The Alhambra in Granada, Spain

As always. click on any photo for a larger image.

The main reason for visiting Granada is to see the Alhambra, said to be one of the most important architectural structures of the medieval period and the finest example of Islamic art left to us in the western world.

And it does not disappoint - it is truly mesmerizing in every way - from the overall appearance to the exquisite carved and molded art work in the walls and the colorful tiles and patterns on the walls and floors. The structure began with the building of the Fortress, the Alcazaba in the 9th century. The Alhambra itself was not planned from the start but "grew outward over the centuries from the Alcazaba, increasing in splendor over the years". In the 14th century during the reigns of Sultans Yusuf I and Mohammad V it was at its peak, when the Alhambra was not just a palace but a small city.

The outer walls of the buildings are relatively plain in contrast to the extreme beauty that lies on the inside. This pattern of an unadorned exterior with exquisite interior is apparently characteristic of the Moors' approach; the splendor of Islamic palaces was always on the inside. And there seemed no attempt to build for posterity as beauty was created using basic materials; pebbles, tiles, brick, plaster and stucco. When the Christians conquered Granada in 1492, very few could have anticipated the beauty that they would find within the walls of the Alhambra. Over the period following the Christian conquest the Alhambra gradually fell into ruin though it provided refuge for gypsies, homeless and others who chose to established residence there. In the mid to late 1800's Washington Irving visited and stayed for a period in the Alhambra and subsequently wrote a book, "Tales of the Alhmmbra" which apparently played a major role in bringing world pressure on the Spanish government to rescue and preserve this place of remarkable beauty and history.

I will put a few of my photos here but keep in mind that we were quite restricted in what we saw and what I could photograph. We were in the Alhambra for less than two hours, visited only a small part of it and it was pouring rain which kept us from seeing the gardens or taking pictures in the open courtyards. I recommend that you check the Wikipedia write up and photos at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra
The view of the Alhambra from a distance is not my photo but I thought it would give an overview of the entire place.

I have not indicated where in the Alhambra these photos are from but rather included some of those which attempt to give you some idea of the beauty we saw. I have several more that I will put up later but I am only allowed 5 photos per post.

In the evening of the second night in Granada we went to a Gypsy flamenco dance (no photos), and then on a short walk in the Albaicin and Sacromonte areas of the city through very narrow winding streets to a spectacular view of the city and the Alhambra at night. (See photo here and on Wikepedia)

On Wednesday we left to Granada for Cordoba.