Contenido

• - Puerta de las Granadas.

• - Acceso a la puerta de las Armas desde la ciudad.

• - Puerta de la Justicia.

• - Puerta del Vino.

• - Puerta de los Siete suelos.

Las diferentes vías de acceso al recinto de la Alhambra que se han abierto de su inicio son:[6]​.

South

Going up from Plaza Nueva "Plaza Nueva (Granada)") up the Gomérez slope, you have to cross the Alhambra forest, entering from the Puerta de las Granadas. This dates back to the time of Charles V and was built to replace the original gate, the Bib al-Buxar or gate of the Happy News, also known as Bib al Jadaq or the moat, a defensive tower that protected the valley.

It is the oldest of the entrances to the Alhambra, which is reached from the bank of the Darro, bordering the Vela tower "Torre de la Vela (Granada)") and ending under the Torre de las Armas, in the northern part of the enclosure.

Also called the Esplanade. To the south of the enclosure, it constitutes the largest of the Nasrid gate-towers and the main one since Christian rule. It is formed by a pointed brick horseshoe arch. It was built and opened in 1348, under the reign of Yusuf I. In the center of the key you can see the relief of a hand (a sign of welcome and to combat the evil eye). Further inside, a second, smaller façade opens, also with a horseshoe arch. Above this second arch, there is a relief of a key and above it a founding inscription that describes the name of the gate and the date of its completion (May 30 to June 28, 1348).[10] Nearby is the Chariot Gate, the only road access, authorized vehicles to the medina. Before reaching the medina there is the Puerta del Vino, which also connects the citadel with the palace area. From there it leads to an esplanade called Plaza de los Aljibes, because it is above a series of cisterns. This door is one of the oldest buildings, its construction being attributed to the time of Sultan Muhammand III (1302-1309).

Also called de las Albercas, it is the one that gave access to the upper part of the medina to the Christian domain, since Boabdil abandoned the city of Granada because of it and the Catholic Monarchs ordered it to be walled up as a sign of respect; today it remains closed.

It is famous for appearing in some of the adventures of Washington Irving's Tales of the Alhambra, set there. Legend says that The Hairy Horse and The Headless Horse are invisible but can be heard in their underground spaces, of which only four have been found beneath it.[11]​[12]​[13]​[14]​.

North

Under the tower of the same name, also to the north, it was reached from the Cuesta de los Chinos, at the end of the Paseo de los Tristes and was used to reach the Generalife.

This

It connects the Secano with the Generalife; Both can only be visited with an entrance fee. Since 1988 it has been the main access from the visitor center, through the external road network, close to the current cemetery, to eliminate road traffic, which is harmful due to traditional accesses.

La alcazaba es el recinto situado en la parte más occidental del cerro de Sabika, de planta trapezoidal algo irregular, constituía la zona militar, centro de la defensa y vigilancia del recinto y con ello fue la parte de construcción más antigua de la Alhambra. Las primeras edificaciones hispano-árabes realizadas se corresponden con la época califal, en el siglo . Así como de la dinastía zirí, ampliándose las mismas al convertirse Granada en capital de uno de los reinos de Taifas. Con Muhammad I, primer rey nazarí de Granada, se reconstruyó y amplió esta fortaleza, se reforzaron sus muros y se levantaron las principales torres. Su sucesor Muhammad II terminó las obras de reconstrucción de la alcazaba. Con anterioridad a la edificación de los palacios nazaríes, esta área compartía también una función de alojamiento real.

Sus elementos principales son:.

Moving from right to left.

• - Terrace of the Cube Tower. Semicircular tower, built around 1586, was emptied in the 19th century. Today it constitutes a privileged terrace for contemplating the Darro valley and the Albaicín.

• - Walkway of the north wall.

• - Plaza de Armas and terrace or tower of the Plaza de Armas. At the end of the century Ismail I built a gate under this tower, for the ascents from Granada, which meant a restructuring of the northern area, demolishing part of the stables for its construction.[15]​.

• - Torre de los Hidalgos, located at the foot of the Torre de la Vela, has a defensive character.

West

Built between 1238 and 1279, it was the largest defense tower in the military complex, due to its height it dominates the entire Granada plain. Its name comes from the bell that the Christians placed in the tower after the conquest of the city. It sounded at dawn to warn farmers about watering the orchards in the Vega de Granada, therefore, it kept them awake, and hence its name.[16]​[17]​.

• - Artillery bastion, ravelin, built in the Christian period.

• - Gunpowder Tower.

• - Garden of the Adarves, was created in the 19th century, when the fortress lost its defensive character. There are good panoramic views from this garden.

Widest front of the trapezoid that forms the citadel, about 75 m high. On the other side of this wall is the large esplanade of the Plaza de los Aljibes.

It is the largest of the towers on this front, it is between 22 and 26 m high and stands in the highest part of the fortress. In the 19th century, it constituted, together with the Torre de la Vela, the main defensive bastions of the Alhambra, offering protection to the enclosure. Inside there are six floors. It is believed that it was in this tower that Al-Ahmar, the founder of the Alhambra, set up his residence when he decided to build his palace. It is located vertically, divided into two well differentiated areas. A lower area that includes the first two levels, where access is under the north wall. The upper area that includes the rest of the levels has access from the north wall and the walkway of the east wall. The highest level could have served the wardens of the defense operations center compound, and the lowest, a dungeon, to store grain, salt and spices.[15]​.

• - Broken Tower.

• - Adarguero Tower.

Inside the citadel is the military quarter, where the remains of the walls of the houses that occupied this place are found, with the typical physiognomy of an urbanized area:

• - Narrow streets and multiple alleys.

• - Homes with a curved entrance and organized around the patio.

