Encyclopedia
The
Alhambra is an ancient
mosque, palace and fortress complex of the
Moorish monarchs of
Granada, in southern
Spain , occupying a hilly terrace on the south-eastern border of the city of Granada. It was the residence of the
Muslim kings of Granada and their court, but is currently a museum exhibiting exquisite
Islamic architecture.
Coordinates:
Overview
This terrace or plateau, which measures about 740 m in length by 205 m at its greatest width, extends from W.N.W. to E.S.E., and covers an area of about 142,000 m². It is enclosed by a strongly
fortified wall, which is flanked by thirteen towers. The river
Darro, which foams through a deep ravine on the north, divides the plateau from the Albaicin district of Granada; the Assabica valley, containing the Alhambra Park, on the west and south, and beyond this valley the almost parallel ridge of Monte Mauror, separate it from the Antequeruela district.
History
The name
Alhambra, signifying in
Arabic the red , is probably derived from the colour of the sun-dried tapia, or bricks made of fine gravel and clay, of which the outer walls are built. Some authorities, however, hold that it commemorates the
red flare of the torches by whose light the work of construction was carried on nightly for many years; others associate it with the name of the founder, Muhammed Ibn Al Ahmar; and others derive it from the Arabic
Dar al Amra,
House of the Master. The palace was built chiefly between 1248 and 1354, in the reigns of Al Ahmar and his successors; but even the names of the principal artists employed are either unknown or doubtful.
The splendid arabesques of the interior are ascribed, among other kings, to Yusef I, Mohamed V, Ismail I, etc. After the Christian conquest of the city in 1492, the conquerors began to alter the Alhambra. The open work was filled up with whitewash, the painting and gilding effaced, the furniture soiled, torn or removed.
Charles V rebuilt portions in the Renaissance style of the period, and destroyed the greater part of the winter palace to make room for a Renaissance-style structure which has never been completed.
Philip V Italianised the rooms, and completed his palace right in the middle of what had been the Moorish building. He ran up partitions which blocked up whole apartments. In subsequent centuries under Spanish authorities, Moorish art was further defaced; and in 1812 some of the towers were blown up by the French under Count Sebastiani, while the whole buildings narrowly escaped the same fate. Napoleon had tried to blow up the whole complex. Just before his plan was carried out, a soldier who secretly wanted the plan of Napoleon — his commander — to fail, defused the explosives and thus saved the Alhambra for posterity.
In 1821 an
earthquake caused further damage. The work of restoration undertaken in 1828 by the architect Jose Contreras was endowed in 1830 by
Ferdinand VII; and after the death of Contreras in 1847, it was continued with fair success by his son Rafael , and his grandson Mariano.
Setting
The situation of the Alhambra is one of rare natural beauty; the plateau commands a wide view of the city and plain of Granada, towards the west and north, and of the heights of the Sierra Nevada, towards the east and south. Moorish poets described it as "a pearl set in emeralds," in allusion to the brilliant colour of its buildings, and the luxuriant woods round them. The park , which in spring is overgrown with wild-flowers and grass, was planted by the Moors with roses, oranges and
myrtles; its most characteristic feature, however, is the dense wood of
English elms brought hither in 1812 by the
Duke of Wellington. The park is celebrated for the multitude of its
nightingales, and is usually filled with the sound of running water from several fountains and cascades. These are supplied through a conduit 8 km long, which is connected with the Darro at the monastery of Jesus del Valle, above Granada.
In spite of the long neglect, wilful vandalism and sometimes ill-judged restoration which the Alhambra has endured, it remains the most perfect example of Moorish art in its final European development, freed from the direct
Byzantine influences which can be traced in the
Mezquita cathedral of
Córdoba, more elaborate and fantastic than the
Giralda at
Seville. The majority of the palace buildings are, in ground-plan, quadrangular, with all the rooms opening on to a central court; and the whole reached its present size simply by the gradual addition of new quadrangles, designed on the same principle, though varying in dimensions, and connected with each other by smaller rooms and passages. In every case the exterior is left plain and austere, as if the architect intended thus to heighten by contrast the splendour of the interior. Within, the palace is unsurpassed for the exquisite detail of its marble pillars and arches, its fretted ceilings and the veil-like transparency of its filigree work in
stucco. Sun and wind are freely admitted, and the whole effect is one of the most airy lightness and grace. Blue, red, and a golden yellow, all somewhat faded through lapse of time and exposure, are the colours chiefly employed.
