Daytime:

Monday to Sunday

 Hour Visit - 08:30 to 20:00

 Hour Ticket Office - 08:00 to 19:00

General Alhambra Day Ticket Price:14 €

Night-time:

Tuesday to Sábados

 Hour Visit - 22:00 to 23:30

 Hour Ticket Office - 21:30 to 22:30

Alhambra Night Ticket Price:8 €

Ticket Price Gardens:7 €

Advertencia

The last visit to the Nasrid Palaces will be one hour before the closing time. The complex will begin

to clear after the time established for the closing.

The Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife shall establish, in its case, a distribution per preferred

time periods for individual tourism and group tourism in order to ensure a more comfortable tour

adapted to the cultural demand of each type of visitor.

Schedule Museum of the Alhambra

The exterior lighting of the Monument have three variations over time of the year:

 From 1 November to 28 February, from dusk until 02:00 hours.

 From March 1 to October 31, from dusk until 04:00 hours.

 During Easter week (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday), the feast of Corpus Christi (the

Saturday before last Saturday of show) and Christmas (from December 24 to January 5) lighting is maintained

until 06 : 00 hours.
 Museum Hours of Alhambra

Located inside the Palace of Carlos V, Alhambra Museum offers visitors a unique opportunity to see works of art

or architectural monument, linked to the originating culture, relying on the most modern museum techniques.

 From 8:30 to 14:30 from Tuesday to Sunday

 Daylight Saving Time: From 8:30 to 14h Tuesday through Sunday (June 16 to September 15)

 Christmas (December 24 to January 6): 8:30h to 13:45h.

 Easter: 8:30h to 13:45h.

 Corpus Christi: 8:30h a 13:45h.

Recommended tour for the visit day

GENERAL Ticket: Alcazaba, Nasrid Palaces, Generalife, Mosque Baths.

Alcazaba: is the military area within the grounds of the Monument. The following areas may be visited: the

terrace of the Bucket Tower (Torre del Cubo), the ramparts of the northern wall, the Arms Square (Plaza de

Armas) with an urban military district (Barrio Castrense), the terrace of the Arms Gate (Terraza de la Puerta de

las Armas), the Watchtower (Torre de la Vela) and the Ramparts´ garden (Jardín de los Adarves).

Nasrid Palaces: This area includes:

 Mexuar: Hall, Oratory, Gilded Room and Patio.

 Comares Palace: Court of the Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes), Hall of the Boat (Sala de la Barca), the

Ambassadors´ Hall (Salon de Embajadores).

 Palace of the Lions (Palacio de los Leones): Sala de los Mocárabes, Patio, Sala de los Abencerrajes, Hall

of the Kings (Sala de los Reyes), Hall of the Two Sisters (Sala de Dos Hermanas), The Emperor's Chambers,

Belvedere, Court of the Wrought Iron Grille (Patio de la Reja), Garden of Lindarja.

 El Partal: Gallery of the Palace (Portico del Palacio), Gardens and walkways, Rauda, Palace of Yusuf III

and the Towers Walk.

Admission to the Nasrid Palaces is only allowed during the time slot shown on the ticket.

Generalife. This area includes: The New Gardens, Patio for Dismounting (Patio del Descabalgamiento), Court

of Access (Patio de Acceso), Court of the Water Channel (Patio de la Acequia), Court of the Sultana, Upper

Gardens and Oleander Walk.

Ticket for the GARDENS

 The entry ticket for the gardens allows access to the main garden areas within the Monument, with the

intention that this type of ticket will expand the visitor's choice and be of value.

 Cypress Walk, Secano Archaeological Walk, Gardens of Saint Francis.

 Alcazaba: the Ramparts Garden (Jardín de los Adarves).

 Rauda, Partal: Gallery of the Palace (Pórtico del Palacio), gardens and walkways, Palace of Yusuf III,

and the Towers Walk.

 Generalife: Lower Gardens, Upper Gardens, the Water Stairway.

 Mosque Baths (Baño de la Mezquita).

Recommended tour for the night tour

Nasrid Palaces

The itinerary for the evening visit begins from the Entrance Pavilion, continues along the Cypress Walk, and

crosses the bridge over the Aqueduct next to the Water Tower (Torre del Agua) to enter into the area called

the Medina. Then it follows the Royal Street (Calle Real), the esplanade of the Charles V Palace and on into the

Nasrid Palaces. To exit: follow Lower Royal Street (Calle Real Bajo) and the Muslim Cemetery (Rauda).

 Mexuar, Court of the Myrtles (Patio de Arrayanes) and the Court of the Lions (Patio de los Leones)

 Nasrid Palaces

 Admission to the Nasrid Palaces is only allowed during the time slot shown on the ticket.

Visit the Gardens

Part of the Access Pavilion, New Gardens continues into the courtyard of the Acequia.

During the evening visit the use of a flash may dazzle and be of a nuisance to other visitors, therefore it is not

allowed. It will also distract from the serenity of the scene found along the gently lit routes.

Route for the Physically Handicapped

Areas in the Nasrid Palaces and the Generalife that are adapted to meet the needs of the handicapped

Information can be obtained from the Entrance Pavilion or directly from the Security personnel inside the

Monument. Wheelchairs are available upon request.

CE SA VEZI IN ALHAMBRA
What to see in Granada? - Monuments

Alhambra and Generalife

C/Real S/N Granada

902 441 221

Albaicin of Granada

Old Muslim quarter of Granada

World Heritage Site in 1989 by UNESCO

Cathedral of Granada

Gran Vía, s/n

958 222 959

Royal Chapel

Oficios 3

958 229 239

Cartuja Monastery of Granada

Paseo de la Cartuja, s/n

958 161 932 - 958 201 932

Abbey of Sacromonte

Camino del Sacromonte, 4

958 221 445

Monastery of St. Jerome

Rector López Argüeta, 9

958 279 337

Royal Hospital

Cuesta del Hospicio, s/n

958 243 025

The Bañuelo

Carrera del Darro, 31

958 027 800

Castril House - Archaeological Museum

Carrera del Darro, 41

958 225 640

Carmen of the Martyrs

Paseo de los Mártires, s/n

958 227 953

Coal Corral

Plaza de Mariana Pineda, 12

958 229 063

House Chapiz

Cuesta del Chapiz, 22

958 222 290

St. Juan de Dios

St. Juan de Dios, 23

958 241 714

St. Sunday Church

Plaza de St. Sunday, 1

958 227 331

ISTORIA ALHAMBRA

The history of the Alhambra is linked with the geographical place where it is located: Granada. On a rocky

hill that is difficult to access, on the banks of the River Darro, protected by mountains and surrounded by

woods, among the oldest quarters in the city, the Alhambra rises up like an imposing castle with reddish tones

in its ramparts that prevent the outside world from seeing the delicate beauty they enclose.
Originally designed as a military area, the Alhambra became the residence of royalty and of the court of

Granada in the middle of the thirteenth century, after the establishment of the Nasrid kingdom and the

construction of the first palace, by the founder king Mohammed ibn Yusuf ben Nasr, better known as Alhamar.

Throughout the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the fortress became a citadel with high ramparts

and defensive towers, which house two main areas: the military area, or Alcazaba, the barracks of the royal

guard, and the medina or court city, the location of the famous Nasrid Palaces and the remains of the houses of

noblemen and plebeians who lived there. The Charles V Palace, (which was built after the city was taken by

the Catholic Monarchs in 1492) is also in the medina.

The complex of monuments also has an independent palace opposite the Alhambra, surrounded by orchards

and gardens, which was where the Granadine kings relaxed: the Generalife.

PALATUL LUI CAROL AL V-LEA

The history of the Alhambra is linked with the geographical place where it is located: Granada. On a rocky

hill that is difficult to access, on the banks of the River Darro, protected by mountains and surrounded by

woods, among the oldest quarters in the city, the Alhambra rises up like an imposing castle with reddish tones

in its ramparts that prevent the outside world from seeing the delicate beauty they enclose.

Originally designed as a military area, the Alhambra became the residence of royalty and of the court of

Granada in the middle of the thirteenth century, after the establishment of the Nasrid kingdom and the

construction of the first palace, by the founder king Mohammed ibn Yusuf ben Nasr, better known as Alhamar.

Throughout the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the fortress became a citadel with high ramparts

and defensive towers, which house two main areas: the military area, or Alcazaba, the barracks of the royal

guard, and the medina or court city, the location of the famous Nasrid Palaces and the remains of the houses of

noblemen and plebeians who lived there. The Charles V Palace, (which was built after the city was taken by

the Catholic Monarchs in 1492) is also in the medina.

The complex of monuments also has an independent palace opposite the Alhambra, surrounded by orchards

and gardens, which was where the Granadine kings relaxed: the Generalife.

The building, cut-stone-made, has a square shape and it is 63 meters long by 17,40 meters high at the main

façades, with an inscribed circular shaped courtyard in its interior, which resulted in a different, strange and

unique floor plan (never before such a building had been constructed), of very difficult use. The palace is

connected to the Arab "Alcazar", therefore only the south and west façades are completely decorated, partially

the north and only half of the east one. The building consists of two bodies: the lower one of the Tuscan order,
with cushioned walls and prominent pilasters with big bronze rings inserted in them to tie up the horses. In the

spaces between the pilasters, rectangular windows open and over them round windows (recently closed with

glass panels) are placed.

The second body has a similar layout of the openings and the pilasters, although it is a lot more decorated and

adorned. At this second body, under the round windows there are balconies with embellished lintels. The

Corinthian entablature is supported by Ionic pilasters.

The central part of the two main façades is occupied by magnificent marble doorways (marble from "Sierra

Elvira"), which are the most beautiful elements of the Renaissance in Spain. The front façade facing the

"Justicia" Tower has its lower body of the Ionic order; the pedestals that are extended to the sides to support

two lying lions have at their dados: bass-reliefs with battle trophies, Romans, Arabs, Turkish and Christians.

The door has a cornice and a pediment with reliefs of "Abundance" at its tympanum, and on top of it winged

figures of "Fame" and "Victory", offering crowns to the winner and accompanied by small geniuses. The second

body of the Corinthian order has double columns supported on pedestals with embossments that conform a

balcony.