• - Bathroom and cistern in the eastern area.

• - Possible barracks or warehouses, due to their regularity and size, in the southern area.

La medina se encuentra al servicio de la corte,[18]​ toda una ciudad pensada para cubrir las necesidades del palacio. Había tres calles principales, que unían y conectaban todas sus partes:.

• - la calle Real Baja: da acceso al patio de los Leones, al cementerio real y a los jardines del Partal. También sirve de foso entre la medina y la zona palaciega.

• - la calle Real Alta: es la vía principal. Parte de la puerta del Vino, construida por Yusuf I y remodelada por Muhammad V, y sigue un recorrido hasta el palacio de los Abencerrajes y el convento de San Francisco, donde se convierte en eje de la zona artesanal. También servía como eje conductivo de la acequia real, ya que llegaba hasta la torre del Agua.

• - la calle de Ronda: también conocida como la del Foso, ya que recorre todo el perímetro de las murallas, poniendo en relación todos los elementos del conjunto y serviría de foso en caso de asedio.

Nasrid palaces

The palatine city of the Alhambra has housed countless palaces, palaces, large houses and tower-palaces, which have been renovated or replaced as each sultan wanted to build, or at least redecorate, his own palace, helped by the fragile materials, which seem to follow the Islamic precepts of not building anything that is eternal.[19]​ The Mexuar, the Comares palace and the Palace of the Lions were chosen. by the Catholic Monarchs as a residence during their stays in Granada, which guaranteed its conservation, compared to others that were mistreated, abandoned or mostly destroyed during the brief French military occupation.[20]​.

The palace was built around the Arrayanes patio, the beginning of the works was carried out during the reign of Ismail I who ruled between 1314 and 1325, the work continued by Yusuf I of Granada (1333-1354) who was murdered before seeing it completed and finally Muhammad V was able to finish it in 1370.[21] The central enclosure of this palace is the Arrayanes patio, the northern end of which It gives way to the Barca room and the Hall of Ambassadors, one of the largest and richest buildings in the entire Alhambra.

On the east and west sides were the rooms for the sultan's wives and those on the south side were for the concubines and service.[22]​[23]​.

• - Courtyard of the Lions.

• - Muqarnas dome in the room of the two Sisters.

• - Lin-dar-Aixa viewpoint.

The Lions Palace is located to the east of the Comares Palace, and occupies what would be its former garden. It was erected during the second government of Muhammad V (1362-1391), after recovering the throne with the alliance with the Castilian king Pedro I. The palace, with an approximate area of ​​1900 m², has its central axis in the so-called courtyard of the Lions, which gives its name to the palace, and the rooms are structured around this courtyard, around whose galleries the bedrooms and private rooms of the sultan and his wives are distributed. It is an example of the integration of architecture and water, in which it is distributed from the central fountain in the patio to the entire palace. Around the galleries are located the four completely differentiated organizational buildings: The Mocárabes room to the west, the Abencerrajes room to the south, the Kings room to the east and the Two Sisters room to the north.[24]​.

Emperor's Rooms

The six chambers are known as the Emperor's Rooms, which were built during the reign of Charles I, between 1528 and 1537 and which make up the Lindaraja patio, on one side, and the Reja patio, on the other.[6]​.

El Partal and other ruins

The entire medina, especially its northern and outer area, close to the Nasrid palaces, had palaces, many excavated, of figures close to the Nasrid family.[25]​.

• - The Partal.

• - Interior and views.

• - Picturesque corner.

• - Coffered ceiling of the Ladies Tower, Pergamonmuseum, Berlin.

It owes its name to the Arabic word meaning porch, and refers to the remains of the residence of Sultan Muhammad III, the northernmost and oldest. It is oriented from north to south around a large rectangular patio with a pool and porch on the north side. At the beginning of the Nasrid dynasty, this palace was the main area but, after the construction of the Comares palace, it became a marginal area. Ismail I began the construction phase of palaces and royal quarters. The alcaicería, the new alhóndiga, the bridge over the Darro and the madrassa of the Nasrid palaces were built.[26]​[27]​[28]​[29]​[30]​.

It was built by Yūsuf I") as a small oblong mosque.[31]​.

Also called the palace of the Count of Tendilla, located southeast of the Partal palace, it was built by Yusuf III (1407-1417). It had a floor plan similar to the Comares palace and the Partal palace. It had its own bathrooms. It was given by the Catholic Monarchs to Mondéjar, and was subsequently used as the residence of the Alcaides of the Alhambra until Philip V in 1718 stripped the family of the title for its support of the Austrian side in the War of Succession and the building was demolished by Royal Order, although legend states that it was the Count himself.[32]​.

Excavated ruins.

Attached to the southern flank of the Lions Palace, it was the burial place of the Nasrid sultans, until its dismantling by Boabdil[33]​[34]​.

Walk of the Towers

• - View from the Generalife.

• - Torre de la Cautiva.

• - Memories and beauties of Spain, 1850.

• - Torre de las Infantas.

• - Torre de las Infantas.

With palace-towers[35]​.

The peaks that protrude from it give this construction its name from the end of the century or the beginning of the century. Its interior has three floors.[36]​.

Sumptuous construction by Yusuf I. It owes its name to Isabel de Solís, who, as the name of the tower says, was held captive there. Among his poems you can read:

[37]​.

The Infantas tower was built in 1395. It is the best preserved. Good example of what an Andalusian palace was with all its comforts. It is a palace with benches at the entrance for the eunuchs, an interior patio with bedrooms, a corner entrance, a fountain in the center, windows to the flower gardens (in this case, the Generalife), an upper floor for the ladies. Upstairs, terrace. The roof was made of muqarnas and disappeared in an earthquake. Curious entrance vault. It was the residence of the sisters Zaida, Zoraida and Zorahaida, whose story Washington Irving tells in Tales of the Alhambra.[38]​.

