Richard Pickering's Blog: 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.