The Palace of Carlos V

If you have not yet looked at the posts on the Comares Palace and Palace of the Lions, I hope you will do so.

I almost forgot about the Palace of Carlos V, another building within the environment of the Alhambra that should be mentioned. I'm not sure how I managed to forget it, partly because it is so large and partly because, architecturally, it is such a stark and uninspiring contrast to the rest of the Alhambra, especially the Nasrid Palaces. Well, maybe those are the reasons I almost forgot about it.

It has apparently been both vilified and called outstanding - vilified because some see it as an attempt by the Spanish Monarchs to erase the Muslim past - considered grand because, after the conquest, it was the intent of the rulers to "reinforce the role of Granada as capital by building great new monuments without destroying the old, thus complementing without distracting from the past".

Whatever the intent, it is certainly grand in the sense of being large. But beside the Muslim architecture and gardens, it looks stodgy and, except for the open central circular area, it feels heavy, dark, gloomy and, in my view, without beauty.

This is a photo from our visit in 2009 when it was pouring rain. I include this to show how gloomy it can be :-)

It was built next to the Nasrid palaces and one source suggests that it is because of the presence of the Carlos V palace "that the Alhambra came to be included in the patrimony of the Spanish Royal palaces instead of being reduced to an archeological remnant of a defeated culture". Though there may be some attractive features in the Palace of Carlos V, compared to the Alhambra and especially the exquisite and enchanting Nazarid palaces it is, to me, a conspicuous symbol of the great loss consequent to the defeat of that culture.

Incidentally, that's our group there taking photos.

In 1526, 34 years after the Catholic victory in Granada, Charles (Carlos) V, Emperor of Spain, while on his honeymoon with his wife Isabel of Portugal, stayed in the Alhambra in rooms which later became known as the "lodgings of Charles V". He was apparently impressed with the Alhambra and to "show his appreciation" he decided to add to it in order to "make it suitable for the needs of a modern court". It is referred to as the Palace of Charles V but he had little or nothing to do with the design and planning, which he left to others. What emerged from the contributions of a number of people over several years was this building which reflects the renaissance style that was in vogue at the time.

It is arranged with large halls around the centre circle, except in the north west corner where the chapel and crypt are located. I don't recall going into any of the rooms or the chapel so I have no images to show, but photos I have seen echo the rather stark features we did see.

It seems that interest (or money or both) waned as the structure was never completed (e.g. the second floor was without a roof until 1960 when the wooden roof you see in this photo was added!). Another explanation for the failure to complete it suggested that a subsequent Emperor decided that he preferred to have a palace in the new capital, Sevilla, so abandoned this project for the new one. And, if I recall our guide's comments correctly, Carlos' palace was rarely, if ever, really used.

Ironically, now instead of the palace of Carlos V being responsible for the Alhambra "being included in the patrimony of the Spanish Royal palaces….", it seems to me that the Palace of Carlos V retains a visible place among Spanish palaces solely because it is part of the Alhambra which is said to be the most visited monument in Spain.

Palace of the Lions

The most obvious awe inspiring beauty of these palaces lies in the exquisite decorative designs of wood, plaster and tiles on the ceilings, arches and walls. But there are other characteristics, some quite subtle, that contribute to their overwhelming visual appeal. For example, one source that came to my attention showed how the building sizes and shapes were based on Pythagorean geometry. Patterns created by using the relationship between the hypotenuse and the sides of rectangles were employed in a manner which make the relative proportion of adjacent structures pleasing to the eye.

Other geometric patterns include large triangular shapes as in this spectacular cupola in the Hall of the Abencerrages,  a family of some  importance at that time.

Legend has it that a Sultan, in response to a "rumour" that the Sultana had had an affair, invited 36 suspects to a party in this room and when they were assembled he executed all of them, just to be sure he punished the offender.

Smaller triangular shapes are a basic component of the prismatic designs of the Mocárabes. The Mocárabes are three dimensional stucco elements used throughout to provide shapes such as the stalactites, mentioned in a previous post, and to soften transitions from vertical structures to arches and cupolas.

This photo shows the use of Mocárabes at the junction of wall and lower cupola.  And I think you can see the representation of stalactites in the two photos above. The stalactite theme derives from the belief that Mahoma received his inspiration for the Koran while taking refuge from enemies in a cave that was apparently replete with stalactites. In celebration of this event stalactites have become an essential decorative element with religious connotation in the world of Islam.