The west façade, considered the main entrance of the Palace, is of the Doric order and has four groups of

double fluted columns, with richly decorated bases and capitals (at left: a picture of one of the bass-relief of the

pedestals). In between the columns three doors open; a big central door which serves as a support for the

statue of a woman holding with one hand a symbolic pomegranate and extending the other one like offering

the Palace to the Emperor. The other two doors are smaller and have their corbels adorned with groups of fruit

and their tympanums adorned with medallions. Over these doors we can see medallions framed with serpentine

stone.

The east façade (facing the church of "Santa Maria" of the Alhambra) has at the center a door that has, carved

on its lintel, an inscription: «Imp. Caes. Karolo V». Another similar door is situated at the north façade facing

the actual entrance of the Arab "Alcazar". Through this door we enter the underground rooms.

The courtyard, elevated, is one of the most beautiful constructions of the Renaissance. Its wide circle, with a 30

meters diameter, occupies the center of the building and it is surrounded by a wide porticoe that has 32 stone-

made (stone "pudinga del Turro - Loja) Doric columns. These correspond with pilasters that decorated the wall

of the cloister, with arches, niches and doors between them, to communicate with the different rooms of the

building. The upper floor has the same layout, with Ionic columns supporting an stone-made entablature (stone

from "Elvira").

Informatii despre vizita la palat:

You do not need a ticket to visit the Palace of Carlos V, since this building stays open the same hours as the

Alhambra and it is free.

The Fine Arts Museum offers a free entrance for the citizens of the E.U.. you only have to show your passport,

DNI, etc. The fare for the rest of the people is 1,5 €. The Museum of the Alhambra offers a free entrance for all

visitors.

LA MEDINA

The citadel had several public baths, ovens, workshops, silos and cisterns and, of course, the houses of top

government officials, employees and court servants.

As a result of the war of Independence, the buildings were left in ruins and part of the rampart and its towers

had to be reconstructed almost completely.

Visitors can see the foundations of the constructions, as well as the rampart from inside, with the parapet

walks, battlements and merlons and a great view of the Generalife from the eastern part.

When you come out of the Nasrid Palaces, you enter the *Partal Gardens, with the famous Torre de las Damas

[Tower of the Ladies] and the enormous pond that was guarded until very recently by two majestic stone lions,

which are today found in the Alhambra Museum.

In this area, near the pond, are the remains of the Palace of Yusuf III, which clearly wished to evoke its

predecessor, the Comares Palace, and which was the residence of the governor of the Alhambra, the Marquis of

Mondéjar.

A little further up is the San Francisco Parador, previously the monastery of the order and before that an Arab

palace in the age of Yusuf V, free-standing, like the previous palace of Yusuf III.

On the way to the Generalife we pass by very interesting towers and a water system.

Informatii despre vizitarea Medina:

Very difficult route for the physically disabled, except the stretch marked in "blue", known as Secano, which can

be accessed from the ticket offices or from the Alhambra.

* These premises can only be accessed as you come out of the Nasrid Palaces

ALCAZABA
The Alcazaba was a building used for military purposes. The first Arab constructions date back to the Caliphate

period, possibly built over some ruins of a Roman fortress. In the 11th century, the "ziríes" expanded the

enclosure, when Granada was the capital city of one of the "Taifas" kingdoms. Even so, the main constructions

date from the "nazarie" period (13th to 15th centuries). At this enclosure there are also some Christian

additions like the round "Cubo" Tower.

At this site there is the famous "Vela" Tower: a watchtower from where we can contemplate some

incomparable views of the city, the "Vega" and "Sierra Nevada" . The barracks of the soldiers have disappeared,

and the underground dungeons are closed, but you can still walk around some towers, ramparts and the round

walks. Ruins of the baths, silos, water tanks, etc. still remain.

ISTORIA MONUMENTULUI:

The Alcazaba, together with the "Torres Bermejas" is the oldest part of the Alhambra. It is thought that before

its construction and the arrival of the Moslems to Granada, several buildings already existed at this same site.

The earliest news we have of the existence of the Alcazaba of Granada dates from the 9th century. It was

possibly constructed by "Sawwar ben Hamdun" during the fights between Arabs and muladíes (Christians

converted to the Islam during the Moslem domination in Spain).

The actual compound was constructed by "Mohamed I", who encircled the old castle with a wall, added new

defences and built up three new towers ("Quebrada", "Homenaje" and "Vela"), converting the Alcazaba into a

real fortress where the monarch established his royal residence. It continued as a royal residence during the

reign of his son "Mohamed II", until the palaces had been finished. From that moment it became a military

fortress.

Later on, when the Christians conquered Granada, they altered some parts of the Alcazaba. At different times,

and for long periods of time, the Alcazaba was used as a state prison, even during the French occupation.

Like the Alhambra, the Alcazaba was abandoned and completely neglected for a long time, but contrary to what

happened to the Alhambra, it was not until the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th when

some restoration and sanitation works started.

Walls and Towers: The Alcazaba occupies a space with an almost triangular shape at the highest part of the

Sabika hill, where the Alhambra is located. It is surrounded by a complex system of walls and towers that

defend it and converted it into an almost inexpugnable fortress.

From the "Aljibes" square we enter this enclosure through modern gate at the defence wall, passing, to the

north, by the eastern wall of the fortress where the towers (Quebrada, Homenaje and Adarguero) are situated.
 Of the "Adarguer" tower, only the lower part remains. The "Homenaje" tower, which occupies the northeast

angle, is the tallest of the fortress and at this tower is where "Alhamar" is thought to have resided. Right at the

end, joined to the defence wall, we find the "Cubo" tower. It has a semicircular shape and was built after the

reconquest. From this tower we can admire the beautiful views over the "Albayzín" district and the "Darro"

valley.

To continue the visit, we enter the north rampart, where we can see the double wall constructed round the

fortress. Before us, closing the rampart, we find the "Armas" Gate, one of the entrances to the Alhambra and

the only one that communicated directly with the city. Far back, we can see the emblematic "Vela" Tower with

the bell used to mark the rhythm of the city life and of the "Vega" (flat agricultural land near the city of

Granada).

CE SA VEZI IN ALCAZABA:

 The Armas Square

The “Armas” square, was the original entrance to the Alcazaba. It consisted of a group of constructions where

they did different services for the people that lived at the fortress. On the right, there is a large water tank or

“aljibe” with two naves, which must have worked as a cistern for rain water, but from the 17th century it started

receiving water from the channel of the Alhambra. Near to the “aljibe” (water tank), on the left of the Alcazaba’s

Gate, there is a bath.

At the center of the square and in part of the wall, we find foundations of several Arab houses, where the civil

population, in charge of covering the needs of the dignitary and military people, lived in. We can also find an

underground dungeon almost at the foot of the “Quebrada” tower.

 The Vela Tower

This is the tower with the biggest dimensions. It is a square shaped tower, measuring 16 meters on each side by

26,80 meters high. It has four floors and an underground floor with a silo and an underground dungeon. The top

of the tower originally had merlons, but in 1522 they were destroyed by an earthquake.

History of the monument

 This is the most symbolic tower of the Alhambra. On the top it had a bell used by the Arabs to announce

disasters. From its privileged position a large extension of the territory is controlled: all the “Vega” (flatland) of

Granada, the hill tops, the districts, etc, and therefore it was a very important tower for the defence and

protection of the fortress.

The floor plan of this tower is square, and it measures 16 meters on each side by 26,80 meters high. The base of

this construction is solid and it has four floors or levels with arches supported by pillars. For some time, this tower

was used as a dwelling and therefore its aspect has changed compared with its original look. Until the 16th

century it had merlons on the second floor. The actual placement of the bell on the west façade dates from 1840

and later it had to be mended as a consequence of being hit by a thunderbolt in 1882.

The bell is the great protagonist of this tower. Formerly, the ringing was used as a night clock for the farmers of

the “Vega” (agricultural land) to water their lands. It began ringing from 8:00 to 9:30 in the evening and

continued ringing at intervals and with different sounds until 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning, depending on the

season. It has also been used to warn the people of Granada in case of danger. Nowadays, every year on

January 2nd, the bell and the tower recuperate the protagonism of old times. To commemorate the date when

the Catholic Kings took over Granada, there is a tradition that says that any single female of the town that rings

the bell on January 2nd, will get married before the end of the year.

The scenery that we can admire from the tower is absolutely marvellous. At a glance we can see the whole city,

Sierra Nevada, the “Vega” lands and the villages around the city.

 The “Armas” Tower

This tower, also called the “Armas” Tower by the Arabs, is located at the north wall at an angle with the lower

wall of the Alcazaba. This tower communicated the Alhambra with the city, through the “Almanzora” district.

The entrance to the tower, which is older than the “Justicia” tower, has a pointed horseshoe arch made with brick

and stone imposts, embellished with scallops and black, white and green glazed tiles. There are two more arches

of the same type, the last of which, connects with a nave divided by arches, with walls that also have more

arches with seats for the guards. Two more arches communicated with the lowest walk behind the parapet on

top of the wall of the Alcazaba and with the exit of the tower, that has two more pointed horseshoe arches made

of brick.

 The Adarves Gardens

The entrance to the Alcazaba is reached through the “Adarves” Garden, which is named so for being located at

the lower rampart of the fortress (adarve means rampart). This garden is one of the places from which the visitor

can admire one of the most beautiful sights of the city. At the western end of the garden, there is a “mirador”

from which the wall starts, joined to one of the “Torres Bermejas”. On this wall the famous verses by the poet

“Francisco A. de Icaza” are located, which read: (<>

RAUDA

Royal cemetery. The privileged garden where the mortal remains of the Granadine princes rested is visited just

as you come out of the Nasrid Palaces.

It is between the latter and the Charles V Palace. This area was restored recently, adapting it for visitors and

emphasising its original structure.

It can only be accessed on coming out of the Nasrid Palaces.

PALATELE NASRID

Complex of palaces, the residence of the kings of Granada. Its construction was started by the founder of the

dynasty, Alhamar, in the thirteenth century, although the buildings that have survived to our time date mainly

from the fourteenth century. The walls of these palaces enclose the refinement and the delicateness of the last

Hispano-Arab governors of Al Andalus, the Nasrids.