The decoration consists, as a rule, of stiff, conventional foliage, Arabic inscriptions, and geometrical patterns wrought into
arabesques of almost incredible intricacy and ingenuity. Painted tiles are largely used as panelling for the walls.
A tour of the Alhambra
The Moorish portion of the Alhambra resembles many medieval Christian strongholds in its threefold arrangement as a castle, a palace and a residential annexe for subordinates. The
alcazaba or citadel, its oldest part, is built on the isolated and precipitous foreland which terminates the plateau on the north-west. Only its massive outer walls, towers and ramparts are left. On its watch-tower, the
Torre de la Vela, 25 m , the flag of
Ferdinand and
Isabella was first raised, in token of the Spanish conquest of Granada, on January 2, 1492. A turret containing a huge bell was added in the
18th century, and restored after being damaged by lightning in 1881. Beyond the Alcazaba is the palace of the Moorish kings, or Alhambra properly so-called; and beyond this, again, is the Alhambra Alta , originally tenanted by officials and courtiers.
Access from the city to the Alhambra Park is afforded by the
Puerta de las Granadas , a massive
triumphal arch dating from the
15th century. A steep ascent leads past the Pillar of Charles V, a fountain erected in 1554, to the main entrance of the Alhambra. This is the
Puerta Judiciaria , a massive horseshoe archway, surmounted by a square tower, and used by the Moors as an informal court of justice. A hand, with fingers outstretched as a talisman against the evil eye, is carved above this gate on the exterior; a key, the symbol of authority, occupies the corresponding place on the interior. A narrow passage leads inward to the
Plaza de los Aljibes , a broad open space which divides the
Alcazaba from the Moorish palace. To the left of the passage rises the
Torre del Vino , built in 1345, and used in the
16th century as a cellar. On the right is the
palace of Charles V, a cold-looking but majestic
Renaissance building, out of harmony with its surroundings, which it tends somewhat to dwarf by its superior size. The extremely intricate and detailed designs of the Moors' Alhambra stand in stark contrast to Charles' palace, which consists primarily of white walls with no particularly striking features. Many modern architectural scholars are thus disgusted by Charles V's preference for simplistic Renaissance styling, which they believe detracts from the Alhambra's architectural magnificence. Construction of Charles' palace, begun in 1526, was abandoned about 1650.
The present entrance to the
Palacio Arabe, or
Casa Real , is by a small door from which a corridor conducts to the Patio de los Arrayanes , also called the
Patio de la Alberca , from the Arabic
birka, "pool." This court is 42 m long by 22 m broad; and in the centre there is a large pond set in the marble pavement, full of goldfish, and with myrtles growing along its sides. There are galleries on the north and south sides; that on the south 7 m high, and supported by a marble colonnade. Underneath it, to the right, was the principal entrance, and over it are three elegant windows with arches and miniature pillars. From this court the walls of the
Torre de Comares are seen rising over the roof to the north, and reflected in the pond.
The
Salón de los Embajadores is the largest in the Alhambra, and occupies all the
Torre de Comares. It is a square room, the sides being 12 m in length, while the centre of the dome is 23 m high. This was the grand reception room, and the throne of the sultan was placed opposite the entrance. It was in this setting that
Cristopher Columbus received Isabel and Ferdinand's support to sail to the
New World. The tiles are nearly 4 ft high all round, and the colours vary at intervals. Over them is a series of oval medallions with inscriptions, interwoven with flowers and leaves. There are nine windows, three on each facade, and the ceiling is admirably diversified with inlaid-work of white, blue and gold, in the shape of circles, crowns and stars—a kind of imitation of the vault of heaven. The walls are covered with varied stucco-work of most delicate pattern, surrounding many ancient escutcheons.
