The Alhambra

The word "Alhambra," for those, like me, who had never been there, evokes a sense of exotic romanticism and history. I was never really sure why, as I had never read much about Granada, or the Reconquista, or of the Andalusi period of Spanish history.

After visiting the place, though, I had an answer. Washington Irving, the American writer, spent several months in 1829 living in the Alhambra, interviewing its inhabitants, and researching its history. At the time, he was the American ambassador to Spain, and his book, Tales of the Alhambra, brought the history of the place to life and (single-handedly?) created the "exotic romanticism" that I always felt when hearing the name.

Consider this passage from his book:

To the traveller imbued with a feeling for the historical and poetical, so inseparably intertwined in the annals of romantic Spain, the Alhambra is as much an object of devotion as is the Caaba to all true Moslems. How many legends and traditions, true and fabulous,—how many songs and ballads, Arabian and Spanish, of love and war and chivalry, are associated with this Oriental pile! It was the royal abode of the Moorish kings, where, surrounded with the splendors and refinements of Asiatic luxury, they held dominion over what they vaunted as a terrestrial paradise, and made their last stand for empire in Spain. The royal palace forms but a part of a fortress, the walls of which, studded with towers, stretch irregularly round the whole crest of a hill, a spur of the Sierra Nevada or Snowy Mountains, and overlook the city; externally it is a rude congregation of towers and battlements, with no regularity of plan nor grace of architecture, and giving little promise of the grace and beauty which prevail within.

Even in Granada, he seems to receive a lot of credit for making the Alhambra the tourist attraction that it is today. There is a statue of him on the walkway up to the complex's gate; there are copies of his book in the shop translated into a dozen languages; the tour guides refer to him constantly as you walk around the site. And after reading a few chapters of his book, I can see why--it is excellent, both as a travelogue AND as a general history of the place.

Part of the Alhambra residential complex. The tower was once an observatory, but apparently the roof-dome was removed to Germany in the 1800s.

We spent Thanksgiving in Granada, one night in town specifically to visit the Alhambra. The site is one of the most visited in Spain, and tickets are usually sold out, so once again we had to resort to the GetYourGuide mafia to visit the place. The ticket came with a guided tour, which was fine, and probably gave us a bit more information than we would have otherwise gleaned. But it also meant that we moved along through all the main sights without having time to stay and linger--these are the usual trade-offs of tours.

But, for all the hype, it IS an amazing place. After Sevilla and Cordoba and the rest of southern Spain fell to the Christians in the mid-13th century, Granada became the last Muslim stronghold in Spain and, rather than withering in place, actually flourished for another 200 years. There seem to have been a lot of compromises--for some time Granada made feudal payments to the Christian monarchs and at one point Granadan soldiers fought against Muslims in Sevilla on behalf of the northern kingdoms. Today, the Alhambra gives us only hints of the splendor in its remaining architecture and decoration.

Notably, the Alhambra as a fortress was never defeated. When Ferdinand and Isabella laid siege to it in the 1480s, the site held out for ten years (10!) before the last sultan, Boabdil, surrendered in exchange for assurances that his people would not be forced to convert to Christianity or persecuted, etc. Those promises were not kept, of course.

Here are a few other tastes of the complex:

 

In the Court of the Lions.

In the palace.

On the castle ramparts, with a bit too much sun for a smiley photo.