The Alhambra, or in Arabic “The Red One” is a complex of fortifications and palaces on a hill in the Sierra Nevada Mountains overlooking Granada, Spain.  It is the best preserved bit of Islamic medieval architecture in the world, and it is in a Christian country.  The Moors invaded Iberia in 711 and it took them only 7 years to conquer the entire peninsula.  Their advance into Europe was stopped well into France by Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in 732.

Construction on the Alhambra was started in 1258 by the first Nasrid Emir who ruled the Emirate of Granada as the Islamic State in the Iberian Peninsula was breaking up.  It was the last of the emirates to be conquered by Isabel and Ferdinand in 1492 and it became their headquarters.  It is from there that they commissioned Columbus on his voyages.

The complex fell into disrepair as the court moved to Madrid.  Some of it was occupied by squatters.  Its restoration got underway in the 19th century, spurred on by romantic writers, particularly the American, Washington Irving, famous in the U.S. for “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” He also wrote “Tales of the Alhambra” in 1832.  The Alhambra became a place of nostalgic remembrance in the Arab world and its palaces served as models for more modern Moroccan palaces and mosques. The palaces also became the inspiration for Moorish Revival Architecture in the West, including the Isac Wise Synagogue in Cincinnati.

We hired a van, driver and guide for our tour and the just under 2 hour drive from the port of Malaga to Granada.  Pilar was an excellent guide.  She has studied Arabic and Islamic Culture as well as Spanish History.   Important for me, she knew accessible routes that I could take to see much of the Alhambra using my walker.  It was worth the extra cost to be able to see this remarkable historic monument.

Pilar told us how advanced Arab Islamic culture compared to Christian European culture.  In 711 when the conquest began and in 1492 when Catholic Monarchs restored Christian control.  Islamic Spain was more tolerant, with Jews, Moslems and Christians living together, than was the subsequent Catholic government, and was better at engineering including building systems to deliver water to towns.  The Moors copied and improved on Roman systems that were somehow lost to the Christians.

This first gallery is from the fortress and gardens as well as pictures overlooking Granada from the Alhambra.

The next post is pictures of the Nasrid Palaces in the Alhambra.