Three palaces form these premises: El Mexuar, The Comares or Yusuf I Palace, o de Yusuf I and The Palace of

the Lions, or of Mohammed V.

The intimate concept of the royal palace, closed to curious eyes, harmonises the robustness of the outside

stretches of the walls with the fragility inside, where the architectural elements become purely ornamental. The

poor materials used to decorate the palaces demonstrate the temporality of the construction compared with the

cosmos, the proof of man's transient nature. The patios, continuous allusions to gardens, with elements of

Persian and Muslim inspiration, are a taste of paradise, a nomad's oasis, a delight to the senses. Water, the

element that shapes the palace, combining the garden with architecture, represents purity. Crystalline water

running between the fountains' marble. Life-giving water making the garden lush and fresh, providing aesthetic

beauty, the sultan's generosity... a whole world of symbols and stimuli.

This is the only area of the monument with access

 CONTROL TIMES

, in other words, apart from respecting your visit session, which can be morning, afternoon or night, you have to

go in the time slot indicated on your ticket to visit the Nasrid Palaces.

These slots last for half an hour and they are distributed throughout the times it is open to the public.

The visit is adapted for the physically disabled.

Once inside, you can stay as long as you wish, although the route usually takes less than an hour. Please

comply strictly with the visit rules indicated on your ticket.

The distance from the ticket offices is 800 m.

 Royal Palace

It is a group of small palaces with a series of structures that surround them, that were a consequence of a purely

transitory and ornamental need. From the 16th century, these “nazarie” palaces have been named “Casa Real

Vieja” (Old Royal House) in order to distinguish them from the Christian-built buildings.

At this area there are:

Mexuar: the room itself, the oratory, the Golden Room and the courtyard.

The “Comares” Palace: “Arrayanes” courtyard, the “La Barca” hall and the “Embajadores” hall.

The Lion’s Palace: the “Mocarabes” hall, the courtyard, the “Abencerrajes” hall, the “Reyes” hall and the “Dos

Hermanas” hall.

The rooms of the Emperor: the “Mirador”, the “de la Reja” courtyard and the “Lindaraja” garden.

History of the monument

The compound of the Royal Palace is divided into three independent areas:

• The Mexuar, where the administration of justice took place, and matters of state dealt with. There was an

elevated chamber, closed with lattice windows, where the sultan sat to listen to the demands of the citizens

without being seen. At the rear of the room there is an oratory, a small room orientated to the Mecca, richly

decorated with plasterworks and from where the Albayzin is contemplated.

After the conquest, the Catholic Kings ordered to change the interior of this room, converting it into a chapel. The

banister of the choir still remains. The exterior of its walls has suffered so many modifications that it is impossible

to know how it was originally. This administrative area is preceded by two courtyards, in the first one there are

the ruins of a small mosque with its minaret, and the second one, called the “Machuca” courtyard, houses the

tower of the same name.

The compound was used as residence by the architects that dedicated their lives to the construction of the

monument, amongst them “Pedro Machuca” who designed the “Carlos V Palace”.

Towards the interior is the “Golden Room”, which took its name from the cupola which is covered with gold leaf,

and the “Mexuar” courtyard, with the magnificent façade of the “Comares” Palace, decorated with “muqarbas”

(decorative motif based on vertically juxtaposed bows or prisms), plasterworks and tiles, and covered with a

cedar-wood eave with decorative pineapple and shell motifs.

• The “Comares” Palace was constructed by order of the king Yusuf I, combining the representative function of

the monarchy for the official management of the State matters with the private dwelling of the sovereign. The

center of the palace is occupied by the “Arrayanes” courtyard, with porticoed galleries at the ends. This courtyard

has been given different names through the years. Its actual name is due to the thick hedges of myrtle shrubs or

“arrayanes”, whose strong green colour makes a contrast with the white marble floor of this courtyard.

It is presided by the “Comares” Tower, which houses in its interior the “Embajadores” hall or lounge, where the

king, accompanied by his viziers, held official meetings. The hall has a cubical shape and its walls are completely

decorated with: plasterworks with calligraphical motifs carvings, “al-tawriq” (vegetal ornamental motif,

characteristic of the Arab decoration)and with laceworks with geometrical shapes. The starry cupola represents

the sky. Preceding this space there is the “la Barca” hall, which had at its ends the alcoves of the sultan.

To the east of the Palace there are the “Comares” Baths, constructed according to the Moslem style, following the

classic Roman hot-bath. All the existing decoration dates from the Christian period, since they have been restored

and reconstructed several times due to the bad state they presented along the centuries.

• The Lion’s Palace. Its construction started by order of Mohamed V, son of Yusuf I. They were conceived as a

private area for the royal family and the harem. Its name comes from the fountain which is supported by twelve

lions made of white marble, placed at the Lion’s courtyard. The enclosure is an allegory of paradise, a petrified

oasis where the water flows and the 124 columns and the arcades they support are a symbol a forest of palms.

This courtyard is the first one where a new architectural style is used: two water channels that flow from the

spouts placed inside two big halls: the “Abencerrajes” and the “Dos Hermanas”.
 These rooms are located one in front of the other and they stand out for their superb cupolas of “muqarbas”

(decorative motif based on vertically juxtaposed bows or prisms)”. The popular tradition assures that in the

“Abencerrajes” hall (apparently, alcove of the king), the Knights of that name were beheaded, and that the “Dos

Hermanas” hall makes reference to the two large marble slabs that are placed at both sides of the central

fountain and that a poet of the 14th century compared with two sisters. In its interior, the “Mirador de Lindaraja”,

a small room used as a relaxing place by the “favourite” of the sultan and that constitutes, thanks to its exquisite

decoration, one of the most wonderful places of the Alhambra.

The “Mocarabes” hall is the simplest of all the halls of the Lion’s Palace. It is located at the old entrance of the

palace. It owns its name to the vault of “muqarbas” (decorative motif based on vertically juxtaposed bows or

prisms) that covered this hall, which was demolished due to the bad state it was after the explosion of a powder

magazine in 1590.

Another hall of this palace is the “Reyes” hall, named after a painting done on the cupola of one of the three

existing rooms, representing ten monarchs. The hall is divided in seven parts: three square rooms, separated by

two rectangular sections, and alcoves at the ends. This distribution as well as the “musta’rab” decoration

enhances the light that comes in the hall.

 Mexuar

This room, called MEXUAR, was ordered to be constructed by “Ismail” and later on was restored by “Muhammad

V”.

At this room the Council of Ministers or “Sura” had their reunions and it was also used as waiting room when the

sultan imparted justice.

This room has been reformed; at first it had two floors. From the second floor is where the sultan could see and

watch everybody without being seen.

The floor we can now see was smaller in size, and at the north end there was a courtyard which led to the

oratory. The reform was made under the rule of the Emperor Carlos V who used it as a chapel. The

ornamentation is totally actual.

History of the monument

 It is difficult to know how the Mexuar was originally constructed, since the numerous reforms and reconstructions

that has suffered have changed it that much that it is impossible to know how the rooms that are not in ruins

were like. According to the poems of “Ibn Zamrak” we could say that it belonged to the primitive “nazarie”

alcazar. As much as the reforms made after the Christian conquest as the explosion of a powder magazine in

1590, which caused great damage, have made large modifications on the distribution and the communication.

Actually, what remains of all the rooms, located next to the tower of “Mohamed I”, are the eastern nave called

the Mexuar, which has also been changed by the Christians, the gallery or the “Machuca” Tower, named so

because it was the residence of the architects “Pedro and Luis Machuca” during the construction of the Palace of

Carlos V.

As an example of what has been told above, the exterior of the walls of the Mexuar have suffered so many

alterations that it is impossible to know how they were originally. We find four columns at the center of the room,

with corbels embellished with “muqarbas” (decorative motif based on vertically juxtaposed bows or prisms). On

the plaster fret you can read: <>. The carved and panelled ceiling is from the Christian period, decorated with

bows details. The upper part of the wall is decorated with plasterworks, gold motifs and paintings, while the

socles are made with tiles and also have the nazarie motto (of the “Alamares”), the court of arms of Carlos V and

the family buckler of the “Mendozas”(nobiliary Castilian family), since “D. Iñigo López de Mendoza” (Earl of

Tendilla) was named Lord Major by the Catholic Kings. We can also find the plates with Hercules columns and

Moorish knots of the 16th century.

At the end of this hall, there is a room used by the monarch to summon the council and hold meetings. When the

king was not in palace, the “Cadí”, at the adjoining room, was who listened to the dealers.

 Oratory

Located at the rear of the Mexuar, this oratory was restored in 1917, after being in a very damaged state due to

the explosion of a powder magazine in 1590 at the “Darro” valley. The front wall had four small balconies, with

twined arches and small windows. The “mihrab”, richly decorated, has a horseshoe arch with voussoirs, and

presents several inscriptions that make reference to commands of the Koran, as well as praises to Mohamed V.

 Golden Room

The “Golden Room” (Cuarto Dorado)– Alhambra, called like this for the panelwork ceiling repainted in the

“mudejar” (Moslem) style, was ordered to be constructed by “Mohamed V” and it is part of the “Palacio de

Comares”. At the entrance of this room we find an arcade with three arches supported by columns, with marble

capitals from the 12th century. To the left, a small arch communicates with the “Mexuar”, and at the rear, there
 is another arch decorated “muqarbas” (decorative motif based on vertically juxtaposed bows or prisms), lattice

windows and flanked by two more small arches, joining it with a small room covered with bow motifs decorations

and Gothic paintings, the shield of the Catholic Kings and their emblems. On the front wall of the room, there is a

balcony divided by a column with a Christian capital, decorated with the same Royal emblems, under a frieze

decorated with “muqarbas” (decorative motif based on vertically juxtaposed bows or prisms)”.

 Golden Room Courtyard

TIt takes its name from the ”grotesques” of the Arab ceiling, which was repainted in gold during the Catholic

Kings period. It opens to the courtyard through a porticoe with three arches; the columns have beautiful capitals

with volutes, original of the “almoravide” (Moslem) tradition. In the middle of the courtyard there is a low

fountain made with marble. At one side a gate leads to the guards vaulted walk that communicates this courtyard

with the “Reja” courtyard.

