The magnificent Alhambra

So, here are some photos a bit of information about the Alhambra. My tour was not all that I had hoped because they scheduled it for the every end of the day so we got kicked out before we finished, but I got some good photos anyway. The Alhambra is one of my favorite places I have ever been to. It's absolutely beautiful. The first two photos are of the Patio de los Leones, the Patio of the Lions. It is probably the most famous part of the Alhambra. I think half the postcards in Granada are of this patio. If anyone has seen photos of the Alhambra they have undoubtedly seen photos of these lions. The Patio de los Leones is not my favorite part, but it certainly can take your breath away.




My favorite part of the Alhambra is the Arabic that decorates the entire place. I think Arabic is amazing beautiful both written and spoken. I want very much to one day learn Arabic, but I have been told that it is very difficult. Two of my good friends here are from Damascus and they have told me that Arabic is an incredibly hard language to learn. Maybe one day I'll attempt it. In the meantime I am happy to take pictures of the Arabic at the Alhambra and listen to my friends speak to each other. The decorative walls at the Alhambra are all made of plaster. The builders of the Alhambra made casts of the Arabic and the geometric shapes that are typical of Arab architectural decoration and they would press these casts into the wet plaster that had been applied to the stone or brick structural walls. Almost half my photos from our tour are of the Arabic that decorates the walls.



Another very famous part of the Alhambra is the Patio of Myrtles, for all the myrtle bushes in the patio. The pool in the center of the patio serves many purposes. Most importantly, it cools down the air in the hot summers. Interestingly the Arabs who settled in the Iberian peninsula always had fish in the pools in all their patios in order to keep the misquito population down. According to our guide the pool was an integral part of the design of this part of the palaces because the architect considered the reflection of the small tower half of the design. The tower constitutes the other half, but without the reflection it would be incomplete. I have also posted a photo of a cat drinking out the pool. There are many cats that live in the Alhambra. There are many others in town that are all wild, but I am fairly sure the Alhambra cats are pretty pampered and much cleaner than the ones that live down by the river.



Ok, these are the last photos for now. They are of the Palacio de Carlos V, the Palace of Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire. Carlos V was also Carlos I of Spain, but is better known and the Holy Roman Emperor and it is as Carlos V that this Palace is known. One photo is of the outside and it's very different from the Arab architecture that is everywhere else in the Alhambra. The interior main area is a circle within a square, which apparently considered a great architectural style by those who had studied the ancients. I don't know much of this, but I trust our guide. The phter photo is of the ceiling in the upper walkway around the circular patio. The ceiling is modern. I believe the guide said that it was installed in the early 20th century, but I could be wrong about that.

Later on I will post some photos of Granada taken from the Alhambra. They are of the old Arab neighborhood and also of the caves where many of the gitanos, or gypsies, live. There are striking photos because the sky was slate blue and grey that day and very dramatic. Check in soon for that!