Ibn Al Ahmar; and others derive it from the Arabic Dar al
Amra, ``House of the Master.'' (For an account of the period
to which the Alhambra belongs, see GRANADA (city) .) The
palace was built chiefly between 1248 and 1354, in the reigns
of Al Ahmar and his successors; but even the names of the
principal artists employed are either unknown or doubtful.
The splendid decorations of the interior are ascribed to
Yusef I., who died in 1354. Immediately after the expulsion
of the Moors in 1492, their conquerors began, by successive
acts of vandalism, to spoil the marvellous beauty of the
Alhambra. The open work was filled up with whitewash, the
painting and gilding effaced, the furniture soiled, torn or
removed. Charles V. (1516-1556) rebuilt portions in the modern
style of the period, and destroyed the greater part of the
winter palace to make room for a modern structure which has
never been completed. Philip V. (1700-1746) Italianised the
rooms, and completed the degradation by running up partitions
which blocked up whole apartments, gems of taste and patient
ingenuity. In subsequent Centuries the carelessness of the
Spanish authorities permitted this masterpiece of Moorish
art to be still further defaced; and in 1812 some of the
towers were blown up by the French under Count Sebastiani,
while the whole buildings narrowly escaped the same fate. In
Plan of the Alhambra
Scale of Yards
1. Court of Myrtles
2. Hall of Ambassadors
3. Court of Lions
4. Hall of the Abencerrages
5. Room of the Two Sisters
6. Modern Entrance
7. Court of the Vestibule
8. Baths
9. Court of the Council Chamber
10. Queens Robing Room
from Baedeker's Spain & Portugal, by
permission of Karl Baedeker Emery Walker SC.
1821 an earthquake caused further damage. The work of
restoration undertaken in 1828 by the architect Jose
Contreras was endowed in 1830 by Ferdinand VII.; and after
the death of Contreras in 1847, it was continued with fair
success by his son Rafael (d. 1890), and his grandson Mariano.
The situation of the Alhambra is one of rare natural beauty;
the plateau commands a wide view of the city and plain of
Granada, towards the west and north, and of the heights of
the Sierra Nevada, towards the east and south. Moorish poets
describe it as ``a pearl set in emeralds,'' in allusion to
the brilliant colour of its buildings, and the luxuriant
woods round them. The park (Alameda de la Alhambra),
which in spring is overgrown with wild-flowers and grass,
was planted by the Moors with roses, oranges and myrtles;
its most characteristic feature, however, is the dense
wood of English elms brought hither in 1812 by the duke of
Wellington. The park is celebrated for the multitude of its
nightingales, and is usually filled with the sound of running
water from several fountains and cascades. These are supplied
through a conduit 5 m. long, which is connected with the
Darro at the monastery of Jesus del Valle, above Granada.
The Moorish portion of the Alhambra resembles many medieval
Christian strongholds in its threefold arrangement as a
castle, a palace and a residential annexe for subordinates.
The Alcazaba or citadel, its oldest part, is built on the
isolated and precipitous foreland which terminates the plateau
on the north-west. Only its massive outer walls, towers
and ramparts are left. On its watch-tower, the Torre de la
Vela, 85 ft. high, the flag of Ferdinand and Isabella was
first raised, in token of the Spanish conquest of Granada,
on the 2nd of January 1492. A turret containing a huge
bell was added in the 18th century, and restored after
being injured by lightning in 1881. Beyond the Alcazaba
is the palace of the Moorish kings, or Alhambra properly
so-called; and beyond this, again, is the Alhambra Alta (Upper
Alhambra), originally tenanted by officials and courtiers.
In spite of the long neglect, wilful vandalism and ill-judged
restoration which the Alhambra has endured, it remains the
most perfect example of Moorish art in its final European
development, --freed from the direct Byzantine influences
which can be traced in the cathedral of Cordova, more elaborate
and fantastic than the Giralda at Seville. The majority of
the palace buildings are, in ground-plan, quadrangular, with
all the rooms opening on to a central court; and the whole
reached its present size simply by the gradual addition of new
quadrangles, designed on the same principle, though varying in
dimensions, and connected with each other by smaller rooms and
passages. In every case the exterior is left plain and austere,
as if the architect intended thus to heighten by contrast the
splendour of the interior. Within, the palace is unsurpassed
for the exquisite detail of its marble pillars and arches,
its fretted ceilings and the veil-like transparency of its
filigree work in stucco. Sun and wind are freely admitted,
and the whole effect is one of the most airy lightness and
grace. Blue, red, and a golden yellow, all somewhat faded through
lapse of time and exposure, are the colours chiefly employed.
The decoration consists, as a rule, of stiff, conventional
foliage, Arabic inscriptions, and geometrical patterns wrought
into arabesques of almost incredible intricacy and ingenuity.
Painted tiles are largely used as panelling for the walls.