And archways vary from triangular to perfect hemispheric shapes creating attractive transitions between courtyards and rooms.

Spatial design combines regions of airy openness and light with areas populated by forests of columns, which might suggest a stand of trees.  In this photo we are looking through the columns of the cloister to the Courtyard of the Lions which you can just see in the bright sunlight. Note the fountains in the floor with connecting water channels en route to the large fountain in the centre of the courtyard where the lions reside. Similar fountains and water channels are features present throughout the palaces. Cold water flowing through the channels and emitted from the fountains provided a pleasant ambiance and helped keep the rooms and courtyards cool.

Positioning of fountains, pillars and sequentially placed archways create frames, reflections and perspectives which draw the eye from one space to another. This image is the Hall of Kings where, once again the stalactite pattern is prominent in the three arches. The ceilings or cupolas between each set of arches are quite spectacular and present uniquely different Mocárabes patterns.

This cupola in one section of the Hall of Kings is an amazing composition of almost 5500 Mocárabe pieces.

Mirador of Lindaraja

Carefully placed ornamented openings and windows provide miradors (views) to the landscape or gardens which were extremely important features of the palaces.

Perhaps even less obvious, from a functional as well as a visually pleasing point of view, is the precise use of orientation and light. For example, because all rooms are aligned from north to south, the orientation of the palaces makes each column the hand of a sundial.

And the judicious placement of wide overhanging eaves and cornices combined with the orientation of the buildings insures that all rooms are bright in winter and shaded in summer, thus, warm in winter and cool in the heat of summer. It is said that places that receive the most sun in winter are in shade in summer such that some south facing rooms, even in this relatively hot climate, remain as cool as any air conditioned room today.

This is another view into the Courtyard of the Lions. I think you can just see one of the Lions between the columns and the people milling about in the Courtyard. (Click on any photo to enlarge)


Except for the Hall of the Two Sisters which existed in 1362, the rooms, halls and courtyards in the Palace of the Lions were likely built between 1362 and sometime in the 15th century.


The photo below gives a closer look at the Lions around the fountain in the Courtyard of the Lions. Unfortunately, though the lions were spurting, none of the fountains were flowing when we were there.

We were told by our guide that the 12 lions were donated to the Sultan of the time by a wealthy Jewish family and that the 12 represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Such a gift suggests a sincere friendship as well as acceptance of other religions at that time. Sadly, this tolerance did not prevail.

Well, I think that this may be the last post on the Alhambra. I've enjoyed putting it together and in the process have added significantly to what I had learned during the visit. There is much more beauty there than I have shown but I hope the photos and comments are enough to tempt you to pay a visit to this magnificent place.

The Comares Palace and some history

"The only conquerer is God"

We are back in Dundas, pretty much back in this time zone, finished sorting through the mail and gathered together our tax information for delivery to the those who will make sense of it. So there is time to get back to thinking about the Alhambra.

I have written the long commentary in this post to remind myself about a bit of the history of the people who created this place which fascinates me so much. I know it is too long and way more than you want to read or know. But you will miss some interesting bits if you skip it.

By the way, the quote above is present on the walls throughout the Alhambra.

I have been puzzled about the people who were responsible for creating the Alhambra. This is obviously related to my appalling lack of knowledge about their history but also to some inconsistencies that I have heard from guides and read in sketchy historical descriptions.

A word about the photo left before we get to my disquisition. This is one of many small, beautifully sculpted marble or gesso niches, located in the jambs of arches, which were for keeping jars of water, perfume or vases of flowers, but almost always water, as a symbol of hospitality, according to the verses written around them. The decorative patterns in this photo and the one above and throughout the palaces are usually made from gesso, a mix of plaster, marble dust and water shaped by molds. Unlike stone or marble, they are relatively soft and easily damaged, but also quite easy to repair or change.

Back to my question about the people.  For example, our excellent guide in the Alhambra specifically emphasized that this place was not created by "Arabs". Muslims - yes, but according to him, "Spanish" Muslims, not Arabs. Spanish? It seems that, in the 14th and and early 15th centuries when much of the Alhambra was built, Spain was not an entity but rather two or three Catholic Kingdoms (Castile and Aragon and perhaps Navarre) and the Muslim "Kingdom of Granada",  created in 1238 when the first Nazrid Sultan swore allegiance to King Ferdinand III of Castile.