Where the Royal irrigation ditch enters the enclosure.[39]​.

It stands on the palace built by Muhammad III, in the 19th century, remodeled by Yusuf I and Muhammad V, which had a large patio in the center, which gave it the shape of a rustic villa. After the conquest it was donated to the Franciscans, making it the first convent in Granada. It was demolished the following year although the old chapel is preserved, a converted Nasrid work, where the Catholic Monarchs were buried until the construction of the Royal Chapel of Granada. It also has an Andalusian patio, a balcony closed with lattices and a cistern.

It currently operates as a hotel, providing accommodation services within the Alhambra. It is managed by the state-owned Paradores de Turismo company of Spain.

If the Daraxa rooms and the entire courtyard of the Lions were to be the new private residence of Charles V, a new palace would be necessary to meet the functional and representative needs of the court.

The initiative for the construction of the palace of Charles V began in 1526, on the occasion of the emperor's wedding in Seville and his subsequent transfer to Granada during that summer. The project was entrusted to the architect Pedro Machuca and work began in 1533, after some years of disagreements over its design and location.[40] The financing of the construction was carried out with levies imposed on the Moors, in exchange for preserving some of their customs. Subsequently, other resources from the Casa de Contratación of Seville and Granada sugars were also used.

Since 1572, due to the Moorish rebellion in the Alpujarras, the works slowed down until they were definitively interrupted in 1637, when the building was still waiting to be covered.[41]​.

In 1923, the architect and restorer Leopoldo Torres Balbás began a recovery program for the palace, which was completed in 1958, in which the building was covered.[42]​.

It has a square plan with a circular interior patio. It is surprising due to the year of its beginning (1533), a very early period for its characteristics, which classify it within Mannerism: Doric columns on the first floor, Ionic on the second, and a frieze with bull heads (bucraniums) from the Greco-Roman tradition. In some aspects, it repeats or anticipates certain architectural solutions of Mannerism in Italy, which is explained by Machuca's stay in that country and by his ability to develop with his own inventiveness certain features of the incipient Mannerist style.

Its façade is completely Renaissance. The first body is Tuscan style with padding. The second has decorative elements typical of the Baroque. Above the main door, there are two winged statues of women reclining on the pediment. Above, three medallions framed in green marble stand out against the stone. On the sides, scenes from Greek mythology are represented, specifically two from The Twelve Labors of Hercules. The iron rings in the lower part are purely decorative, following the current fashion in Florence and Siena at the time of construction.

The construction of the current temple began in 1581, with Ambrosio de Vico finishing it in 1618 following the plans of Herrera and Juan de Orea. The plan is in a Latin cross and highlights the baroque altar flanked by Solomonic columns added in 1671 and containing images by Alonso de Mena.

Likewise, the image of the Virgin of Angustias stands out, the work of Torcuato Ruiz del Peral between 1750 and 1760. The brotherhood of Santa María de la Alhambra "Brotherhood of Santa María de la Alhambra (Granada)") takes the image out in procession during Holy Week on a throne that reproduces the arches of the Patio de los Leones.

The church is consecrated to Catholic worship and is under the authority of the archbishopric of Granada.

The Generalife, the Yannat al-arif in Nasrid times, is the villa with gardens used by the royalty of Granada as a place of retreat and rest. The most important part is made up of its gardens. The Generalife was a rustic villa or royal almunia surrounded by orchards and ornamental gardens that comprehensively served both for the maintenance and for vacation of the Nasrid royal family.[43] It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is in the Spanish-Arab Nasrid style and is located on the northern side of the Alhambra. Near the Generalife, and related to it, there are various constructions from the Nasrid period, such as Los Albercones, the remains of the Dar al-Arusa palace, the Alberca Rota and the Silla del Moro.

Its construction began at the beginning of the century, during the time of King Muhammed III who reigned between 1302 and 1309. It was transformed by Ismail I.

On the lower part, there is the current pedestrian tourist access, those with tickets to the Alhambra and/or the Generalife and road traffic, local since 1988 to eliminate harmful traffic through traditional accesses.

• - Generalife.

• - Exterior view.

• - Patio de la Acequia.

• - Paseo de las Adelfas.

• - Fountain.

There are about 10,000 inscriptions in the Alhambra, most of them poems, sentences, texts from the Koran and ejaculations. All are in classical Arabic and many correspond to the poets of the Court of Yusuf I in the 19th century. The chambers of the Nasrid king in the Comares palace are those with the largest number of texts, 3116, 35% of the total, collected in the Epigraphic Corpus of the Alhambra, printed by the CSIC; these could be originally composed for the occasion or written in advance. Ibn al-Zayab"), Ibn al-Khatib and Ibn Zamrak are the authors of most of them. The three writers formed the bulk of the poets at the court of Yusuf I.

Music

• - The first movement of the impressionist work Nights in the Gardens of Spain (1909-1915) by Manuel de Falla is set in the Generalife.[44]​.

• - Memories of the Alhambra by Francisco Tárrega is a composition for guitar also inspired by this fortress.[45]​.

• - Eduardo Paniagua and El Arabí Serghini recorded the album Poemas de la Alhambra (2001) with the poems of Ibn Zamrak that decorate the walls and fountains of the Alhambra[46]​.

• - In 2006 the singer Loreena McKennitt gave a recital where she sang songs from all her albums. The recital was compiled on a DVD called Nights from the Alhambra. The concert took place in the Carlos V room.[47]​.

• - In 1974, the Spanish group Los Puntos recorded a song dedicated to the Alhambra and its enclosure called Llorando por Granada, included in their album Los Puntos, in which it refers to the legend of the Suspiro del Moro.

