We took a day tour to Granada and AlHambra at EU58 per pax. The tour was from 8.00 am to 7.30 pm. The entrance ticket was EU15.40 per person. I am fascinated with its history... lets indulge further.
In the years between 711 and 1492 (about 781 years), the southern parts of Spain were occupied by the Moors - Muslim from North Africa.
These territories named Al-Andalus (today known in Spain as region of Andalucia) became peppered with Muslim forts and strongholds, inspired by building styles in Morocco and Northern Africa. Many of these fortresses became to be called Alcazars, derived from Arabic al-qasar for fortress.
However, these Muslim fortresses were eventually overtaken by the Spanish. Between those 781 years, Spanish Catholics engaged in a piecemeal "reconquista', attempting to expel the Moors to Africa. Eventhough the progress was unsteady but in 1492, the last stronghold - the city of Granada fell. With that, Catholic belief had reconquered Spain. That last stronghold was "qa'lat al-Hamra" or the "red castle" which stands proudly atop one of the steep vantage-points of Granada - a hill called La Sabika. The castle lurks behind blood-red boundary walls, and is framed against the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, some distance behind..
The name Alhambra, is 'red' in Arabic, is probably derived from the colour of the sun-dried tapia, bricks made of fine gravel and clay, of which the outer walls are built. Reminds me of Marrakech in Morocco.
Constructed on a plateau that overlooks the city of Granada, the palace was built chiefly between 1238 to 1358, in the reigns of Ibn Al-Ahmar, founder of the Nasrid Dynasty and his successors. The splendid decorations of the interior are ascribed to Yusuf I (died 1354). After the expulsion of the Moors in 1492, much of the interior was effaced and the furniture was ruined or removed. Charles V who ruled Spain as Charles I (1516-56), rebuilt portions in the Renaissance style and destroyed part of the Alhambra in order to build an Italianate palace designed by Pedro Machuca in 1526.
In 1812 some of the towers were blown up by the French during the War of Independence and in 1821 an earthquake further damaged the structure. The Moorish portion of the AlHambra includes the Alcazaba or citadel, which is the oldest part - only its massive outer walls, towers and ramparts are left.
According to the site's current architect, Pedro Salmeron
Escobar, the Alhambra evolved organically over a period of several centuries
from the ancient hilltop fortress defined by a narrow promontory carved by the
river Daro and overlooking the Vega or Plain of Granada as it descends from the
Sierra Nevada. The red earth from which the fortress is constructed is a granular
aggregate held together by a medium of red clay which gives the resulting
layered brick- and stone- reinforced construction (tapial calicastrado) its
characteristic hue and is at the root of the name of 'the Red Hill'.
This crude earthiness is counterpointed by the startling
fine alabaster white stucco work of the famous interiors. Meltwater from the 'Snowy Mountains' is drawn
across an arched vault at the eastern tip of the Torre del Agua ('Water Tower')
and channeled through the citadel via a complex system of conduits (acequia)
and water tanks (los albercones) which create the celebrated interplay of
light, sound and surface.
ALHAMBRA GENERALIFE
Palacio de Generalife or Gineralife (the Muslim Jennat al
Arif, "Garden of Arif," or "Garden of the Architect"). This
villa dates from the beginning of the 14th century but has been restored
several times. The Villa de los Martires (Martyrs' Villa), on the summit of
Monte Mauror, commemorates by its name the Christian slaves who were forced to
build the Alhambra and confined here in subterranean cells. The Torres Bermejas
(Vermilion Towers), also on Monte Mauror, are a well-preserved Moorish
fortification, with underground cisterns, stables, and accommodation for a
garrison of 200 men.
Alhambra is about 740 metres (2,430 ft) in length by 205
metres (670 ft) at its greatest width. It extends from west-northwest to
east-southeast and covers an area of about 142,000 square metres (1,530,000 sq
ft) or 35 acres. The Alhambra's most
westerly feature is the Alcazaba (citadel), a strongly fortified position built
to protect the original post-Roman districts of Iliberri, now 'Centro', and
Gárnata al-yahūd ('Granada of the Jews', now Realejo, and the Moorish suburb of El Albayzín.
Everywhere we walked the fragrances of various flowers just filled up our breaths... best sungguh.
We start of at the top Generalife going downwards. Tak cukup half a day. Especially area pokok dan bunga2 wangi tu. What I observed is the irrigation invented by the Arabs, where the river flows underneath using gravity, ilham dari AlQuranul Qareem.
The Court of the Lions (Patio de los Leones) is an oblong
courtyard of Islamic Moorish architecture, 116 ft (35 m) in length by 66 ft (20 m) in width, surrounded by a
low gallery supported on 124 white marble columns. A pavilion projects into the
court at each extremity, with filigree walls and a light domed roof. The square
is paved with coloured tiles and the colonnade with white marble, while the
walls are covered 5 ft (1.5 m) up from the ground with blue and yellow tiles,
with a border above and below of enamelled blue and gold. The columns
supporting the roof and gallery are irregularly placed. They are adorned by
varieties of foliage, etc.; about each arch there is a large square of stucco
arabesques; and over the pillars is another stucco square of filigree work.
Beautiful.... just beautiful.. You have to be there to feel its beauty.
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