Such bits of confusing information motivated me to explore this puzzle a bit further.

Possibly this insistence that those who built the Alhambra were not "Arabs", stems from the ambivalence prevalent among Portuguese and Spanish Christians concerning the "Moors". For more than 500 years (from 711 to the 13th century), the Moors ruled much of the Iberian peninsula (what is now Portugal and Spain) and created a culture of inclusion and assimilation which flourished during that period. The resentment of the Moors by the Portuguese and Spanish seems related to the notion that the Moors, who were Muslims (and often referred to as Arabs), were intruders, therefore temporary occupiers in land that 'rightfully' belonged to the Christians who had laid claim to the territory before the Moors moved in.

The other side of this ambivalence can be seen in the esteem and acceptance by the Christians of many things "Moorish", demonstrated by the adoption of Moorish contributions such as architectural and decorative styles (See my blog posts on decorative tiles and chimney pots) as well as agricultural products like oranges, lemons, almonds, figs, etc.

From the Real Alcazar in Seville

Indeed, the Real Alcazar in Seville, built by Christians, is styled, in part, on Muslim/Moorish architecture such that, while it incorporates architectural styles from other periods, a substantial portion of it resembles the character of the Alhambra itself.

But, who exactly were these "Moors"? As Moors are not a distinct or self-defined people the term has limited ethnological value but Medieval and early modern Europeans applied it to the Berbers, North African Arabs, Muslim Iberians and West Africans who had been absorbed into the Almoravids of north Africa. Several sources indicate that the Berbers from north west Africa, generally considered to be agrarian or nomadic people, having converted to Islam during the Arab expansion into that region, had been persuaded to spread the teachings of Islam. So in 711, in pursuit of that goal, they invaded the Iberian Peninsula and within a relatively short time seized control of much of what is now Spain and Portugal, which they called Al-Andalus.

And, over time, the Berbers and the Arabs mixed with the population of the Iberian Peninsula such that by the 1400's the people who created the [subsequent] civilization of Spain and were proud of their pure blood, were actually "a mix of Celts, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths, Vandals, Arabs, Berbers and Jews." (The Reformation by Will Durant)

Comares Palace Throne Room

During the period of rule by the Moors most of the Iberian populace converted to Islam bringing this rich mix of people, from an array of cultures, within the sphere of Islamic philosophy. And a central component of Islamic philosophy, in stark contrast to the Christians, was the pursuit of literacy and learning for all including the exchange of information and ideas through the creation of extensive libraries and centres of higher learning, like Toledo. This environment undoubtedly provided the basis for the development of engineering, architectural and artistic vision and skills necessary to envision, plan and build the Alhambra as well as great cities like Córdoba and Toledo.

Over the centuries of rule by the Moors, almost continuous conflicts were initiated by the Christians in the interest of driving the Muslims back to North Africa and, ultimately, they succeeded. I have used the term "Muslim" here as the battles and the entire process of eliminating the Moors was essentially religiously motivated; Christianity versus Islam.

Comares Palace Throne Room ceiling

After Isabella and Ferdinand conquered Granada in 1492 there was apparently a brief period of tolerance but, in the end, elimination of the Muslims was vigorously pursued and any who refused to convert to Catholicism were either executed or driven out. Remember the Spanish Inquisition?

OK - now that I feel I understand a bit about who created it, let's get back to the beauty and fascination of the Comares Palace in the Alhambra.

The ceiling or cupola of the Throne room in this Palace (above) represents the culmination of Nasrid carpentry. It is made from over 8000 pieces of wood arranged in seven concentric circles and ornamented with superimposed cedar wood. Notice that the windows in the top of this room are the major source of light which highlights the cupola but makes this, by design, a fairly dark room at floor level. There are windows at floor level but they are covered with grill work with inset coloured glass to subdue the light.

There are several small alcove rooms like these which open onto the large central portion of the Throne room. The set up of natural lighting in these alcoves allowed the Sultan to sit on his cushion in relative darkness in one of these spaces where, bathed in light from behind, he could clearly see his supplicants in the large central room while their view of him was limited to a mysterious silhouette. This arrangement gave the Sultan significant advantage in negotiations. In the photo to the right you can see the grill work in the window, but the coloured inserts are no longer present.