• - In 2001, the British soprano Sarah Brightman released the album Classics "Classics (Sarah Brightman album)"), a compilation of musical themes associated with classical music and notable arias, which contains the theme Alhambra around the Andalusian monument.[48]​.

• - The Granada International Music and Dance Festival has been held there since 1952.[49]​.

Literature

It has inspired authors such as:

• - Washington Irving in Tales from the Alhambra.[50]​.

• - Francois René de Chateaubriand, with his work Les aventures du dernier Abencérage.

Cinema

The monumental complex of the Alhambra and in particular its gardens have served as natural decorations on multiple occasions, among which it is worth mentioning:[51]​.

• - The life of Christopher Columbus by Gérard Bourgeois") (1916).

• - El Dorado "El Dorado (1921 film)") by Marcel L'Herbier (1921). The director gave pride of place to his gardens, fountains, and geometric architectural patterns, which became some of the film's standout images.

• - Los Carnations of the Virgin by Florián Rey (1928).

• - Alhambra or The Sigh of the Moor, by Antonio Graciani") (1936).

• - Imperial Violets, by Richard Pottier (1952).

• - Everything is possible in Granada, by José Luis Sáenz de Heredia (1954).

• - Sinbad and the Princess by Nathan Juran") (1958).

• - Delusions of Grandeur by Gérard Oury (1971).

• - Rocío and the Detonators, by Fernando García Tola (1972).

• - Alice et Martin, by André Techiné") (1998).

• - The Builders of the Alhambra, by Isabel Fernández "Isabel Fernández (director)") (2022).

• - The animated films Hahmed, The Prince of the Alhambra and The Embrujo of the South by Spanish director Juan Bautista Berasategi, partially based on the Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving.

• - In Assassin's Creed "Assassin's Creed (film)") (2016), the Court of Lions is depicted when Sultan Mohamed XII gives the Apple of Eden, a powerful artifact at the center of the film's plot, in exchange for the safe return of his son.

• - In the animated film Tadeo Jones 2: The Secret of King Midas (2017), the Albaicín and the Patio de los Leones are represented.[52]​.

Television

• - The second season of the series Isabel "Isabel (Spanish television series)") was recorded in 2013 in some facilities of the Alhambra.[53]​.

• - Charles, King Emperor (2015).

• - The Korean drama Memories of the Alhambra "Memories of the Alhambra (TV series)") (2018) was inspired for its creation and recording.

Architecture

Beginning in the 19th century, with the revivals, renaissances or neo movements, neo-Arabic emerged, which brought together all Muslim arts, including the Nasrid, where plasterwork, tiles, muqarnas and especially its columns were copied, as we see in the Alhambra palace, the Murcia casino, the Moorish Kiosk, the Great Synagogue of Budapest, the New Synagogue of Berlin "New Synagogue (Berlin)"), or the House of Crystals.

• - Alhambra Palace.

• - Murcia Casino.

• - Moorish kiosk.

• - House of Crystals.

Other characters linked to the Alhambra

• - Henry Swinburne. English traveler who visited Spain in 1770. He published the book Voyage around Spain, in which the Alhambra was described with great precision.[54]​ Swinburne was a great supporter of the Arab heritage in the Iberian Peninsula and highlighted the Alhambra as the most outstanding visit of his trip and anticipated the vision of the romantic travelers of the century.[55]​.

• - Leopoldo Torres Balbás, Spanish restorative architect to whom the Alhambra as it is currently known is largely due. His work largely ended the tradition of baseless and destructive restorations of previous decades. He restored the Mexuar, the Patio de los Leones and the Patio de la Alberca, created the new entrance to the Royal House and restructured the Partal.[56]​.

• - David Roberts was an English romantic painter who, while traveling through Spain, made up to 15 engravings about the Alhambra and Granada that were later widely reproduced by several British and French publications and which contributed to the great dissemination of the monument.[57]​.

• - John Frederick Levis").

• - Richard Ford "Richard Ford (Hispanist)").

• - Teophile Gautier.

• - James Cavanah Murphy.

• - Girault de Prange").

• - Owen Jones "Owen Jones (architect)").

• - Jules Goury").

• - Íñigo López de Mendoza y Quiñones, II Count of Tendilla, I Marquis of Mondéjar, was appointed by the Catholic Monarchs, in January 1492, governor of the Alhambra. It was precisely his son, 3rd Count of Tendilla and 2nd Marquis of Mondéjar, who promoted the construction of the palace of Charles V. His family maintained the position of governor and residence in the Yusuf palace, until the 19th century.

• - Master Fernando de las Maderas").

• - Pedro Machuca, painter and architect of the palace of Charles V.

• - Julio Aquiles and Alejandro Mayner painters who decorated the queen's dressing room and the fruit room.

• - There is a main belt asteroid called (3851) Alhambra_Alhambra "(3851) Alhambra") in his honor.

• - Bermúdez López, Jesús and others: The Alhambra and the Generalife, Official Guide. TF Editores, 2010. ISBN 978-84-86827-28-1.

• - Record, Oleg; The formation of Islamic art, Madrid, Cátedra, (1979). ISBN 84-376-0169-X.

• - Record, Oleg; The Alhambra: iconography, forms and values (2003) Alianza Editorial, ISBN 84-206-7009-X.

• - Record, Oleg; The Alhambra. Editorial Alliance, 2006 (2 ed.). ISBN 978-84-206-5319-8.

• - Lleó Morugán, Joaquín; Architectural essences and symbolism of "La Roja". Another way of looking at the Alhambra (2010). Ed. Bubok. ISBN 978-84-9916-844-9.