The celebrated
Patio de los Leones is an oblong court, 116 ft in length by 66 ft in breadth, surrounded by a low gallery supported on 124 white marble columns. A pavilion projects into the court at each extremity, with filigree walls and light domed roof, elaborately ornamented. The square is paved with coloured tiles, and the colonnade with white marble; while the walls are covered 5 ft up from the ground with blue and yellow tiles, with a border above and below enamelled blue and gold. The columns supporting the roof and gallery are irregularly placed, with a view to artistic effect; and the general form of the piers, arches and pillars is most graceful. They are adorned by varieties of foliage, etc.; about each arch there is a large square of arabesques; and over the pillars is another square of exquisite filigree work. In the centre of the court is the celebrated Fountain of Lions, a magnificent alabaster basin supported by the figures of twelve lions in white marble, not designed with sculptural accuracy, but as emblems of strength and courage. It has been said that the lions were most likely sculpted by members of the Caliphate's Christian community, as making such representational sculpture was not considered allowed by the followers of Islam. The twelve lions functioned as a clock with water flowing from a different lion each hour. The Christians of the Reconquest took apart the clock to see how it worked and it hasn't worked since.
The
Sala de los Abencerrajes derives its name from a legend according to which Boabdil, the last king of Granada, having invited the chiefs of that illustrious line to a banquet, massacred them here. This room is a perfect square, with a lofty dome and trellised windows at its base. The roof is exquisitely decorated in blue, brown, red and gold, and the columns supporting it spring out into the arch form in a remarkably beautiful manner. Opposite to this hall is the
Sala de las dos Hermanas , so-called from two very beautiful white marble slabs laid as part of the pavement. These slabs measure 50 by 22 cm , and are without flaw or stain. There is a fountain in the middle of this hall, and the roof—a dome honeycombed with tiny cells, all different, and said to number 5000—is a magnificent example of the so-called "stalactite vaulting" of the Moors.
Among the other wonders of the Alhambra are the
Sala de la Justicia , the
Patio del Mexuar , the
Patio de Daraxa , and the
Peinador de la Reina , in which are to be seen the same delicate and beautiful architecture, the same costly and elegant decorations. The palace and the Upper Alhambra also contain baths, ranges of bedrooms and summer-rooms, a whispering gallery and labyrinth, and vaulted sepulchres.
The original furniture of the palace is represented by the celebrated vase of the Alhambra, a splendid specimen of Moorish ceramic art, dating from 1320, and belonging to the first period of Moorish porcelain. It is 1.3 m high; the ground is white, and the enamelling is blue, white and gold.
Of the outlying buildings in connection with the Alhambra, the foremost in interest is the
Palacio de Generalife or Gineralife . This villa probably dates from the end of the 13th century, but has been several times restored. Its gardens, however, with their clipped hedges, grottos, fountains, and cypress avenues, are said to retain their original Moorish character. The Villa de los Martires , on the summit of Monte Mauror, commemorates by its name the Christian slaves who were employed to build the Alhambra, and confined here in subterranean cells. The Torres Bermejas , also on Monte Mauror, are a well-preserved Moorish fortification, with underground cisterns, stables, and accommodation for a garrison of 200 men. Several Roman tombs were discovered in 1829 and 1857 at the base of Monte Mauror.
In the construction of the Alhambra, the Moors had no depictions of people at all excluding the human hand. Of course, there were plenty of depictions of people on the Renaissance building.
Miscellaneous
The Alhambra,
Generalife and Albayzin of Granada are listed as
World Heritage Sites by the
UNESCO. It is also the setting of
Washington Irving's classic novel
Tales of the Alhambra. Irving lived in the palace while writing the book, and was instrumental in reintroducing the site to Western audiences.
Additionally, it is the subject of the Ghymes song of the same name.
See also
External links
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- Guide
- Official Site for tourism of the province of Granada
Alhambra
References
- Steves, Rick . Spain and Portugal 2004, pp. 204-205. Avalon Travel Publishing. ISBN 1-56691-529-5