This image looks from the Throne room through the Hall of the Boat (an ante room to the Throne room) to the Courtyard of the Myrtles and the south gallery at the far end.











The photo below is a view, through the last of the arches shown in the photo to the left,  of the Courtyard of the Myrtles -

once more with the south gallery at the far end of the reflecting pool.

Look carefully at the arch in the photo above - it has quite prominent projections in the decorative pattern of the arch. These are meant to represent stalactites, which I will say more about later in relationship to other images. Also, a close look at the vertical portion of this archway, especially on the right, reveals the niche for water, perfume, etc., details of which are shown in the second photo from the top.

And, when we move to the south gallery and look toward the north with the sun shining on the arches of the north gallery and the Comares tower (location of the Throne Room) we are rewarded with this spectacular image!

From the beautiful Comares Palace we move next to the even more magnificent Palace of the Lions.

To the Mexuar Palace

In the past few days we have been on two more trips - one on our own to a small fishing village (Armacão de Pera) a short distance to the west of Albufeira and an organized excursion on Easter Sunday to an interesting Easter Sunday flower procession in a village about 40 minutes east of here (São Brás de Alportel) - and I will post a bit about each of these a bit later. As we have been busy I have not had time to prepare a new post on the Alhambra, so I am going to wing it a bit here to get at least one more posted before we leave on Wednesday morning.

So, from the Generalife we walked through the gardens to enter the Alhambra by the recently built bridge near the water tower. The tower was built to protect the aqueduct which runs past the tower into the Alhambra.

Don't forget that you can see a larger and better image by clicking on any of them.

We passed through the remains of the medina, which was destroyed by Napoleon's forces when they left Spain in the early 1800's, then along part of the cypress walk toward the palaces.

To the north the tower of the Convent of St. Francis is a prominent landmark within the Alhambra.

After passing the Placeta de Calle Reil (Park on the Royal Street) we passed the Hotel America (yes, there are a couple of hotels in the Alhambra and this one is a one star hotel - though apparently still a very expensive place to stay!).

To the right is the Church of St. Mary of the Alhambra, (built by the Christians on the site of the Muslim Mosque). You can see a view of the bell tower in photos in the earlier post on Generalife.

Beyond the Church of St. Mary of the Alhambra , is the unfinished palace of Carlos V also begun after the Christians conquered Granada and drove the Muslims out of Granada and the Alhambra (a bit more about this "palace" of Carlos V later). In this area we visited a shop where they make replicas/reproductions of furniture and other "palace-hold" materials used by the Muslim royalty, employing methods (discovered after careful research) similar to those of the artisans and craftsmen in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Past the shop and the palace of Carlos V is a large plaza (the Plaza de los Aljibes) beyond which, at the most western end of the Alhambra, is the Alcazaba. This photo shows two towers of the Alcazaba, the original fortress and the oldest part of the Alhambra. The tower on the right is the Torre del Homenaje, (the Keep) the oldest tower in the Alcazaba.

We went into the Alcazaba briefly on our way to the Palace of the Mexuar and, as we passed through quickly, I recall almost nothing of the fortress area except the plaque acknowledging Jose Garcia who saved the Alhambra by putting a stop to Napoleon's plan to demolish the entire city.

At this wall (right) we were told that it was built by the Christians soon after they conquered the region. As they were afraid the Moors would return they were in a hurry to erect defensive fortifications so they used all materials they had at hand including grave stones from the Muslim cemetery.

A look back at the towers of the Alcazaba from the entry to the Mexuar Palace. The Mexuar is the oldest of the three major remaining palaces, and the most modified; it seems almost nothing of the original palace remains.

Though some of Hall of the Mexuar is beautifully decorative, there is little that is original in this room.  After the conquest, the Christians installed their chapel here and changed the shape and character of the room extensively. I didn't take many photos in this Hall of the Mexuar,  except these decorative structures, and have none of the entire room.

The oratory (left) is a room which is at a different angle from the rest of the Mexuar and that difference is because it was built to face Mecca, suggesting that it was a room for prayer. The lower windows look out on the Albaicin which I will say a bit about later.

