Deep in southern Spain's exotic Andalucia region, used by Ridley Scott for various scenes in his crusader movie The Kingdom of Heaven is what most would agree is a wonder of the world and one of Europe's top attractions, a dramatic hilltop fortress and palaces of the Alhambra of Granada, listed as World Heritage Sites by the United Nations organization UNESCO. Before we get into details about the Alhambra and her labyrinth of stucco, aromatic gardens, fountains and jasmin, however, it is worth remembering the lessons of the past.

Muslim Spain, Al-Andalus, for over 700 years was a land of enlightenment during the Dark Ages of Europe, and Granada was its last jewel. While the rest of Europe lived under a medieval pall of ignorance and tribal warfare, Islamic Granada, Cordoba, Toledo and Seville were home to vast libraries of sophisticated scholarship, to philosophers and astronomers, and to an advanced society that prided itself on religious tolerance. The Muslim Spanish or Moors had brought the theories of advanced mathematics like Algebra with them. They had explored the movements of the stars and planets in the heavens. They taught the Crusaders Chess. They traded in rare spices and silks, some the likes of which Europe had not seen before. They introduced new arts, dance, metalworkings, story telling, all which became incorporated into the culture of the Crusaders, as apparent in clothing, jewelry and literature.

The Christian armies of conquest that would finally claim Granada in 1492 for Catholic Spain had waited eight centuries to take the city. Even after such a long wait, they paused at the gates of the Alhambra, for they understood that the keys to the secrets of the Alhambra lay in the city that surrounds it. In modern Granada, it can seem as if Boabdil, the last Muslim king in any part of Spain, and his people have never left, as if the peoples of the world - students, pilgrims, travellers - have again brought alive the exotic past.

A Spanish legend has it that when Boabdil was forced to flee Granada in 1492, he turned from his retreat into exile for one last look and wept. His mother, upon seeing her son's tears, admonished him with the words, "Do not weep like a woman for what you could not defend like a man." His mother's harsh words notwithstanding, it is not difficult to understand why Boabdil wept. His former home was the extraordinary Alhambra, which remains to this day the most enduring symbol of Al-Andalus with its pleasure palaces, exquisite gardens and turreted walls.

The name is of Arabic derivation like many Spanish words, means red maybe derived from the colour of the sun-dried tapia, or bricks made of fine gravel and clay, of which the outer walls are built. Some authorities, however, hold that it commemorates the red flare of the torches by whose light the work of construction was carried on nightly for many years; others associate it with the name of the founder, Mahomet Ibn Al Ahmar (Mohammed II); and others derive it from the Arabic Dar al Amra, House of the Master.

Granada is the richness of the Orient grafted onto Spanish soil and the narrow lanes are alive with lanterns and smoke and street markets. Along Calderia Vieja and Calderia Nueva, twisting laneways of antiquity that climb the hill into the heart of the old Muslim town, the Albaicin, Arab shops proffer handicrafts from Morocco, sweets from Jerusalem and the spices of Arabia.
Softly lit tea houses promise mint tea and water pipes, evoking the hospitality of ancient Persia. The aromas wafting through the laneways could be Damascus. The sounds and street cries could be the medieval bazaars of Egypt. Along each thoroughfare, high white walls conceal expansive villas surrounded by gardens. Church spires, once the minarets of the city's mosques and from which the faithful were called to prayer, rise from amid the labyrinth that is Old Granada. Remnants of the 11th-century city walls prop up old Muslim bathhouses, some of which have reopened to offer the sensory pleasures of steam baths and massages under pleasing domes.

Eventually all roads and snaking pathways lead up the hill to the Mirador San Nicolas, a vantage point that former US president Bill Clinton described as the most beautiful view in Spain.Everyone who visits Granada is drawn here to the lookout, and in their wake follow street musicians, gypsy fortune-tellers and impromptu street markets, lending the scene a carnival atmosphere from sunrise to sunset. Some visitors prefer the relatively quiet contemplation offered by the cafes that fiercely guard the solitude of their front-row seat.

Across the valley, the Alhambra surveys its domain like a brooding but benevolent monarch, set against the backdrop of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. Far below, down past terracotta roofs and smoking chimneys, the Paseo de los Tristes (The Pathway of Sadness) snakes along the valley floor, shadowing a bubbling stream like the pilgrim trails of old. Every Easter, eerie processions of hooded devotees pass along this route as silence reigns over the city. At moments such as these, you sense that time has changed little and that the power of religious faith has always defined Granada.

