The Alhambra - at last!

I've lost count how many times over the years I have tried to visit The Alhambra in Granada but at last, in December, I got there.

It didn't disappoint.

I hadn't realised quite how many palaces had been there.  The oldest, the Palacio del Portel is now just a tower and a pavilion with a five-arched portico.

The complex consists of the Royal Apartments, the Palace of Carlos V, the Alcazaba and the Generalife (the beautiful gardens and summer palace just north of the Alhambra).

There is always some work being done to maintain this important World Heritage Site and one of the more recent areas to be cleaned is the Patio de los Leones (lions).  Not that lions were ever kept there.  It is named for the 12 marble lions that support the fountain in the centre.  The patio was built by Muhammad V and is lined with arcades and 124 marble columns.  Pretty impressive.

For me some other highlights were:

Sala de los Reyes:  A 14th century banqueting hall with a painted ceiling - on leather.

Salon de los Embajadores:  Another 14th century room.  The ceiling represents the seven heavens of the Muslin Cosmos.

The ceiling of the Salon de los Abencerrajes

Salon de los Abencerrajes, a family that rivalled Boabdil.  According to legend he had them massacred while they were at a banquet in this room.  It is said that the pattern of the stalactite ceiling was inspired by Pythagoras' theorem. I’ll take their word for it!

The Generalife is where the most famous picture is to be found - the narrow pool with fountains arching over it and a palace in the background.  Officially known as the Patio de la Acequia, it is an oriental garden and the palace is the Sala Regia.

From the terrace on one side are fantastic views across gardens towards the Alhambra.

The most 'romantic' garden is the Patio de los Cipreses, otherwise known as the Patio de la Sultana.  It is reputed to have been the secret meeting place of Zoraya (wife of Sultan Abu 1 Hasan) and her lover, the chief of the Albencerrajes.

Think Alhambra and tourists and you know it is going to be overcrowded.  If you want to see it not crowded (as I did) then I'd recommend visiting Granada in early December.  Also, of course, it isn't hot.  At the height of the summer season the heat can be unbearable.  It may not have been hot when I was there, but the sun shone!

Incidentally, did you know that the American writer Washington Irving once stayed at The Alhambra?