The extremes of light and dark in the oratory made it impossible to get well exposed photos so, in order to see the upper walls I have had to show them separately.

Then to the so called "Golden Room", a kind of ante room to the Courtyard of the Mexuar in the photo to the left. Below is a slight larger view of the entry from the Oratory area looking from the Courtyard of the Mexuar. The Golden Room is the narrow area between the tall arch and the lower one with two windows above.

This photo looks passed the arches, through the space of both the Golden Room and the Courtyard of the Mexuar, to the Facade of the Comares Palace, the one we visited next.

The Facade is certainly attractive (see photo right) but it gives no indication of what is inside and, we were told, what we will see beyond the Facade of the Comares, unlike the Mexuar, is all original.

The best is still to come in the Comares Palace and the Palace of the Lions.

Generalife

I'll bet you thought, when you saw the title, "Generalife", that this post was about the homes and gardens of general folks around town. But, as we were, you will likely be surprised to learn that Generalife, located only a short distance outside the Alhambra, is actually a  "get away", a mini palace as it were - kind of a summer place to escape the heat and/or to take a break from a Sultan's duties and responsibilities.

Or, since the Sultans were neither always nor universally loved by their "subjects", this type of place (of which there were apparently several, this being the only one remaining) might, we were told, have served as a refuge during periods of unrest among the common people.

And, since it is only a short distance from the Alhambra, it was quick and easy for the ruler to return to the Alhambra if some urgent matter required his presence.

For us, it was a short walk through lovely gardens (the New Gardens - so called because they were new - in the 20th century) to the Alhambra. The Sultan no doubt passed through similarly beautiful gardens on his way to and from the Alhambra, but it seems unlikely that he walked. But I am ahead of the tour (unlike the actual tour when I was usually lagging behind).

First, Generalife, which was the beginning place of our guided tour - a short walk from the main entrance through green hedges and arches and alongside reflecting ponds and fountains. And, as you will appreciate in later posts, while this is a very nice summer place, it is definitely not the Alhambra.

On the way there were sites providing excellent views of the Alhambra walls and towers on its eastern edge with the white buildings of the Albaicin in the valley to the north (to the right from this vantage point) of the Alhambra. (a bit about the Albaicin later).

Here a view of some of the eastern wall and towers of the Alhambra and, inside the walls, the bell tower of the Church of St. Mary of the Alhambra.

I have no intention of attempting to orient you (or bore you) with details about the Generalife, but will show some photos of what I thought attractive - with a word or two of explanation or relevant stories.

At the top of this photo is a glimpse of the south pavilion of the Water Garden Courtyard, which is in the photo below.

This water garden is below the walking level which, we were told, is done so that the sultan can sit and look out on a sea of the tops of flowering plants and trees. At this time of year it is less colourful than later in the season.

At the far end of the garden is the facade of the north pavilion part of which is shown in a later photo.

I think this is the entry way to the "Polo Patio", or what is also referred to as the "dismounting" patio. It is thought that this is the entry to the buildings and the place where visitors dismounted and left their horses. At the "keystone" area of the arch is a symbol of a key - said to be evidence that this is a royal palace.

This is the Central Mirador (mirador is a viewing location) which provided a view of some of the surrounding country side. I'm not sure exactly where this room is but in the original structure this would perhaps have been the only area from which the outside would have been seen. This principle of mainly looking inward was in keeping with introspective nature of a Muslim courtyard.

The type of decor in this space is also prevalent and I will say a bit more about it later.

The north pavilion at the far end of the water garden has this facade of arches - the centre arch being larger than those on either side. The location and the decor apparently suggest that this is the Sultan's reception room.

This decorative ceiling is in the space just behind the facade in the photo above.

This second courtyard and water garden is called the Cypress Courtyard referring to the ancient cypress tree trunk that remains - we were told how old this remnant is but I can't recall. A bit of the remains of the cypress are visible in the far right of this photo.

Gardens  and fountains like these were extremely important components of the these royal retreats. We are leaving Generalife on the way to the Alhambra and en-route we pass from the upper garden down to the lower or New Gardens.

Here we are now in the lower or New Gardens, which were apparently developed between 1931 and 1959.

On to the Alhambra. Stay tuned - the best is yet to come!