History of the monument

This famous courtyard can be seen in prints of the 19th century converted into dwellings with new balconies, in a

very bad state. This bad condition was due to the abandon of the 18th century and the first part of the 19th

century. “Rafael Contreras” intervened in the 19th century, “Modesto Cendoya” between 1906 and 1907 and “D.

Leopoldo” between 1926 and 1930.

In front of the porticoe of the Golden Room, the most important façade of the palace was built: the magnificent

“Comares” façade. It was Mohamed V who ordered its construction to commemorate the conquest of Algeciras in

1369. this façade was the entrance to the residential private area of the palace. The door at the right of this

façade gave access to the service areas and the door at the left gave access to the private rooms, as the

inscription on the “ar-rukab” or wooden frieze says. On the upper floor there are the private rooms of the women,

closed with lattice windows to preserve their intimacy.

At this courtyard, the sultan received the subjects who had a special audience. These would stand in the Golden

Room, separated from the sultan who was protected by the guards that made a security cord in front of the

porticoe. At the central part of the façade, between both doors, the sultan would sit on a type of folding chair

with curved legs and leather pieces for the seat and the back beneath the great eave, which was like the canopy

that crowned him, as the inscription says. This eave is one of the main works of the “nazarie” carpentry. This is

how they achieved the theatrical effect for the arrival of the monarch: the subjects could talk and make their

petitions to the sultan over the heads of the soldiers, while the women would discretely observe all the ceremony

behind the lattice windows of the upper floors.

 Comares Palace

The Comares Palace, at the Alhambra in Granada, is comprised of a group of rooms joined around the

“Arrayanes” courtyard, with porticoed galleries on both ends. At the north end is the “Barca” hall and the

“Embajadores” hall, which occupies the interior of the “Comares” tower, from where the “Darro” valley can be

viewed.

“Yusuf I” wanted to leave the visitors astonished with the decoration of his official residence. In order to achieve

that, he ordered that the construction and the decoration had to be exquisite. Although, probably, he did not see

these works finished, since several inscriptions name his son Mohamed V as the creator.

History of the monument

The Comares Palace is the most important palace of the Alhambra. It was the official residence of the sultan and

the place where the “throne” hall was located. It was built and richly decorated by “Yusuf I”, who was responsible

for most of the existing constructions of the Alhambra.

At the Gold courtyard, we find the access façade to this palace, of great beauty and constructed by “Mohamed

V”, son of “Yusuf I”. At this façade there are two openings: the right opening gives access to the family rooms

and the left opening (through which the visit continues) gives way to the official area. The decoration on this

façade is very rich, with ceramic socles and plasterworks, standing out the magnificent wooden eave.

Continuing the visit, we get to the “Arrayanes” courtyard, also known as the “Alberca” or the “Comares”

courtyard. It is a classic courtyard in a Arab-Andalusia style, with two porticoes on its smallest sides, a large “a-

birka” (pond), where the constructions are reflected, surrounded by solid “arrayán” hedges (myrtle), and two

marble basins that pour the water in the pond. The porticoes have seven semicircular arches, being the central

one the biggest, with plaster pierced panels. Over the south porticoe are two floors, one with seven wooden

lattice windows, being the central one double, and the upper floor has a gallery over the courtyard.

The rooms at the south porticoe, got destroyed when the Carlos V Palace, which is joined to this construction,

was built.

On the north side there is the biggest hall of all the Alhambra; the “Embajadores” Hall, the throne hall. This hall is

located inside the “Comares” Tower, which is 45 meters high and is the biggest of the whole fortress. To get to it,

after going through the porticoe, we find, first of all, the “Barca” hall, which has a beautiful wooden ceiling
 (replica of the original ceiling which was destroyed in a fire in the 19th century). Behind the door that opens on

the left of this hall, is the latrine of the palace, which can not be visited. Going out of the “Barca” hall, at the

space between this hall and the “Embajadores” hall, we can see, to the right, a small oratory, probably reserved

for the sultan.

Finally we get to the “Embajadores” hall, shrouded in a relaxing darkness. It is illuminated only with the light that

comes in through the big windows. There are three windows on each wall. At the central one, in front of the

door, was where the throne was placed, and it is most richly decorated. Higher up, a series of small pierced

windows illuminate the beautiful wooden ceiling, on which the seven heavens of the Islamic cosmos are

represented, which the soul of the believer must travel until it meets Allah.

Again at the courtyard, we will continue the visit through a room on the west side, which communicates with the

Lion’s Palace. This entrance is modern, since in old times these two palaces were not directly connected.

 Arrayanes Courtyard

This courtyard is also called "Mirtos", "Arrayanes" or "Alberca" courtyard, due to the elements present at this

courtyard. This palace was started by "Ismail I", continued by "Yusuf I" and finished by "Mohamed V" in 1370. It

was the official seat of the sultan, even though he had other palaces. The original function of "Comares" was to

house the executive power, the government.

We can divide it in four areas; a first area would be the north compound of "Comares", which houses the

"Embajadores" lounge, used for private receptions, and the "Barca" hall used as a resting area. The south side

was reserved for the concubines and the staff. At the east and west sides, the rooms of the four wives of the

sultan were located.

History of the monument

The "Arrayanes" courtyard has been called different ways along the years. The actual name (as the "Mirtos"

courtyard) is due to the thick myrtle hedges, whose colour make a contrast with the white marble floor of the

courtyard that surrounds the central pond. It was also called "Estanque" or the "Alberca" courtyard, precisely

because of the central pond, which is 34 meters length by 7,10 meters wide, and that divides the courtyard

lengthwise and receives the water from two marble basins placed at each end.

At both sides of the courtyard there are two naves with rooms and at the smaller sides, there are porticoes,

supported by columns with cubic capitals, with seven semicircular arches adorned with pierced rhombs and
 inscriptions of praise to God. The central arch is bigger than the other six, and has thick spandrels decorated with

"al-tawriq" (vegetal ornamental motif, characteristic of the Arab decoration) and capitals embellished with

"muqarbas" (decorative motif based on vertically juxtaposed bows or prisms).

The south gallery has at its ends "al-hazana" (closets) with shelves embellished with "muqarbas" (decorative

motif based on vertically juxtaposed bows or prisms) and an inscription that reads: "The help and protection of

God and an splendid victory for our Lord Abu Abd' Allah, Emir of the Moslem". The majority of the inscriptions

that exist at this courtyard are praises to God or to the Emir. The rooms that existed at this south porticoe were

partially demolished to construct the "Carlos V Palace". On the upper floor, over a corridor, we can find a gallery

with six arches and an elevated lintel at the center, with wooden bolsters, spaced and covered with "al-tawriq"

motifs, with lattice windows of the 19th century.

The fact that different rooms were demolished, has originated the myth that the Emperor Carlos V destroyed the

winter palace of the Alhambra to construct his own, although several researches (not all coincide in what was in

those rooms) coincide, however, in the fact that there is no evidence of the existence of such a winter palace.

The lateral naves were used as a residence for women. On the ground floor there are various doors that connect

(or connected) with different rooms. The decoration of the courtyard at this gallery, except the tile socle, was re-

done during the 19th century, with similar adornment to the opposite porticoe.

On the upper part of the north gallery, behind which the "Comares" tower is, there is a parapet with two small

lateral towers, which were rebuilt in 1890 after suffering a fire that burned the ceiling of this gallery and of the

next room. The ends of the gallery present closets with arches, cupolas and "muqarbas" shelves over a tiled socle

of the end of the 16th century. This socle has an inscription at the upper part corresponding to a poem of Ibn

Zamrak, in honour to Mohamed V after the conquest of Algeciras in 1368.

 The Barca Hall

From the north gallery of the “Arrayanes” courtyard and through a pointed arch embellished with “muqarbas”

(decorative motif based on vertically juxtaposed bows or prisms), we accede to the “Barca” Hall. The origin of its

name seems to be a degeneration of the Arab word “baraka”, which means blessing. This hall has a rectangular

shape and it measures 24 by 4,35 meters, although it seems that it was smaller in size originally and enlarged

years later, by Mohamed V, and with a semicylindrical vault, which a fire destroyed in 1890. Afterwards it was

replaced by a replica of the original which was completely finished in 1964. The walls are richly decorated with

plasterworks with the “nazarie” shield and in the middle of it a word written: “Blessing” and the motto of the

dynasty <>.
 The hall, surrounded by a socle, has at both ends alcoves with tiled socles embellishing the columns that support

stilted scalloped arches, ornamented with “muqarbas”, and pendentives.

 The Comares Tower

The “Comares” Tower is the biggest of all the existing towers in the Alhambra, it is 45 meters high. It took its

name from the coloured glass windows of the balconies, also called “comarías”, that illuminate the great hall

housed in the interior.

History of the monument

Between the walls of the “Barca” hall and the next room, there is a narrow passage with two doors. The door

that opens to the left leads to the upper rooms of the tower (the winter bedroom of the sultan and the opening

to the balcony of the tower). The door that opens to the right leads to a room with a niche at the rear, with a

pointed horseshoe arch decorated with “al-tawriq” (vegetal ornamental motif). This room was a small oratory

used by the Emir.

The tower has several windows on its four façades, with gargoyles similar to those of the “Justicia” tower and

merlons to which they added pyramidal finials in the 16th century. Inside the tower we find the “Embajadores”

hall.

It is said, that at this tower took place the meeting, where they decided and agreed to give up Granada to the

Catholic Kings. They say that from one of the balconies, Boabdil’s mother, when she knew her son was

negotiating the surrender to the Christians, said to him: <>. The legend also says, that here was where Cristobal

Colon convinced the Catholic Kings about his voyage to the Indies, and instead he happened to discover America

on October 12th, 1492, and where the Queen Isabel offered him her jewels to pay for the voyage.

The name “Comares” is explained in various ways. Some say it comes from the word “amariyya” (glass panels

used to close the windows). Others say it comes from the “Comares” village in Malaga, where the glass panels

must have been made. The Lebanese author “Amin Maluff“, thinks it comes from the Arab word “kamar”, and

therefore the tower would be called Moon Tower, since, according to him, the astrologers used it for the studies

of the night sky.