Contenido

• - Puerta de las Granadas.

• - Acceso a la puerta de las Armas desde la ciudad.

• - Puerta de la Justicia.

• - Puerta del Vino.

• - Puerta de los Siete suelos.

Las diferentes vías de acceso al recinto de la Alhambra que se han abierto de su inicio son:[6]​.

South

Going up from Plaza Nueva "Plaza Nueva (Granada)") up the Gomérez slope, you have to cross the Alhambra forest, entering from the Puerta de las Granadas. This dates back to the time of Charles V and was built to replace the original gate, the Bib al-Buxar or gate of the Happy News, also known as Bib al Jadaq or the moat, a defensive tower that protected the valley.

It is the oldest of the entrances to the Alhambra, which is reached from the bank of the Darro, bordering the Vela tower "Torre de la Vela (Granada)") and ending under the Torre de las Armas, in the northern part of the enclosure.

Also called the Esplanade. To the south of the enclosure, it constitutes the largest of the Nasrid gate-towers and the main one since Christian rule. It is formed by a pointed brick horseshoe arch. It was built and opened in 1348, under the reign of Yusuf I. In the center of the key you can see the relief of a hand (a sign of welcome and to combat the evil eye). Further inside, a second, smaller façade opens, also with a horseshoe arch. Above this second arch, there is a relief of a key and above it a founding inscription that describes the name of the gate and the date of its completion (May 30 to June 28, 1348).[10] Nearby is the Chariot Gate, the only road access, authorized vehicles to the medina. Before reaching the medina there is the Puerta del Vino, which also connects the citadel with the palace area. From there it leads to an esplanade called Plaza de los Aljibes, because it is above a series of cisterns. This door is one of the oldest buildings, its construction being attributed to the time of Sultan Muhammand III (1302-1309).

Also called de las Albercas, it is the one that gave access to the upper part of the medina to the Christian domain, since Boabdil abandoned the city of Granada because of it and the Catholic Monarchs ordered it to be walled up as a sign of respect; today it remains closed.

It is famous for appearing in some of the adventures of Washington Irving's Tales of the Alhambra, set there. Legend says that The Hairy Horse and The Headless Horse are invisible but can be heard in their underground spaces, of which only four have been found beneath it.[11]​[12]​[13]​[14]​.

North

Under the tower of the same name, also to the north, it was reached from the Cuesta de los Chinos, at the end of the Paseo de los Tristes and was used to reach the Generalife.

This

It connects the Secano with the Generalife; Both can only be visited with an entrance fee. Since 1988 it has been the main access from the visitor center, through the external road network, close to the current cemetery, to eliminate road traffic, which is harmful due to traditional accesses.

La alcazaba es el recinto situado en la parte más occidental del cerro de Sabika, de planta trapezoidal algo irregular, constituía la zona militar, centro de la defensa y vigilancia del recinto y con ello fue la parte de construcción más antigua de la Alhambra. Las primeras edificaciones hispano-árabes realizadas se corresponden con la época califal, en el siglo . Así como de la dinastía zirí, ampliándose las mismas al convertirse Granada en capital de uno de los reinos de Taifas. Con Muhammad I, primer rey nazarí de Granada, se reconstruyó y amplió esta fortaleza, se reforzaron sus muros y se levantaron las principales torres. Su sucesor Muhammad II terminó las obras de reconstrucción de la alcazaba. Con anterioridad a la edificación de los palacios nazaríes, esta área compartía también una función de alojamiento real.

Sus elementos principales son:.

Moving from right to left.

• - Terrace of the Cube Tower. Semicircular tower, built around 1586, was emptied in the 19th century. Today it constitutes a privileged terrace for contemplating the Darro valley and the Albaicín.

• - Walkway of the north wall.

• - Plaza de Armas and terrace or tower of the Plaza de Armas. At the end of the century Ismail I built a gate under this tower, for the ascents from Granada, which meant a restructuring of the northern area, demolishing part of the stables for its construction.[15]​.

• - Torre de los Hidalgos, located at the foot of the Torre de la Vela, has a defensive character.

West

Built between 1238 and 1279, it was the largest defense tower in the military complex, due to its height it dominates the entire Granada plain. Its name comes from the bell that the Christians placed in the tower after the conquest of the city. It sounded at dawn to warn farmers about watering the orchards in the Vega de Granada, therefore, it kept them awake, and hence its name.[16]​[17]​.

• - Artillery bastion, ravelin, built in the Christian period.

• - Gunpowder Tower.

• - Garden of the Adarves, was created in the 19th century, when the fortress lost its defensive character. There are good panoramic views from this garden.

Widest front of the trapezoid that forms the citadel, about 75 m high. On the other side of this wall is the large esplanade of the Plaza de los Aljibes.

It is the largest of the towers on this front, it is between 22 and 26 m high and stands in the highest part of the fortress. In the 19th century, it constituted, together with the Torre de la Vela, the main defensive bastions of the Alhambra, offering protection to the enclosure. Inside there are six floors. It is believed that it was in this tower that Al-Ahmar, the founder of the Alhambra, set up his residence when he decided to build his palace. It is located vertically, divided into two well differentiated areas. A lower area that includes the first two levels, where access is under the north wall. The upper area that includes the rest of the levels has access from the north wall and the walkway of the east wall. The highest level could have served the wardens of the defense operations center compound, and the lowest, a dungeon, to store grain, salt and spices.[15]​.

• - Broken Tower.

• - Adarguero Tower.

Inside the citadel is the military quarter, where the remains of the walls of the houses that occupied this place are found, with the typical physiognomy of an urbanized area:

• - Narrow streets and multiple alleys.

• - Homes with a curved entrance and organized around the patio.

