking amid the ruins of the Barrio Castrense, we strolled along the walls of the tower kidding ourselves we were the king and queen of the castle!

There were four flags atop the tower: the blue for the European Union, the green and white for Andalusia, the red and yellow for Spain and the red and green for Granada. Imagine the day in 1492 when the Christian cross and the flags of Aragon and Castile were raised on this same tower, signifying the Moors had been conquered!

We figured in for a penny, in for a pound when wondering for a few moments whether we should also see the historic Parador de Granada San Francisco, once a Moorish palace within the Alhambra and later converted into a Franciscan monastery. The church was where the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, chose to be buried.

The former monastery became a very upscale hotel in 1945 after it was used as a hospital and a barracks during Spain's Civil War.

Steven joked I needed this tree because I'd eaten at least ten pounds of mandarin oranges the last couple of weeks!

The water that flowed through the monastery's nine fountains was distributed by the Alhambra channels from the Darro River as I mentioned earlier. 

Next post: Once we rested for a bit, later that day we returned to the Cathedral to see its Royal Chapel that we hadn't had time to see the day before.

Posted on February 2nd, 2019, from our home in Denver's suburbs.