 "The Embajadores" hall

13th - 14th centuries

This hall or lounge of the Alhambra, was the symbolic center of the “nazarie” power, which is evident in the

refinement and splendour of the decoration. It is a quadrangular shaped room located inside the “Comares”

tower. It is the most spacious room where the monarch held audiences in front of the grandees of the kingdom:

Viziers, Ulemas, the Lord Major and the captains. It was also where the receptions of envoys and other people of

high standing took place.

History of the monument

This is the most majestic room of the Alhambra, where the throne was placed and the official receptions where

held.

The room communicates with the “Barca” hall by a double arch. It is a square room with a very high ceiling,

11,30 meters on each side and 18,20 meters high. The pavement was originally of marble slabs, but nowadays it

has mud slabs. At the center the shield of the “Alamares” still remains, made with tiles of the 16th century. Each

wall has three arches (being the central arch the biggest) that give onto three niche-like balconies opened in the

thick wall (2,5 meters thick), the central balcony has a twin arch and two little lattice windows on top, the lateral

balconies have one big arch.

This lounge or room has decorative inscriptions all over, on the arches, the walls, the “taqa” or niches, the

balconies, etc. The inscriptions are poems, praises to God, to the Emir, the nazarie motto and texts of the Koran,

like the one we find at the central chamber or the throne room, located on the “al-ifriz” of the arch (Arab

architectural decorative element consisting on a moulding that frames the opening of an arch and that starts at

the imposts. Like a hoodmould), which, according to the translation from “Echevarría”, reads: « Help me God

stonner of the devil.

In the name of God who is merciful and has mercy.

Be, God, with our Lord Mahomet and his generation, accompaniment and salvation.

And say: my help of God’s rage and of the devil that permits breakage of hell;

And save me from evilness of the jealous when he is jealous

And no other divinity lives than God’s to whom eternally praise The praise to the God of the centuries.»
 The central chamber is the most richly decorated. Next to the previous inscription on the “al-ifriz” of the arch, we

find a panelled ceiling embellished with bow motifs covering the interior of the room, which is surrounded with a

tiled socle and plasterworks adornments.

The socle is made of glazed tiles which make different geometric figures, and over it we can admire a beautifully

decorated wall based on “al-tawriq” (vegetal ornamental motif, characteristic of the Arab decoration), combining

harmoniously geometrical with vegetal elements, finished off with a cornice embellished with painted “muqarbas”

(decorative motif based on vertically juxtaposed bows or prisms). According to “Fernández-Puertas,” the ceiling

represents the Seven Heavens of the Islamic Paradise, with the throne of God located on the eighth heaven,

represented by the central cube of “muqarbas” and the four trees of life located on the diagonals. The cupola is a

masterpiece of Nazarie carpentry, it consists of cedar wooden panels embellished with bow motifs, a big cube

decorated with “muqarbas” in the middle, splashed by multitude of stars painted in a way that they look like

silver, mother-of-pearl and ivory. This distribution did not only provide a fresh enviroment, since most of the

space was in semi darkness, but it also created effects of intense illumination concentrated on the throne, when

the sun light came in.

 The Lion's Palace

At this palace the “nazarie” art and style reaches its maximum splendour, where the beauty has a sensibility and

harmony incomparable; where the light, the water, the colours and the exquisite decoration of this palace, are a

pleasure for the senses. The previous period of abstract and geometrical decorations are left behind to give way

to a more natural style, without a doubt of Christian influence, increased by the friendship between Mohamed V

and “Pedro I the Cruel” (who was at that time the Christian monarch).

History of the monument

When Mohamed V succeeded his father Yusuf I (1377), he did not limit himself to finishing the reforms started by

his father, but he also started the construction of what became his greatest work, the magnificent legacy that he

left in the Alhambra: the Lion’s Palace. This palace housed the private rooms of the royal family, and it was built

at the angle between the Baths and the “Arrayanes” courtyard.

The palace consists of a central courtyard surrounded by galleries with columns, like a Christian cloister, which

gives access to different rooms: to the west the “Mocarabes” hall, to the east the “Reyes” hall, to the north the

“Dos Hermanas”, the “Ajimeces” and the “Mirador de Daraxa”, and to the south the “Abencerrajes” hall and the

“Harem”. There are no windows looking out to the exterior, but there is an interior garden, which corresponds
 with the Moslem concept of paradise. What today is soil and gravel, in this courtyard, it was gardens then. From

every room or hall four streams flowed to the center: the four rivers of paradise.

The columns, joined by pierced panels that let the light to come in, have thin cylindrical fusts, rings on the upper

part and cubic capitals with carved inscriptions. The grey lead plates work as buffers for earthquakes. The two

pavilions at opposite sides of the courtyard are like a remembrance of the “Bedouins” tents. They have a square

shape and are decorated with wooden domes supported on pendentives decorated with “muqarbas” (decorative

motif based on vertically juxtaposed bows or prisms).

The eave was built in the 19th century. The entire gallery is closed with lacework panelled ceilings.

The Lion’s Fountain

The latest research suggest that the Lions come from the house of the Jewish vizier “Yusuf Ibn Nagrela” (1066).

It is not known if they were constructed before his death, and at the time, he was accused of wanting to build a

much bigger palace than the king’s. An almost exact description of the original fountain is still kept, written by the

poet “Ibn Gabirol” (11th-c): they represent the 12 tribes of Israel, two of them have a triangle on the forehead,

indicating the two chosen tribes:” Judá” and “Leví”. They are from the 11th century. The basin has verses from

the minister and poet “Ibn Zamrak” written on its perimeter, that beautifully describe the fountain: “(...)

Diaphane basin, pearl engraved,/ at the border the seed pearl is still,/ and the silver goes amongst daisies,/ fluid

and also made white and pure./ So allied is the hard and the flowing / that it is difficult to know which one of

them flows (..).”

Nowadays, the fountain is being restored and the lions have been placed elsewhere for the time being.

 The "Mocárabes" Hall

The “Mocárabes” Hall (“muqarbas” hall), is the simplest of all the halls in the Lion’s Room. It is located at the old

entrance of the palace, and derives its name from the decoration of the vault that covered it, of which there are

only a few scant traces, due to the explosion of a powder magazine in 1590 which caused severe damage. The

hall was divided into two parts, separated by a gate around 1636. The left half was covered by an elliptical vault.

The walls are decorated with carved plaster strips with the shield and the nazarie motto. From 1863 the remains

of the original vault can be seen. There is also, part of a Christian barrel vault, which has the letters F and I

carved, but these letters do not correspond to the names of the Catholic Kings, “Fernando” and “Isabel”, but to

the names of “Felipe V” and “Isabel de Farnesio”, who lived at the Alhambra in 1729. This hall, located next to
 the mediaeval entrance, could have been the waiting vestibule for the guests of the sultan at parties and

receptions. The access to the Lion’s courtyard is through three arches decorated with “muqarbas”.

 The "Abencerrajes" Hall

The “Abencerrajes” Hall is located in front of the “Dos Hermanas” Hall. The popular tradition says that

this is where “Abencerrajes” Knights were assasinated, although the sources do not agree in the name

of the monarch who ordered these murders.

History of the monument

 This room was the alcove of the sultan, and since it was a private space, there are no windows looking

on to the exterior. The walls are richly decorated, the stucco and the colours are original, the tiled socle

dates from the 16th century, from the Seville factory of tiles and the cupola is ornamented with

“muqarbas” (decorative motif based on vertically juxtaposed bows or prisms). On the floor, in the middle

of the space, there is a small fountain that reflected the cupola of “muqarbas”, which with its rich

decoration, created a magical and charming illumination, since the light that entered through the upper

part of the room gave a different light according to the different hours of the day. From this low fountain

comes out a narrow channel through which the water flows to the Lion’s fountain.

 The “Abencerrajes” hall has a fantastic history; it is said that 36 Knights died here when Boabdil killed

them. The “Abencerrajes” were very popular in the city and they were the personification of all that is

noble and chivalrous. Although it is probably a false story, it is true that in between the floor slabs at this

hall there are red markings, the colour of the blood.

 The entrance to the hall has two arches separated by a corridor that communicates to the left with the

upper floor and to the right with the hall of the primitive entrance to the palace. The central space of

this room has lateral alcoves, with arches finely decorated and columns with blue capitals and painted

ceilings. The walls are covered with plaster works and a socle of blue tiles from the 16th century, of the

Renaissance style. Above eight projecting “muqarbas” vaults an impressive cupola is placed, also

decorated with “muqarbas”. On these projecting vaults, there is a carved inscription, that reads: <>.

Through the windows, placed at the base of the cupola, a tenuous light comes in, illuminating the

“muqarbas” ornamentation giving this cupola a magical aspect.

 The upper floor was apparently used as the Harem or “harim”, and therefore it was a space only for the

women. An extraordinary “mirador”, opened to the courtyard by three arches, which must have had at

the time a lattice window, allowed the sultan the contemplation of the concubines that lived there.
  The “Abencerrajes” hall could have been the building used for having parties in winter, since it was well

isolated with thick wooden doors and heated up with ceramic or stone braziers. The concubines would

come down from the Harem when the sultan called them.

 The Harem

The “Harem” was a space exclusive for women. An extraordinary carved balcony (which would have had a lattice

window), opened to the courtyard by three arches, allowed the monarch to look upon his concubines.

History of the monument

Contrary to the idea that people have of a harem, this was the house of the monarch, where there were no

official receptions and no protocol; in conclusion, where the monarch made his family life inside the Palace.

The general concept of a harem is where the sultan kept his wives away from the rest of the world, constantly

watched by eunuchs, and where only the sultan could enter. On the contrary, the tradition says that one day

Mahomet was playing with his grandchildren, but since the prophet used to receive visits from friends and

faithfuls without previous appointment, one day the group of faithful drew the curtain, behind which the monarch

was rolling on the floor with his grandchildren. Mahomet did not like to be seen in this situation. After this,

Mahomet told his followers it was necessary to habilitate a place in the house for family use only, where visitors

would not be allowed to enter.