Access from the city to the Alhambra Park is afforded by
the Puerta de las Granadas (Gate of Pomegranates), a massive
triumphal arch dating from the 15th century. A steep ascent
leads past the Pillar of Charles V., a fountain erected in
1554, to the main entrance of the Alhambra. This is the Puerta
Judiciaria (Gate of Judgment), a massive horseshoe archway,
surmounted by a square tower, and used by the Moors as an
informal court of justice. A hand, with fingers outstretched
as a talisman against the evil eye, is carved above this gate
on the exterior; a key, the symbol of authority, occupies the
corresponding place on the interior. A narrow passage leads
inward to the Plaza de los Aljibes (Place of the Cisterns), a
broad open space which divides the Alcazaba from the Moorish
palace. To the left of the passage rises the Torre del Vino
(Wine Tower), built in 1345, and used in the 16th century as a
cellar. On the right is the palace of Charles V., a cold-looking
but majestic Renaissance building, out of harmony with its
surroundings, which it tends somewhat to dwarf by its superior
size. Its construction, begun in 1526, was abandoned about 1650.
The present entrance to the Palacio Arabe, or Casa Real (Moorish
palace), is by a small door from which a corridor conducts
to the Patio de los Arrayanes (Court of the Myrtles), also
called the Patio de la Alberca (Court of the Blessing or Court
of the Pond), from the Moorish birka, ``pond,'' or berka,
``blessing.'' This court is 140 ft. long by 74 ft. broad;
and in the centre there is a large pond set in the marble
pavement, full of goldfish, and with myrtles growing along its
sides. There are galleries on the north and south sides; that
on the south 27 ft. high, and supported by a marble colonnade.
Underneath it, to the right, was the principal entrance, and
over it are three elegant windows with arches and miniature
pillars. From this court the walls of the Torre de Comares are
seen rising over the roof to the north, and reflected in the pond.
The Sala de los Ambajadores (Hall of the Ambassadors) is
the largest in the Alhambra, and occupies all the Torre de
Comares. It is a square room, the sides being 37 ft. in
length, while the centre of the dome is 75 ft. high. This
was the grand reception room, and the throne of the sultan
was placed opposite the entrance. The tiles are nearly 4 ft.
high all round, and the colours vary at intervals. Over them
is a series of oval medallions with inscriptions, interwoven
with flowers and leaves. There are nine windows, three
on each facade, and the ceiling is admirably diversified
with inlaid-work of white, blue and gold, in the shape of
circles, crowns and stars--a kind of imitation of the vault of
heaven. The walls are covered with varied stucco-work of
most delicate pattern, surrounding many ancient escutcheons.
The celebrated Patio de los Leones (Court of the Lions) is
an oblong court, 116 ft. in length by 66 ft. in breadth,
surrounded by a low gallery supported on 124 white marble
columns. A pavilion projects into the court at each
extremity, with filigree walls and light domed roof,
elaborately ornamented. The square is paved with coloured
tiles, and the colonnade with white marble; while the walls
are covered 5 ft. up from the ground with blue and yellow
tiles, with a border above and below enamelled blue and
gold. The columns supporting the roof and gallery are
irregularly placed, with a view to artistic effect; and
the general form of the piers, arches and pillars is most
graceful. They are adorned by varieties of foliage, &c.;
about each arch there is a large square of arabesques; and
over the pillars is another square of exquisite filigree
work. In the centre of the court is the celebrated Fountain
of Lions, a magnificent alabaster basin supported by the
figures of twelve lions in white marble, not designed with
sculptural accuracy, but as emblems of strength and courage.
The Sala de los Abencerrajes (Hall of the Abencerrages) derives
its name from a legend according to which Boabdil, the last
king of Granada, having invited the chiefs of that illustrious
line to a banquet, massacred them here. This room is a perfect
square, with a lofty dome and trellised windows at its base.
The roof is exquisitely decorated in blue, brown, red and gold,
and the columns supporting it spring out into the arch form in
a remarkably beautiful manner. Opposite to this hall is the
Sala de las dos Hermanas (Hall of the two Sisters), so-called
from two very beautiful white marble slabs laid as part of the
pavement. These slabs measure 15 ft. by 7 1/2 ft., and are
without flaw or stain. There is a fountain in the middle of
this hall, and the roof--a dome honeycombed with tiny cells,
all different, and said to number 5000--is a magnificent
example of the so-called ``stalactite vaulting'' of the Moors.
Among the other wonders of the Alhambra are the Sala de la
Justicia (Hall of Justice), the Patio del Mexuar (Court of the
Council Chamber), the Patio de Daraxa (Court of the Vestibule),
and the Peinador de la Reina (Queen's Robing Room), in which
are to be seen the same delicate and beautiful architecture, the
same costly and elegant decorations. The palace and the Upper
Alhambra also contain baths, ranges of bedrooms and summer-
rooms, a whispering gallery and labyrinth, and vaulted sepulchres.
The original furniture of the palace is represented by the
celebrated vase of the Alhambra, a splendid specimen of Moorish
ceramic art, dating from 1320, and belonging to the first
period of Moorish porcelain. It is 4 ft. 3 in. high; the
ground is white, and the enamelling is blue, white and gold.
Of the outlying buildings in connexion with the Alhambra. the
foremost in interest is the Palacio de Generalife or Gineralife
(the Moorish Jennat al Arif, ``Garden of Arif,'' or ``Garden
of the Architect''). This villa probably dates from the end
of the 13th century, but has been several times restored. Its
gardens, however, with their clipped hedges, grottos, fountains,
and cypress avenues, are said to retain their original Moorish
character. The Villa de los Martires (Martyrs' Villa), on the
summit of Monte Mauror, commemorates by its name the Christian