From the Pathway of Sadness, ancient stone bridges cross the stream to the paths that climb the hill to the Alhambra. This erstwhile stronghold of Muslim kings has inspired many a poet with the nostalgia for a glorious past. Washington Irving, a 19th-century traveller (and creator of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow), wrote of lost kingdoms and a place where the imagination could run wild: "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!"
Setting

The situation of the Alhambra is one of rare natural beauty; the plateau commands a wide view of the city and plain of Granada, towards the west and north, and of the heights of the Sierra Nevada, towards the east and south. Moorish poets described it as "a pearl set in emeralds," in allusion to the brilliant colour of its buildings, and the luxuriant woods round them. The park (Alameda de la Alhambra), which in spring is overgrown with wild-flowers and grass, was planted by the Moors with roses, oranges and myrtles; its most characteristic feature, however, is the dense wood of English elms brought hither in 1812 by the Duke of Wellington. The park is celebrated for the multitude of its nightingales, and is usually filled with the sound of running water from several fountains and cascades. These are supplied through a conduit 5 miles (8 km) long, which is connected with the Darro at the monastery of Jesus del Valle, above Granada.

In spite of the long neglect, willful vandalism and sometimes ill-judged restoration which the Alhambra has endured, it remains the most perfect example of Moorish art in its final European development, freed from the direct Byzantine influences which can be traced in the Mesquita cathedral of Cordoba, more elaborate and fantastic than the 300 foot Minaret tower of Seville. The majority of the palace buildings are, in ground-plan, quadrangular, with all the rooms opening on to a central court; and the whole reached its present size simply by the gradual addition of new quadrangles, designed on the same principle, though varying in dimensions, and connected with each other by smaller rooms and passages. In every case the exterior is left plain and austere, as if the architect intended thus to heighten by contrast the splendour of the interior. Within, the palace is unsurpassed for the exquisite detail of its marble pillars and arches, its fretted ceilings and the veil-like transparency of its filigree work in stucco. Sun and wind are freely admitted, and the whole effect is one of the most airy lightness and grace. Blue, red, and a golden yellow, all somewhat faded through lapse of time and exposure, are the colours chiefly employed.

Inside the Alhambra

The Moorish portion of the Alhambra resembles many medieval Christian strongholds in its threefold arrangement as a castle, a palace and a residential annex for subordinates. The Alcazaba or citadel, its oldest part, is built on the isolated and precipitous foreland which terminates the plateau on the north-west. Only its massive outer walls, towers and ramparts are left. On its watch-tower, the Torre de la Vela, 85 ft. high, the flag of Ferdinand and Isabella was first raised, in token of the Spanish conquest of Granada, on January 2, 1492. A turret containing a huge bell was added in the 18th century, and restored after being injured by lightning in 1881. Beyond the Alcazaba is the palace of the Moorish kings, or Alhambra properly so-called; and beyond this, again, is the Alhambra Alta (Upper Alhambra), originally tenanted by officials and courtiers.

Access from the city to the Alhambra Park is afforded by the Puerta de las Granadas (Gate of Pomegranates), a massive triumphal arch dating from the 15th century. A steep ascent leads past the Pillar of Charles V, a fountain erected in 1554, to the main entrance of the Alhambra. This is the Puerta Judiciaria (Gate of Judgment), a massive horseshoe archway, surmounted by a square tower, and used by the Moors as an informal court of justice. A hand, with fingers outstretched as a talisman against the evil eye, is carved above this gate on the exterior; a key, the symbol of authority, occupies the corresponding place on the interior. A narrow passage leads inward to the Plaza de los Aljibes (Place of the Cisterns), a broad open space which divides the Alcazaba from the Moorish palace. To the left of the passage rises the Torre del Vino (Wine Tower), built in 1345, and used in the 16th century as a cellar. On the right is the palace of Charles V, a cold-looking but majestic Renaissance building, out of harmony with its surroundings, which it tends somewhat to dwarf by its superior size. The extremely intricate and detailed designs of the Moors' Alhambra stand in stark contrast to Charles' palace, which consists primarily of white walls with no particularly striking features. Many modern architectural scholars are thus disgusted by Charles V's preference for simplistic Renaissance styling, which they believe detracts from the Alhambra's architectural magnificence. Construction of Charles' palace, begun in 1526, was abandoned about 1650.

The present entrance to the Palacio Arabe, or Casa Real (Moorish palace), is by a small door from which a corridor conducts to the Patio de los Arrayanes (Court of the Myrtles), also called the Patio de la Alberca (Court of the Blessing or Court of the Pond), from the Moorish birka, "pond," or berka, "blessing." This court is 140 ft. long by 74 ft. broad; and in the centre there is a large pond set in the marble pavement, full of goldfish, and with myrtles growing along its sides. There are galleries on the north and south sides; that on the south 27 ft. high, and supported by a marble colonnade. Underneath it, to the right, was the principal entrance, and over it are three elegant windows with arches and miniature pillars. From this court the walls of the Torre de Comares are seen rising over the roof to the north, and reflected in the pond.