Maybe that is why this private room, inside the Palace, has been called the Harem, where the three wives of the

sultan lived, although the fourth wife “the favourite” (sultans usually had four wives) lived separated from the

rest, probably at the “Torre de la Cautiva” (the Captive Tower) where “Dña. Isabel de Solís” (known in Granada

as “Zoraya” and who was thought to be the favourite of “Muley Hacén”) resided.

To enter the Harem we have to go through a corridor illuminated by arches with lattice windows and lacework

spandrels, finding in the center the balcony of the south gallery of the Lion’s Courtyard. Of these rooms, only the

courtyard remains, which occupies the center and has two porticoes with three arches supported by columns. A

central arch, at the eastern porticoe, gives way to the rooms, which were the same as those on the western side

(that disappeared when the Palace of Carlos V was constructed). The walls of the courtyard are decorated with

painted socles in ochre, blue and black and with a carved eave decorated with scrolls and inscriptions of praise to

the sultan carved in plaster, as well as the motto of the dynasty.

 The "Reyes" Hall

The “Reyes” Hall (the Kings hall) occupies the east side of the Lion’s courtyard, and it gets its name from the

paintings on the vault covering the central room. This is the largest hall of the Harem, and it is divided in three

identical rooms and two small rooms used as closets due to their location and the lack of light. The “Reyes” Hall

was probably used for family parties.

History of the monument

The “Reyes” Hall gets its name from the paintings of the central vault; it was also called the “Justicia” hall

(justice) and “Tribunal” hall from the 18th century. The entrance to this hall is from the front of the Lion’s

courtyard through three porticoes with triple arches ornamented with “mocarabes” or “muqarbas” and pierced

diamonds or rhombs supported by thin columns. For its disposition, the hall is divided in seven parts: three

square rooms, separated by two rectangular sections, and alcoves at both ends of the hall. The square rooms are

closed by cupolas with “muqarbas” and the access to the rectangular sections that separate them is through

double arches. These sections also have vaults embellished with “muqarbas” as the alcoves. All the distribution

and decoration enhances the light that penetrates in the hall. The solid aspect of the arches makes a contrast

with the delicate ornamentation of the walls, which consists of inscriptions and a tiled socle surrounding the hall,

of which only two fragments remain.

The paintings at this hall are located on three wooden cupolas with elliptical shape and covered or lined with

leather. The central painting shows the ten first kings of the Nazarie dynasty (except the usurpers Ismail I and

Mohamed VI). The paintings on the lateral vaults show tournaments (specially hunting scenes) and romantic

scenes of Moorish kings. In spite of this, the paintings are Christian made, clearly seen on the paintings that

represent Moslem matters, which are less precise than the Christian ones. According to the clues that these

paintings give us, they might correspond to the reign of Mohamed VII (1395-1410) or to the reign of Yusuf III

(1410-1424).

The vault at the Kings Hall. The atelier of Toledo, in its projection towards Andalusia, offers one of the most

singular examples of the Gothic paintings of the 15th century: the paintings done on leather which cover the

three false vaults of the Kings Hall at the Alhambra in Granada. The iconography of profane character of these

paintings is very rich and very difficult to understand, of chivalrous inspiration according to the literature of the

period, not forgetting certain ties with the decorative arts, where they combine themes of love, hunting and

games with fantastic and symbolic elements, where the Moslem and Christian aesthetics coincide.

The style, that reminds us of the lineal Gothic style, using lines and gold, responds to the characteristics of the

“Trecento” (Italian literary and artistic movement of the 14th century): in the features of the figures, the concern
 for the volume as well as in some costumes that make evident the Florentine style. This was the work of Christian

artists who knew the Moslem world, where they mixed the Italian and the Islamic aesthetics, making evident the

influence of the atelier of Toledo as the base of the existing friendship, at that time, between “Pedro I” of Castilla

and “Muhamed V” of Granada.

Nevertheless, the work offers serious doubts, not only about the identity of the artist and the client, but also

about the iconographic interpretation. At the central vault, displayed symmetrically around its oval shape, there

are ten Moslem figures talking among themselves, sat on cushions, richly dressed, standing out amongst a golden

background, decorated with stars on its axes. At its extremes there are two shields of the “Banda” Order with

heads of snakes and guarded by lions.

The identification of the ten men offers different interpretations: for some, it is the representation of the Kings of

Granada (Gómez Moreno), others think it is an Arab council (Contreras) and a third point of view thinks they are

personages from the aristocracy of Granada or even great soldiers, surprised when they were being invested with

the “Banda” Order. The thematic of the lateral vaults, very difficult to interpret so far, describes a chivalrous

narrative where a Christian and a Moslem are apparently disputing for the love of a lady. The story that begins on

the left vault unravels itself on the right vault.

 "Dos Hermanas" Hall

The “Dos Hermanas” hall presents a central square space with the function of a Mesuar or council hall for the

viziers. It is covered by a cupola with “mocarabes” or “muqarbas” (decorative motif characteristic of the Moslem

architecture, based on vertically juxtaposed bows or prisms) over an octagonal drum, flanked by three lateral

rooms and at the rear the “Mirador of Lindaraja”, used as the throne room, from which the sultan could

contemplate the capital of the sultanate.

History of the monument

One might think that the name of this room is based on some old legend, or something that happened here, but

in fact its name originates from the two big twin square marble slabs of its pavement. This hall was the center of

a series of rooms occupied by the sultana and the Royal family. The mother of Boabdil lived there with her

children, after being repudiated by Muley Hacén.

This hall was constructed by Mohamed V during the first part of his reign (between 1354 and 1358) and was used

as a new Mexuar of the sultan, whose throne was placed at the “Mirador of Daraxa” or “Mirador of Lindaraja”.

This mexuar, at the “Dos Hermanas” hall had a representative function. A second mexuar, with an administrative
 function, joined to this one has disappeared. In 1362, the rest of the Lion’s Palace, the courtyard and the other

rooms had not been constructed yet. They must have been built from 1363.

The “Dos Hermanas” hall has a square floor plan, with ceilings ornamented with bow details and alcoves that

communicate with the Rooms of Carlos V, and through a balcony, with the “Partal” gardens. The entrance to the

hall is through a semicircular scalloped arch (arch with a silhouette of convexly waves), which still keeps the

original wooden doors. Through a passage we get to the upper rooms, with ornamental ceilings from the 16th

century. The entrance to the chamber of the “mirador” is through three small arches. The lateral arches are

decorated with “muqarbas” (decorative motif based on vertically juxtaposed bows or prisms) and carved “al-

baniqa” (the triangle shaped space between the arch and the frame or moulding around it) on the central arch.

From the windows we have a great view of the Lion’s courtyard.

The marble pavement of the hall has a small fountain with a spout and a narrow channel that conducts the water

to the Lion’s courtyard. The most astonishing element of this hall, for its beauty and perfection, is the cupola

decorated with “muqarbas” or “mocarabes” that closes the room. The illumination, perfectly studied, enters

through lateral small windows, converting the cupola into a beautiful flower of an exquisite richness. Ibn Zamrak

gathered in a poem all the beauty of this room, of which there is still a fragment about a tiled socle with metallic

iridescences. The walls of the hall are covered with very fine plaster works with different motifs, amongst them

the classic “nazarie” motto: <>

 The "Ajimeces" Hall

This hall is named “Ajimeces” (ajimez or “al-šimasa” means projecting window or balcony closed with lattice

windows) because of the two twin balconies, on the north wall, looking out onto the gardens. The hall, which is

connected with the “Dos Hermanas” hall and with the “Mirador of Daraxa”, has a rectangular shape and it is

covered by a cupola embellished with “muqarbas” (decorative motif based on vertically juxtaposed bows or

prisms), which was rebuilt in the 16th century. The walls are decorated with plasterworks with carved religious

inscriptions and shields with the “nazarie” motto. A frieze with inscriptions at the base of the cupola, surrounds

the room, and the inscriptions say: <>

 Daraxa Lookout

The “Mirador” is the part of the “Dos Hermanas” Hall that has views of the garden. Here several painters, poets

and architects worked for hours. From here the whole city of Granada can be seen. Its dimensions are: 15 feet by

10 feet and has three high windows. It is decorated and adorned with verses, and the eyes go to the details of
the room’s dome. There are three main figures, characteristic of the Moslem architecture, the right-angled

triangle, the rectangle and the isosceles triangle.

History of the monument

From the “Ajimeces” hall we enter the “Mirador” with a pointed arch decorated with “muqarbas”, where another

poem is carved on its doorjambs along with a socle of black, white and yellow tiles, beautiful for its fine

ornaments. The floor is also covered by tiles, although it is very deteriorated.

This “Mirador” is also called “Lindaraja”, which comes from “Ayun Dar Aisa” (the eyes of the Aisa house). This

“Mirador” was restored by “Rafael Contreras” between 1879 and 1880, and 1883 and 1884.

The inside of the “Mirador” has a rectangular shape, with two lateral arches and a double arch in front of the

entrance facing the “Daraxa” courtyard, closed by the three rooms of Carlos V. over the windows “muqarbas”

pointed arches are placed, with inscriptions of praise to God, to Mohamed V and with poems.

On the right (Ibn Zamrak, translated by “Emilio García Gómez”):

All art has offered me its beauty,

giving me perfections and splendours.

Who sees me, imagines me all the time

giving to ibriq what he desires to have.

To whom looks and meditates, he denies

the visual perception of his thought,

since I am so diaphane, that he sees the moon

happy, place in me like a halo.

On the left:

I am not alone: his created such a prodigy

my garden, another one like it eyes never saw:

 a glass floor that who looks at it

thinks of it frightful sea, and it scares him.

All this is by imam Ben Nasar

(¡that the its honour the Lord keeps amongst kings!)

his family won glory of old

Because he gave asylum the Prophet and his people.

The “Mirador” is covered by a wooden-work ceiling with original glass of the “nazarie” period:

<> reads the poem of this “Mirador”. When the courtyard bellow was not closed, you could contemplate the

Albayzín sitting down against the window sill.

To such an extreme I get with my delights

That in the sky the stars imitate them.

