Wards Two Aught 11-12: الْحَمْرَاء‎

Alhambra site plan

الْحَمْرَاء‎ (Arabic; translates literally: "the red one" and in Spanish is called Alhambra) is a mid-14th century palace and fortress complex built on the hill above Granada, Spain. The hows and whys of construction and occupation are naturally complicated, to be expected in an area that has been under various religious and political influences over the past 800 years. Today Alhambra is preserved as a lasting example of muslim art and architecture, a UNESCO World Heritage site with 10,000 visitors a day. Should you ever go, we strongly encourage you to hire a guide.

Our guide spoke in english and spanish into a small transmitter.
The orange loops hold a receiver with an earplug.
We could easily hear everything he said without having to hover.
He was also a decent photographer.

The palace contains one grand room after another. Most interesting were the public greeting and personal living rooms of the sultan.

The door on the left leads into the sultan's public rooms.
The 5 arched windows above are covered with wooden screens.
The women sat behind these screen so they could watch without being seen.
(photo EW)

The cleaning rituals associated with 5 times a day prayers necessitated there always be a supply of water nearby. Above the ladies are cleaning the 14th century floor using water from the 14th century well in the center of the room.

On the way in to the receiving room, visitors could stop and pray towards Mecca.

The rooms are exquisitely detailed. No images are allowed in muslim art.
Instead the 99 words for Allah are repeated around the walls

arch detail

The sultan was approached in a darkened room with strong back-lighting. This set-up made it difficult to see his face, preserving his privacy and making him seem larger and more mysterious.

The sultan sat here to receive people. It is believed that portions of the screens contained colored glass which would cast colors onto the sultan, making him appear even more fantastic.

The personal rooms are where the wives and children lived. The wife who produced the first son, the heir, lived in the grandest rooms. That X Y chromosome thing had not yet been worked out...

Water was a consistant decorating theme through the palace. The living quarters are at the far end of this pool.

There was no furniture, no artifacts of everyday life. Most importantly, there are no fireplaces. The temps dip to freezing in winter and the wind blows almost constantly. Apparently, large metal and copper fire pots were moved around the house to keep the family warm. I got a sense there was a lot of huddling.

The views were of course just fantastic.

Granada as seen from Alhambra. (photo: EW)

The gardens were even more fantastic.

View that includes a part of the gardens.

Because the sultan and his family spent portions of the day lounging on pillows, the interior gardens were planted to be viewed at close to ground level.

More water. (photo EW)

Side view of garden above. I'll take this, thank you.

Trees are pruned into submission.

The remains of the kitchen area are in the foreground. Not much infrastructure to feed the palace hoards.

Someone is having a bit of fun.

Even more fun.

I have developed respect for the severe pruning habits of the Europeans. Replacing plantings when they outgrow the space is wasteful. And considering how old many of the spaces and plantings are, well replacement seems rather inefficient. The density of living here also requires privacy and there is no better way to ensure privacy than a well-pruned hedge.