• - Bathroom and cistern in the eastern area.

• - Possible barracks or warehouses, due to their regularity and size, in the southern area.

La medina se encuentra al servicio de la corte,[18]​ toda una ciudad pensada para cubrir las necesidades del palacio. Había tres calles principales, que unían y conectaban todas sus partes:.

• - la calle Real Baja: da acceso al patio de los Leones, al cementerio real y a los jardines del Partal. También sirve de foso entre la medina y la zona palaciega.

• - la calle Real Alta: es la vía principal. Parte de la puerta del Vino, construida por Yusuf I y remodelada por Muhammad V, y sigue un recorrido hasta el palacio de los Abencerrajes y el convento de San Francisco, donde se convierte en eje de la zona artesanal. También servía como eje conductivo de la acequia real, ya que llegaba hasta la torre del Agua.

• - la calle de Ronda: también conocida como la del Foso, ya que recorre todo el perímetro de las murallas, poniendo en relación todos los elementos del conjunto y serviría de foso en caso de asedio.

Nasrid palaces

The palatine city of the Alhambra has housed countless palaces, palaces, large houses and tower-palaces, which have been renovated or replaced as each sultan wanted to build, or at least redecorate, his own palace, helped by the fragile materials, which seem to follow the Islamic precepts of not building anything that is eternal.[19]​ The Mexuar, the Comares palace and the Palace of the Lions were chosen. by the Catholic Monarchs as a residence during their stays in Granada, which guaranteed its conservation, compared to others that were mistreated, abandoned or mostly destroyed during the brief French military occupation.[20]​.

The palace was built around the Arrayanes patio, the beginning of the works was carried out during the reign of Ismail I who ruled between 1314 and 1325, the work continued by Yusuf I of Granada (1333-1354) who was murdered before seeing it completed and finally Muhammad V was able to finish it in 1370.[21] The central enclosure of this palace is the Arrayanes patio, the northern end of which It gives way to the Barca room and the Hall of Ambassadors, one of the largest and richest buildings in the entire Alhambra.

On the east and west sides were the rooms for the sultan's wives and those on the south side were for the concubines and service.[22]​[23]​.

• - Courtyard of the Lions.

• - Muqarnas dome in the room of the two Sisters.

• - Lin-dar-Aixa viewpoint.

The Lions Palace is located to the east of the Comares Palace, and occupies what would be its former garden. It was erected during the second government of Muhammad V (1362-1391), after recovering the throne with the alliance with the Castilian king Pedro I. The palace, with an approximate area of ​​1900 m², has its central axis in the so-called courtyard of the Lions, which gives its name to the palace, and the rooms are structured around this courtyard, around whose galleries the bedrooms and private rooms of the sultan and his wives are distributed. It is an example of the integration of architecture and water, in which it is distributed from the central fountain in the patio to the entire palace. Around the galleries are located the four completely differentiated organizational buildings: The Mocárabes room to the west, the Abencerrajes room to the south, the Kings room to the east and the Two Sisters room to the north.[24]​.

Emperor's Rooms

The six chambers are known as the Emperor's Rooms, which were built during the reign of Charles I, between 1528 and 1537 and which make up the Lindaraja patio, on one side, and the Reja patio, on the other.[6]​.

El Partal and other ruins

The entire medina, especially its northern and outer area, close to the Nasrid palaces, had palaces, many excavated, of figures close to the Nasrid family.[25]​.

• - The Partal.

• - Interior and views.

• - Picturesque corner.

• - Coffered ceiling of the Ladies Tower, Pergamonmuseum, Berlin.

It owes its name to the Arabic word meaning porch, and refers to the remains of the residence of Sultan Muhammad III, the northernmost and oldest. It is oriented from north to south around a large rectangular patio with a pool and porch on the north side. At the beginning of the Nasrid dynasty, this palace was the main area but, after the construction of the Comares palace, it became a marginal area. Ismail I began the construction phase of palaces and royal quarters. The alcaicería, the new alhóndiga, the bridge over the Darro and the madrassa of the Nasrid palaces were built.[26]​[27]​[28]​[29]​[30]​.

It was built by Yūsuf I") as a small oblong mosque.[31]​.

Also called the palace of the Count of Tendilla, located southeast of the Partal palace, it was built by Yusuf III (1407-1417). It had a floor plan similar to the Comares palace and the Partal palace. It had its own bathrooms. It was given by the Catholic Monarchs to Mondéjar, and was subsequently used as the residence of the Alcaides of the Alhambra until Philip V in 1718 stripped the family of the title for its support of the Austrian side in the War of Succession and the building was demolished by Royal Order, although legend states that it was the Count himself.[32]​.

Excavated ruins.

Attached to the southern flank of the Lions Palace, it was the burial place of the Nasrid sultans, until its dismantling by Boabdil[33]​[34]​.

Walk of the Towers

• - View from the Generalife.

• - Torre de la Cautiva.

• - Memories and beauties of Spain, 1850.

• - Torre de las Infantas.

• - Torre de las Infantas.

With palace-towers[35]​.

The peaks that protrude from it give this construction its name from the end of the century or the beginning of the century. Its interior has three floors.[36]​.

Sumptuous construction by Yusuf I. It owes its name to Isabel de Solís, who, as the name of the tower says, was held captive there. Among his poems you can read:

[37]​.

The Infantas tower was built in 1395. It is the best preserved. Good example of what an Andalusian palace was with all its comforts. It is a palace with benches at the entrance for the eunuchs, an interior patio with bedrooms, a corner entrance, a fountain in the center, windows to the flower gardens (in this case, the Generalife), an upper floor for the ladies. Upstairs, terrace. The roof was made of muqarnas and disappeared in an earthquake. Curious entrance vault. It was the residence of the sisters Zaida, Zoraida and Zorahaida, whose story Washington Irving tells in Tales of the Alhambra.[38]​.