According to” Rafael Pérez Gómez”, the Alhambra is the only place where the Arab geometricians and tricksters

represented each one of the 17 flat crystallographic groups, defined by the Russian “Fedorov”. But at the

“Mirador” of Daraxa artisans made a “geometric trick”: they built on the ceramic socle a polygon with nine sides,

tracing which is impossible to get with a rule and a compass, instruments used by them.

 Rooms of Carlos V

Carlos V, thinking of residing in Granada during the constructions of his Palace, ordered to build and adapt a

series of rooms according to the Castilian way of living. Although the Emperor and his cortege were seduced by

the beauty of the “nazarie” palace, their architecture was far from being comfortable for them. These rooms, built

between 1527 and 1537 around the “Daraxa” garden, were never occupied by the Emperor.

History of the monument

“Julio de Aquiles” and “Alexander Mayner” decorated with paintings these rooms, although they were rubbed off

in 1729 for the arrival of “Felipe V”. But in the 19th and 20th centuries, some of these paintings have been
 recuperated (in 1990, by “Victor Medina Flórez” and “Ana García Buena”), like those of the next rooms: “sala de

las Frutas”, “sala de la Emperatriz” and the “salas del Emperador”.

These rooms are also known as the “Rooms of Washington Irving”, since the American writer occupied them in

1829, during his visit to Granada. Possibly here is where he wrote his famous “Tales of the Alhambra”. In the first

room there is a chimney with the imperial emblems and a panelwork ceiling, even more spectacular in the other

room. The ceilings and the chimneys must have been made by “Pedro Machuca”. The other two rooms, named

“sala de las Frutas” (the fruits room) due to their decoration, are smaller in size but also decorated with the

motto: «Plus Ultra».

You can enter the “Galería del Peinador” from these rooms, constructed in the 16th century over the rampart,

being restored in 1842 according to the old construction.

 Peinador de la Reina

The “Peinador de la Reina”, also called “Tocador” or “Mirador”, was constructed towards 1537 over the Tower of

Abu l-Hayyay, and it gets its name from the fact that these were the rooms of the Empress “Isabel”, wife of

Carlos V. The tower of Abu l-Hayyay, built over the rampart, and from where you can see all the “Darro” valley,

was decorated by Yusuf I and finished by Mohamed V. It was part of the palace and it had a defensive function.

The access to this tower was through the covered passage under the “Embajadores” lounge. The wall reached

the windowsill of the balconies of the “Peinador”, but after being destroyed in 1831, it was reconstructed with

less height and a secret staircase was discovered, which goes through the lower part of the tower and finishes at

a clearing of the woods at its base.

History of the monument

The entrance to the tower has a wooden carved lintel and on top: plaster voussoirs and a rectangle with

embossment of stars. Unfortunately, the inscriptions that existed all round the gate, are not complete, but at

least we know (through the fragments that remain) that these inscriptions are praises to God and to Mohamed V.

The south side has a semicircular arch which was joined with the “Peinador”. At the other sides, we can find an

open corridor. At the right side of the entrance, we find a kind of burner, consisting on a marble slab with holes,

through which the essence perfumes came out, once they were burnt in a chimney from a lower room. For this

reason this tower was also called “Estufa” Tower (the Stove Tower). The frescoes paintings, probably from 1539

and 1546, are remarkable for their historical importance, above all those that represent the expedition of Carlos V

to Tunisia in 1535, divided in several pictures: the ships leaving from the harbour in “Cagiliari”, the journey to
Africa, the development of the military operations, and the retreat of the troops and their arrival in Sicily. We can

also find other paintings representing, from allegories of “Virtues” to the fable of Phaeton.

The architectural structure of the “Peinador” complex was at first an Arab construction, modified in the 16th

century after the conquest. The tower is built over the wall and has a square floor plan (8,10 meters by 5,75

meters). The interior measures 7x5 meters, divided by columns into another central space which is elevated by a

lantern towards an Arab armour. The second upper space was built by the Christians around 1537, used as the

room of the Empress “Isabel”. From there onwards, the tower was called “Mirador” or “Tocador de la Reina” (the

Queen’s dressing room), and in the 18th century it was named “Peinador”.

This space has an antechamber, sometimes called the stove. The “Tocador” or the lady’s private sitting room, has

recuperated its function as a lantern of the exterior galleries. This “tocador” (dressing room) keeps the primitive

nine Arab semicircular windows, that during the Empire period, had grisaille glass (decorative painted glass) with

grotesques ornamentals. The walls of the rooms were decorated between 1539 and 1546, based on Pompeian

style by “Julio Aquiles” and “Alexander Mayner”. At the antechamber, the expedition of Carlos V to Tunisia in

1535, is represented in eight squares.

The decoration of the central room or “Peinador” starts from some socles which are divided, as in previous

rooms, in rectangles framing vegetal motifs. Then, a strip with naturalistic elements gives way to the central

spaces, where the windows are framed by floral ornaments, as well as small figures, animals and other fanciful

details over a red and white background, typical style of the Vatican period.

From the antechamber you accede to the gallery, where grotesque motifs are represented as well as some

figures related to the theological and cardinal virtues, placed in niches. The paintings were by “Alexandre” as well

as the main figures of the complex. It was the painter “Julio” who was in charge of grotesques painted on the

socles and friezes.

There are four panelled ceilings complementing the roof frames. Three of them, which correspond to the exterior

gallery and to the antechamber, belong to the spaces created after the Christian conquest of the Alhambra and

have a similar construction.

They consist of rafters and fillets placed at the extrados of these, to conform rectangular troughs limited by

placing mouldings and a carved rose. The fillet is accompanied by a classic flume and at the perimeter, a

moulding.
 The fourth panelled ceiling, is placed directly over what was the “Tocador de la Reina”. This panel ceiling has a

square shape and has hips at its angles, decorated with bow motifs and completed with an “al-musat” (flat

horizontal part of a panelled ceiling with principal rafters and joists). At the “ar-rukab” (like a decorative frieze at

the base of this panelled ceiling) there is an Arabic inscription: <>.

The stone materials that we find inside the compound, correspond to columns, windowsills of the galleries,

windowsills from the windows of the “Peinador” and the slab of the old perfuming chimney of the antechamber.

The marble columns are at the entry gallery and at the exterior galleries of the “Peinador”. These are Arab

materials which were re-used, and they consist of base, fust, capital and cymatium. The capitals have carved

vegetal and geometric motifs.

The slab of the old perfuming chimney is located on the ground, on the southwest end of the antechamber, and

was constructed by “Oliver Hurtado” in 1540, as a complement of another perfuming chimney located on the

lower rooms. It is made of marble and it measures: 82 centimeters by 74 centimeters, and has 16 holes of 3

centimeters diameter.

 The "Reja" Courtyard

This courtyard takes its name from the iron gate located on the south wall, in the manner of a balcony (since

1655). The courtyard must have been constructed at the same time as the Rooms of Carlos V. At the center there

is a stone fountain, and at the four corners, centennial cypresses.

At the right side, there is the “Ninfas” hall, named after some feminine statues made of marble, located at the

Carlos V Palace.

 Daraxa Gardens

The Daraxa garden, remodelled in the 16th century, is the best example of a closed garden, a place of charms

and delights. It has the strong and sober style of the courtyard of Toledo, with its Castilian gallery, with bolsters

and posts. It is an irregular trapeze resting on two of its sides on the great Palace of Carlos V (Charles V), and

the other two sides are closed by a porticoe. In the center stands a big and beautiful Renaissance fountain; six

narrow beds along the walls of this garden full with dense boxwood hedges, each one occupied by cypress and

orange trees, crown the fountain and make a compact and dark mass which makes even more paradisiacal the

effect of the water of the fountain.

History of the monument

 This garden, also called “de los Naranjos” or “de los Mármoles”, was constructed between 1526 and 1538 on the

existing gardens located between the “Alcazar” and the wall, while the rooms of Carlos V were also being

constructed. The courtyard is limited to the south by the “Mirador de Daraxa” and by the “Dos Hermanas” hall, to

the north by the rooms of Carlos V and to the east and west by the galleries built by the Emperor.

At this garden we find cypress trees, acacia, orange trees and boxwood hedges, surrounding the big central

fountain of marble, decorated on the edges with a poem (the same as the fountain of the Lion’s courtyard),

which was placed in 1626 using the great basin that was formerly was at the courtyard of the Golden Room.

On the south side of the courtyard there is an opening that leads to the basement of the “Dos Hermanas” room,

which constitute a complex of rooms round the “Secretos” hall. This room is named “the Secrets Room” because

if two people stand on opposite corners of this room and one of them speaks in a low tone or in whispers in the

direction of the corner, the other person will clearly hear what the first one said, because of the acoustic that the

vault creates.

 Comares Baths

GENERALIFE

Leisure villa of the sultans of Granada, surrounded by orchards and gardens, the latter created recently,

together with the amphitheatre at the entrance, which every year is the setting for some of the shows of the

Music and Dance Festival.

The name, of doubtful origin, seems to come from the Arabic Yanat- al- Arif or Garden of the Architect, in a

clear poetical-religious symbolism that refers to God, Allah, as an architect, the creator of the universe. It is

worthwhile climbing the Water Staircase, especially in summer, to let the clear, cold water, which runs down

the banisters, slip through your fingers.

INFORMATII DE VIZITARE

You must respect the session shown on your ticket: morning or afternoon. It cannot be visited at night.

Route adapted for the physically disabled.

Do not cut flowers or stray off the paths.

Please comply strictly with the rules.

 Approximate length of visit: 1 hour.

Please bear in mind your time slot to enter the Nasrid Palaces (to start your visit in the Generalife or, if you do

not have enough time, to go directly to the Palaces).

Distance from the ticket offices to the Generalife: 100 m.

Distance from the Generalife to the Nasrid Palaces: 700 m.

What to see in the Generalife?

 The Low Gardens

After the Generalife was definitively attached to the Alhambra, public opinion was mustered to build a public park.

The area between the Alhambra and the Generalife Palace was built up and landscaped gardens were added.

The zone was simultaneously divided into the three parts that constitute the New Garden (Jardines Nuevos)

today. In 1931 a section resembling a labyrinth garden, with arched rose gardens and cypress trees, was finished

near the building; in 1951 the section was extended in accordance with the architect Prieto Moreno’s design for a

Muslim-style garden, with an irrigation channel crossing, streets, cypress lined walls, a pergola and a view of both

the Alhambra and the city.

