The word Alhambra comes from Arabic – al-qala’at alhamra – meaning red castle. Much of what was here was destroyed by Napoleon’s retreating army and it was then left to fall into ruin. Thanks largely to writer Washington Irving, who wrote Tales of the Alhambra during a stay in the 1820s, interest in the site was sparked and it has been restored and now 8,000 visitors turn up each day.
one of the entrances to Alhambra
Some areas of the Alhambra can be visited without a ticket. You will need to buy a 12 euro ticket to see Palacios Nazaries (the best bit), Alcazaba (the old fort), and the Generalife gardens. The grounds are extensive, so you should allow lots of time. We started with the Palace of Carlos V, one of the free bits.
Carlos V built the palace in the Alhambra grounds after the Muslims were defeated. To add insult to injury, it was financed with taxes levied on the defeated people.
Palacio de Carlos 5
one of the eagles on the front of the building
The palace was never finished. There was supposed to be a dome in the centre, but it didn’t happen and there is an open space where it should have been.
the inner circle of the palace
on the balcony
When we were wandering in the grounds of the castle we came upon a row of cannons. A small boy spotted them at the same time. He marched steadily towards them, his eyes wide with delight, calling out in his biggest 2 year old voice – BIG CANNNON, BIG CANNON. He edged as close as he could to one of the cannons, clenched his little fists and made cannon fire noises. Hmff, hmff – quite subdued, I thought, after the big cannon bit.
The next day we took part in a guided tour organised by the Parador de Granada San Francisco where we stayed.
We started at the Alcazaba, which is the oldest part of Alhambra and has great views over the surrounding countryside. The ruins are from the 13th century. It once defended the 2,000 people who lived within the walls of the Alhambra.
heading towards the Alcazaba
a perfect day at Alhambra
inside - what's left of the soldiers' quarters
just what you would expect a fort to look like
looking back towards Palacios Nazaries
a view of the Sierra Nevada mountains - you can see the ski slopes
we walked through a pretty garden on the way out
The next part of the tour was the Palacios Nazaries, the most magnificient part of Alhambra. There will be a post in this tomorrow. After that we wandered through the partal gardens.
in the gardens
one of the beautiful pools
We then headed off to the Generalife gardens. I thought they must be sponsored by an insurance company, but the name comes from the Arabic hen-eh-raw-LEEF-ay. This area was the sultan’s vegetable and fruit garden and provided the 2,000 residents with food. The sultan’s tiny summer palace is also here. The current gardens were planted in the 1930s.
along the path to the gardens
looking across to Alhambra
in the Generalife garden
a cypress path to the summer palace
the garden in front of the summer palace
This garden is 600 years old and beautifully laid out. Old paintings show the garden just as it is today. It must have been heavenly for the sultan and his family to escape to this cool oasis in the heat of summer. The pools would have been still back then, the Moors preferred tranquil water.
another view
a very long pool
a pretty part of the garden
looking out from the summer palace
Booking ahead is a good idea if you want to visit Alhambra. We stayed at the Parador and they organised tickets for us, which was lucky because when we tried to book ahead there were no tickets available. Some tickets are available each day and you can line up for those. Get there early, a lot of people want to see Alhambra. Even though thousands of people descend on the site each day, it doesn’t seem too crowded as the grounds are enormous and there seems to be enough room for everyone. Book ahead and go, it’s great.