Where the Royal irrigation ditch enters the enclosure.[39]​.

It stands on the palace built by Muhammad III, in the 19th century, remodeled by Yusuf I and Muhammad V, which had a large patio in the center, which gave it the shape of a rustic villa. After the conquest it was donated to the Franciscans, making it the first convent in Granada. It was demolished the following year although the old chapel is preserved, a converted Nasrid work, where the Catholic Monarchs were buried until the construction of the Royal Chapel of Granada. It also has an Andalusian patio, a balcony closed with lattices and a cistern.

It currently operates as a hotel, providing accommodation services within the Alhambra. It is managed by the state-owned Paradores de Turismo company of Spain.

If the Daraxa rooms and the entire courtyard of the Lions were to be the new private residence of Charles V, a new palace would be necessary to meet the functional and representative needs of the court.

The initiative for the construction of the palace of Charles V began in 1526, on the occasion of the emperor's wedding in Seville and his subsequent transfer to Granada during that summer. The project was entrusted to the architect Pedro Machuca and work began in 1533, after some years of disagreements over its design and location.[40] The financing of the construction was carried out with levies imposed on the Moors, in exchange for preserving some of their customs. Subsequently, other resources from the Casa de Contratación of Seville and Granada sugars were also used.

Since 1572, due to the Moorish rebellion in the Alpujarras, the works slowed down until they were definitively interrupted in 1637, when the building was still waiting to be covered.[41]​.

In 1923, the architect and restorer Leopoldo Torres Balbás began a recovery program for the palace, which was completed in 1958, in which the building was covered.[42]​.

It has a square plan with a circular interior patio. It is surprising due to the year of its beginning (1533), a very early period for its characteristics, which classify it within Mannerism: Doric columns on the first floor, Ionic on the second, and a frieze with bull heads (bucraniums) from the Greco-Roman tradition. In some aspects, it repeats or anticipates certain architectural solutions of Mannerism in Italy, which is explained by Machuca's stay in that country and by his ability to develop with his own inventiveness certain features of the incipient Mannerist style.

Its façade is completely Renaissance. The first body is Tuscan style with padding. The second has decorative elements typical of the Baroque. Above the main door, there are two winged statues of women reclining on the pediment. Above, three medallions framed in green marble stand out against the stone. On the sides, scenes from Greek mythology are represented, specifically two from The Twelve Labors of Hercules. The iron rings in the lower part are purely decorative, following the current fashion in Florence and Siena at the time of construction.

The construction of the current temple began in 1581, with Ambrosio de Vico finishing it in 1618 following the plans of Herrera and Juan de Orea. The plan is in a Latin cross and highlights the baroque altar flanked by Solomonic columns added in 1671 and containing images by Alonso de Mena.

Likewise, the image of the Virgin of Angustias stands out, the work of Torcuato Ruiz del Peral between 1750 and 1760. The brotherhood of Santa María de la Alhambra "Brotherhood of Santa María de la Alhambra (Granada)") takes the image out in procession during Holy Week on a throne that reproduces the arches of the Patio de los Leones.

The church is consecrated to Catholic worship and is under the authority of the archbishopric of Granada.

The Generalife, the Yannat al-arif in Nasrid times, is the villa with gardens used by the royalty of Granada as a place of retreat and rest. The most important part is made up of its gardens. The Generalife was a rustic villa or royal almunia surrounded by orchards and ornamental gardens that comprehensively served both for the maintenance and for vacation of the Nasrid royal family.[43] It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is in the Spanish-Arab Nasrid style and is located on the northern side of the Alhambra. Near the Generalife, and related to it, there are various constructions from the Nasrid period, such as Los Albercones, the remains of the Dar al-Arusa palace, the Alberca Rota and the Silla del Moro.

Its construction began at the beginning of the century, during the time of King Muhammed III who reigned between 1302 and 1309. It was transformed by Ismail I.

On the lower part, there is the current pedestrian tourist access, those with tickets to the Alhambra and/or the Generalife and road traffic, local since 1988 to eliminate harmful traffic through traditional accesses.

• - Generalife.

• - Exterior view.

• - Patio de la Acequia.

• - Paseo de las Adelfas.

• - Fountain.

There are about 10,000 inscriptions in the Alhambra, most of them poems, sentences, texts from the Koran and ejaculations. All are in classical Arabic and many correspond to the poets of the Court of Yusuf I in the 19th century. The chambers of the Nasrid king in the Comares palace are those with the largest number of texts, 3116, 35% of the total, collected in the Epigraphic Corpus of the Alhambra, printed by the CSIC; these could be originally composed for the occasion or written in advance. Ibn al-Zayab"), Ibn al-Khatib and Ibn Zamrak are the authors of most of them. The three writers formed the bulk of the poets at the court of Yusuf I.

Music

• - The first movement of the impressionist work Nights in the Gardens of Spain (1909-1915) by Manuel de Falla is set in the Generalife.[44]​.

• - Memories of the Alhambra by Francisco Tárrega is a composition for guitar also inspired by this fortress.[45]​.

• - Eduardo Paniagua and El Arabí Serghini recorded the album Poemas de la Alhambra (2001) with the poems of Ibn Zamrak that decorate the walls and fountains of the Alhambra[46]​.

• - In 2006 the singer Loreena McKennitt gave a recital where she sang songs from all her albums. The recital was compiled on a DVD called Nights from the Alhambra. The concert took place in the Carlos V room.[47]​.

• - In 1974, the Spanish group Los Puntos recorded a song dedicated to the Alhambra and its enclosure called Llorando por Granada, included in their album Los Puntos, in which it refers to the legend of the Suspiro del Moro.