Finally, in 1952, the outdoor amphitheatre was built for the Granada International Festival of Music and Dance,

which as been held there ever since.

 Cypress Courtyard

Crossing the side bedroom of the Royal Chamber you ascend to an open corridor called the Court of the Sultana’s

Cypress Tree.

The arcaded structure dates back to 1584. In front of it is an intimate court and a garden with a baroque flare to

it. The area was originally the site of the now disappeared Palace Bath. Water from the irrigation canal, which at

one time probably filled it while flowing to the adjacent courtyard, can still be seen pouring through a gap in the

side wall.

In the centre is a U-shaped pool of water, in the middle of which in the 19th century there used to be a smaller

pool, with a stone fountain.

 Water jets can be found all over historical-artistic monuments site, shooting water into the air and refreshing the

environment the way the Ambassador of the Venetian Republic, Venecia Andrea Navaggiero, reported seeing in

1526 when he visited the Generalife.

A tiny door on the south side of the site leads back to the Court of the Main Canal, and the rest of the Historic-

Artistic Monuments Complex.

If you have time, and are willing to climb some more stairs, a visit to the upper part of the Generalife site is

worth a visit. It can be reached by going through the door at the centre of the court, in front of the gallery.

 The High Gardens

The gardens can be reached by taking the Stairway of the Lions, so called because of the two ceramic figures

atop the door. The stairway dates back to the 19th century, when the steep steps were mounted to the top of

the Generalife High Gardens.

The Gardens, spread across several terraces in the palatial area of the Generalife and protecting the palace at its

highest point, offer a marvellous view of the entire site.

Tiny fountains with jets can be seen in the nearby parterres, with lovely specimens of magnolia trees, scented

shrubs, and a carefully laid out selection of evergreen and deciduous trees that protect against the cold winds

from the north the gardens, including a small, romantic botanical garden of the European humanist sort.

A visit to this area will highlight the visible contrast that exists within the Alhambra Historical-Artistic Monuments

Complex, which brings together Medieval and Renaissance styles, both with traces of nostalgic Romanticism that

can be appreciated here as perhaps nowhere else.

It is for this reason that a visit to the highest gardens is a must, following the Muslim stairway and descending

the very much Europeanized terraced pergola

 Walk of Cypress

Following the Promenade of the Oleander, the Promenade of the Cypress Trees takes the visitor to

the place of exit.

The Promenade of the Cypress Trees, which as its name suggests is lined with cypress trees, starts at the end of

the Promenade of the Oleanders and ends at the place of exit.

 Generalife Palace

The entrance to the Generalife is interesting for two reasons. On the one hand, its exterior part is

rural, befitting a country house more than a palace; on the other hand, various courts had to be

traversed at different levels in order to reach the interior of the Alhambra palace itself.

The entrance is currently denominated the Court of the Dismount (Patio del Descabalgamiento) owing to the

presence of footrests that facilitate horse riders in their dismount. Also on hand are two side buildings, which

were probably used by stable hands.

Once entrance was gained, the visitor would have to climb a stairway past the security guard benches, toward a

room above, with a control window.

The second court, which underwent changes, is located at the top and surrounded by arched galleries, except for

in the front, where access to the interior of the palace is gained.

Entrance to the palace itself is through a tiny door, today partially hidden by undergrowth and embedded in

traces of marble, with a tiled lintel and the ever present arch-key marking. From there, a steep narrow stairway

leads to a residence, connected to the Court of the Main Canal (Patio de la Acequia), called the North Pavilion

(Pabellón Norte), which in turn leads to an arcaded gallery, with five arches and bedchambers, and on to the

Royal Chamber (Sala Regia) and the observation point of Ismail I.

The Royal Chamber (Sala Regia) is noted for its plasterwork, niches and lovely stalactite capitals. The often

repeated interior layout includes bedchambers framed by arches. Of particular note is the stalactite outset cornice

supporting the ceiling.

The Generalife Palace Low Gardens

Beneath the Palace North Pavilion lies a small closed garden that dates back to the period of Arabic rule. In 1526

Andrea Navagero described its walls as being covered with ivy and having a fountain that shot water ten fathoms

into the air.

To the west of the garden a staircase leads slightly above to a garden beneath the Palace West Gallery. The

garden was designed in 1928 by Torres Balbás, after the building adjacent to the North Pavilion had been

demolished.

West of that, and slightly lower, covering the entire length of the Main Canal Gallery Court (Galería del Patio de la

Acequia), lie the gardens that, though somewhat altered now, in the 19th century were depicted in an engraving

by the French archaeologist and traveller Alexandre Laborde.

 Water Stairway

It is a small stairway that is protected by vaulting laurel trees, designed in a way that would suit the needs of a

medieval sultan.
 To reach the highest part of the Generalife you take the Water Stairway, leftover if substantially altered—from an

earlier site, famous for its water, which flowed from the Sultan’s Canal through pipes in the walls.

Water once flowed into three circular basins from as many pipes, now lost; however, water from the Royal Canal

continues to flow down inverted pan tiles along the stairway parapets.

 Promenade Oleanders

The Promenade of the Oleanders is connected to the Promenade of the Cypress Trees.

The Promenade of the Oleanders is a long path, covered with oleander, that crosses the upper wall that

separates the vegetable gardens. It runs into the Promenade of the Cypress Trees.

 Generalife Theatre

The Festival of Music and Dance of Granada in 1952 prompted the building of a theatre in the historical-artistic

monuments complex.

It was decided to extend the Generalife Gardens southward in order to build a large, outdoor theatre, which was

inaugurated in 1954 as a ballet centre.

Although the theatre and the adjacent gardens pertain to the same project and building operation, they refer to

different historical modes:

* The gardens, rectangular and centred on the coming together of two irrigation channel ponds, were designed

to reflect “the ambience and character of classical Riad,” according to the architect and Alhambra curator

Francisco Prieto-Moreno. * The theatre, symmetrically horseshoe shaped, with a central seating area and boxes

on the sides, reflects a western mannerist and baroque style.

In the 1960s and 1970s, renovations were undertaken to adapt the theatre to the increasingly more intense and

demanding requirements of both the Festival and its audiences, without, though, actually reaching expectations.

In the mid-1980s, coinciding with the elaboration of special plan for the Alhambra, the obvious deficiencies of the

theatre and its questionable configuration were taken into consideration. The plan covered the initiation of

“construction work leading to the modernization of the open air auditorium of the Generalife,” the use of which

was to be broader, and more innovative, in ways that were not, however, specified.
 Since the 1990s the theatre has been used, though without the necessary improvements needed for the

increasingly more complex productions being staged, for which the installations prove to be inadequate.

Recently the theatre has undergone a process of restoration, and its installations brought up to date to meet

production requirements, and the acoustics have also been improved.

Audiences have benefited as a result. At present, improved visibility and sound quality have sparked an increase

in public attendance.

 Court Main Canal

It draws water from the Royal Canal (Acequia Real), the principal hydraulic source for the entire

historical-artistic monument complex. The court channel was originally in the shape of a crossing,

like the one in the Court of the Lions (Patio de los Leones), supplying water to four oblique

parterres. These famous crossing jets, which have been copied the world over, were, however, only installed in

the 19th century. Nevertheless, an archaeological excavation in 1958 revealed that at one time it had twelve

spouts. Being completely closed in, the court once had an intimate quality about it, which later reforms to it have

sacrificed. In addition to the arcaded pavilions on the sides, there were also one storey dwellings, if only on the

west side, which were badly damaged in a fire in 1958 that later prompted the earlier mentioned excavation. The

Court of the Main Canal (Patio de la Acequia) was designed as an interior garden, with the exception of the small

lookout point on the west side, adjacent to the central arbour. The side part was originally enclosed by a high

wall with a continuous eave, which was destroyed during the Christian era. Some of the remains can be seen at

both ends. As a result, it was transformed into a sort of belvedere when the landscape appeared, and the

intimate quality of the place was lost. Added to the length of the court was a narrow open corridor with arches

and the figures of the Catholic Monarchs, a yoke and arrows painted on the intrados along with the well-known

expression, “It’s all the same” (“Tanto Monta”). Originally, the central observation point must have been the only

opening to the outside in the court, which to this day preserves the lavish plasterwork decoration from the time

of Sultan Isma’il I (1314-1325). Some of the plasterwork, though, was removed and mounted on other

plasterworks during the reign of Muhammad III (1302-1309). The low windows of the observation point are a

characteristic of Nasrid architecture. People could lounge on the floor, and with their arm on the sill, contemplate

the landscape around the Palace and its gardens, the hill on which the Alhambra stands, and the city of Granada

in the background.

 Romantic Observation

The low-lying windows are a characteristic of Nasrid architecture.

 At the end of the Water Stairway is the highest point in the Generalife. From this vantage point Jaime Traversa,

the admistrator of the site, built in 1836 the Romantic Observation Point in neo-Gothic style, which was the

fashion at the time, and noticeably contrasted with the rest of the site. This would even be more so if the remains

of a Muslim chapel, which some authors claim are there, should one day be uncovered

 Water Ponds

The hydraulic system in the Alhambra depends on the Sultan’s Canal, which carries water from the Darro River to

the Generalife, and from there, by aqueduct to the Alhambra.

The Nasrid sultans left various areas for agriculture and livestock breeding, of which the Generalife, with its large

vegetable gardens and a palace, was nearest to the Alhambra.

The irrigation channel ran parallel to the walls of the vegetable gardens. At one point the water was conducted

through a perpendicular underground gallery, a deep well, a waterwheel and a large pool, in order for it to reach

the highest cultivation area.

The underground gallery ends in a well below a tower, called Tower of the Ladies, which was built to protect it

and to support the waterwheel. Brick platforms surround the pool, and there is a stairway to a terrace that must

have been an observation point or a pavilion over the Water Pond.

As a result of the recovery of the Alhambra and its heritage in 1926, a new Water pond was built beside the

Nasrid structure in order to increase the water pressure along the entire circuit. In the 1960s, with the increase of

tourism, a third Water pond (Albercón) was built.