Spain Guide
Andalucía
The Alhambra
Website: www.alhambra-patronato.es
Opening time: Daily: April– Oct 8.30am–8pm, Nov– March 8.30am–6pm; last admission 1hr before closing time; Palacios Nazaríes also open March– Oct Tues– Sat 10–11.30pm, Nov– Feb Fri & Sat 8–9.30pm
Price: €12; advance bookings (strongly recommended) on www.alhambra-tickets.es or www.servicaixa.com, or T902 888 001
The Alhambra hill holds three distinct groups of buildings: the Palacios Nazaríes (Royal Palace), the palace gardens of the Generalife, and the Alcazaba, the earliest and most ruined part of the fortresss. Note that only 8100 daily admissions are allowed, so when advance reservations are high, no tickets are on sale at the entrance.
At the summit of the the Alcazaba, the Torre de la Vela was named after a huge bell on its turret. It was here, on January 2, 1492, that the Cross was first displayed above the city. Boabdil, leaving for exile, wept at the sight, earning from his mother Aisha the famous rebuke: "Do not weep like a woman for what you could not defend like a man."
It is amazing that the Palacios Nazaríes has survived, for it stands in utter contrast to the strength of the Alcazaba. Built lightly and often crudely from wood, brick and adobe, it was designed not to last but to be renewed and redecorated by succeeding rulers. Its buildings show a brilliant use of light and space, but they are principally a vehicle for ornamental stucco decoration.
The palace is structured in three parts, each arrayed round an interior court. The sultans used the Mexuar, the first series of rooms, for business and judicial purposes. In the Serallo, beyond, they received embassies and distinguished guests. The last section, the Harem, formed their private living quarters and would have been entered by no one but their family or servants.
Paradise is described in the Koran as a shaded, leafy garden refreshed by running water where the "fortunate ones" may take their rest. That image perfectly describes the Generalife, the gardens and summer palace of the sultans, where the grounds consist of a luxuriantly imaginative series of patios, enclosed gardens and walkways.