• - In 2001, the British soprano Sarah Brightman released the album Classics "Classics (Sarah Brightman album)"), a compilation of musical themes associated with classical music and notable arias, which contains the theme Alhambra around the Andalusian monument.[48]​.

• - The Granada International Music and Dance Festival has been held there since 1952.[49]​.

Literature

It has inspired authors such as:

• - Washington Irving in Tales from the Alhambra.[50]​.

• - Francois René de Chateaubriand, with his work Les aventures du dernier Abencérage.

Cinema

The monumental complex of the Alhambra and in particular its gardens have served as natural decorations on multiple occasions, among which it is worth mentioning:[51]​.

• - The life of Christopher Columbus by Gérard Bourgeois") (1916).

• - El Dorado "El Dorado (1921 film)") by Marcel L'Herbier (1921). The director gave pride of place to his gardens, fountains, and geometric architectural patterns, which became some of the film's standout images.

• - Los Carnations of the Virgin by Florián Rey (1928).

• - Alhambra or The Sigh of the Moor, by Antonio Graciani") (1936).

• - Imperial Violets, by Richard Pottier (1952).

• - Everything is possible in Granada, by José Luis Sáenz de Heredia (1954).

• - Sinbad and the Princess by Nathan Juran") (1958).

• - Delusions of Grandeur by Gérard Oury (1971).

• - Rocío and the Detonators, by Fernando García Tola (1972).

• - Alice et Martin, by André Techiné") (1998).

• - The Builders of the Alhambra, by Isabel Fernández "Isabel Fernández (director)") (2022).

• - The animated films Hahmed, The Prince of the Alhambra and The Embrujo of the South by Spanish director Juan Bautista Berasategi, partially based on the Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving.

• - In Assassin's Creed "Assassin's Creed (film)") (2016), the Court of Lions is depicted when Sultan Mohamed XII gives the Apple of Eden, a powerful artifact at the center of the film's plot, in exchange for the safe return of his son.

• - In the animated film Tadeo Jones 2: The Secret of King Midas (2017), the Albaicín and the Patio de los Leones are represented.[52]​.

Television

• - The second season of the series Isabel "Isabel (Spanish television series)") was recorded in 2013 in some facilities of the Alhambra.[53]​.

• - Charles, King Emperor (2015).

• - The Korean drama Memories of the Alhambra "Memories of the Alhambra (TV series)") (2018) was inspired for its creation and recording.

Architecture

Beginning in the 19th century, with the revivals, renaissances or neo movements, neo-Arabic emerged, which brought together all Muslim arts, including the Nasrid, where plasterwork, tiles, muqarnas and especially its columns were copied, as we see in the Alhambra palace, the Murcia casino, the Moorish Kiosk, the Great Synagogue of Budapest, the New Synagogue of Berlin "New Synagogue (Berlin)"), or the House of Crystals.

• - Alhambra Palace.

• - Murcia Casino.

• - Moorish kiosk.

• - House of Crystals.

Other characters linked to the Alhambra

• - Henry Swinburne. English traveler who visited Spain in 1770. He published the book Voyage around Spain, in which the Alhambra was described with great precision.[54]​ Swinburne was a great supporter of the Arab heritage in the Iberian Peninsula and highlighted the Alhambra as the most outstanding visit of his trip and anticipated the vision of the romantic travelers of the century.[55]​.

• - Leopoldo Torres Balbás, Spanish restorative architect to whom the Alhambra as it is currently known is largely due. His work largely ended the tradition of baseless and destructive restorations of previous decades. He restored the Mexuar, the Patio de los Leones and the Patio de la Alberca, created the new entrance to the Royal House and restructured the Partal.[56]​.

• - David Roberts was an English romantic painter who, while traveling through Spain, made up to 15 engravings about the Alhambra and Granada that were later widely reproduced by several British and French publications and which contributed to the great dissemination of the monument.[57]​.

• - John Frederick Levis").

• - Richard Ford "Richard Ford (Hispanist)").

• - Teophile Gautier.

• - James Cavanah Murphy.

• - Girault de Prange").

• - Owen Jones "Owen Jones (architect)").

• - Jules Goury").

• - Íñigo López de Mendoza y Quiñones, II Count of Tendilla, I Marquis of Mondéjar, was appointed by the Catholic Monarchs, in January 1492, governor of the Alhambra. It was precisely his son, 3rd Count of Tendilla and 2nd Marquis of Mondéjar, who promoted the construction of the palace of Charles V. His family maintained the position of governor and residence in the Yusuf palace, until the 19th century.

• - Master Fernando de las Maderas").

• - Pedro Machuca, painter and architect of the palace of Charles V.

• - Julio Aquiles and Alejandro Mayner painters who decorated the queen's dressing room and the fruit room.

• - There is a main belt asteroid called (3851) Alhambra_Alhambra "(3851) Alhambra") in his honor.

• - Bermúdez López, Jesús and others: The Alhambra and the Generalife, Official Guide. TF Editores, 2010. ISBN 978-84-86827-28-1.

• - Record, Oleg; The formation of Islamic art, Madrid, Cátedra, (1979). ISBN 84-376-0169-X.

• - Record, Oleg; The Alhambra: iconography, forms and values (2003) Alianza Editorial, ISBN 84-206-7009-X.

• - Record, Oleg; The Alhambra. Editorial Alliance, 2006 (2 ed.). ISBN 978-84-206-5319-8.

• - Lleó Morugán, Joaquín; Architectural essences and symbolism of "La Roja". Another way of looking at the Alhambra (2010). Ed. Bubok. ISBN 978-84-9916-844-9.