Granada - The Alhambra

This last and greatest Moorish palace is one of Europe's top sights, its the reason most visitors come to Granada.  Granada went from a small regional capitol to the last Moorish stronghold in Europe as thousands of refugees flooded into the city taking refuge from the Christian advance. The city fell in 1492 ending 800 years of Muslim rule in Spain.   The Alhambra represents the splendor of the Muslim culture in the 13th and 14th centuries.  While Europe slumbered through the Dark Ages, Moorish magnificence blossomed here.  Alhambra means "Red Castle" in Arabic and was started in 889 as a small fortress.  In 1238 it was renovated and expanded but most of what we see today was built from 1333 when it was expanded again and turned into a royal palace.  In 1492, after the Spanish Christians took Granada, the Alhambra was converted into the Royal Court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and in that same year Christopher Columbus came to the Alhambra and received royal endorsement from them for his expedition.

Part of the fortified walls and towers of the original Alhambra, built in the 13th century  

Charles V (the Holy Roman Emperor as well as King of Spain) respected the splendid Moorish palace and so he built a modern Renaissance palace for official functions but used the existing Palacios Nazaries as his royal residence.  Its most unique feature is the circle-within-a-square design.  The palace was never finished as Charles' son, Philip 11 abandoned it to build his own massive palace outside of Madrid   

Palacios Nazaries is the Moorish royal palace and built mostly in the 14th century.  It offers the best look at the refined, elegant Moorish culture in Spain.  The Courtyard of the Myrtles was for the women of the palace as they rarely left its confines 

The Hall of the Abencerrajes was the sultans living room and its exquisite ceiling is based on the Muslims eight-sided star.

The Courtyard of the Lions is named for the famous fountain at its center.  The ring of 12 marble lions (originals from the 14th century) were disassembled by the conquering Christians to see how it worked rendering it nonfunctional until 2012.  The arched gallery that surrounds the courtyard is supported by 124 perfectly balanced columns.  The craftsmanship is is of extremely high quality, for example, the lead fittings between the precut sections of the columns allow things to flex during earthquakes preventing destruction during the shaking.   

Breathtaking view of Granada from the top of the Alhambra ramparts