The Sala de los Embajadores (Hall of the Ambassadors) is the largest in the Alhambra, and occupies all the Torre de Comares. It is a square room, the sides being 37 ft. in length, while the centre of the dome is 75 ft (23 m) high. This was the grand reception room, and the throne of the sultan was placed opposite the entrance. The tiles are nearly 4 ft (1.2 m) high all round, and the colours vary at intervals. Over them is a series of oval medallions with inscriptions, interwoven with flowers and leaves. There are nine windows, three on each facade, and the ceiling is admirably diversified with inlaid-work of white, blue and gold, in the shape of circles, crowns and stars—a kind of imitation of the vault of heaven. The walls are covered with varied stucco-work of most delicate pattern, surrounding many ancient escutcheons.

The celebrated Patio de los Leones (Court of the Lions) is an oblong court, 116 ft (35 m) in length by 66 ft (20 m) in breadth, surrounded by a low gallery supported on 124 white marble columns. A pavilion projects into the court at each extremity, with filigree walls and light domed roof, elaborately ornamented. 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 enameled blue and gold. The columns supporting the roof and gallery are irregularly placed, with a view to artistic effect; and the general form of the piers, arches and pillars is most graceful. They are adorned by varieties of foliage, etc.; about each arch there is a large square of arabesques; and over the pillars is another square of exquisite filigree work. In the centre of the court is the celebrated Fountain of Lions, a magnificent alabaster basin supported by the figures of twelve lions in white marble, not designed with sculptural accuracy, but as emblems of strength and courage. It has been said that the lions were most likely sculpted by members of the Caliphate's Christian community, as making such representational sculpture was not considered allowed by the followers of Islam.

The Sala de los Abencerrajes (Hall of the Abencerrages) derives its name from a legend according to which Boabdil, the last king of Granada, having invited the chiefs of that illustrious line to a banquet, massacred them here. This room is a perfect square, with a lofty dome and trellised windows at its base. The roof is exquisitely decorated in blue, brown, red and gold, and the columns supporting it spring out into the arch form in a remarkably beautiful manner. Opposite to this hall is the Sala de las dos Hermanas (Hall of the two Sisters), so-called from two very beautiful white marble slabs laid as part of the pavement. These slabs measure 15 ft. by 7 1/2 ft., and are without flaw or stain. There is a fountain in the middle of this hall, and the roof "a dome honeycombed with tiny cells, all different, and said to number 5000" is a magnificent example of the so-called "stalactite vaulting" of the Moors.

Among the other wonders of the Alhambra are the Sala de la Justicia (Hall of Justice), the Patio del Mexuar (Court of the Council Chamber), the Patio de Daraxa (Court of the Vestibule), and the Peinador de la Reina (Queen's Robing Room), in which are to be seen the same delicate and beautiful architecture, the same costly and elegant decorations. The palace and the Upper Alhambra also contain baths, ranges of bedrooms and summer-rooms, a whispering gallery and labyrinth, and vaulted sepulchers.

The original furniture of the palace is represented by the celebrated vase of the Alhambra, a splendid specimen of Moorish ceramic art, dating from 1320, and belonging to the first period of Moorish porcelain. It is 4 ft 3 in (1.3 m) high; the ground is white, and the enameling is blue, white and gold.

Of the outlying buildings in connection with the Alhambra, the foremost in interest is the Palacio de Generalife (the Moorish Jennat al Arif, "Garden of Arif," or "Garden of the Architect"). This villa probably dates from the end of the 13th century, but has been several times restored. Its gardens, however, with their clipped hedges, grottos, fountains, and cypress avenues, are said to retain their original Moorish character. The Villa de los Martires (Martyrs' Villa), on the summit of Monte Mauror, commemorates by its name the Christian slaves who were employed 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. Several Roman tombs were discovered in 1829 and 1857 at the base of Monte Mauror.

In the construction of the Alhambra, the Moors had no depictions of people at all excluding the human hand. Of course, there were plenty of depictions of people on the Renaissance building.

It is all too much, too exquisitely conceived for just one visit. It could easily require days of close examination. For some, a lifetime is not enough. Amid all the wonder at large in this enchanted place, it is not at all difficult to understand why poor old Boabdil wept as he departed. For him and for so many other visitors who cannot bear to leave, he was leaving paradise itself

Richard Harris is the Executive Director of MagicalSpain travel & events and has been traveling in Spain regularly for over 25 years. After spending time in Spain after a "special tour package" with Uncle Sam in SE Asia, Richard fell in love with the Mediterranean spirit, hospitality and beauty of Spain and his first wife. He is lawyer and entrepreneur who taken "early retirement" from his US legal career and now works only 45 hours and 45 weeks a year as a consultant. Richard, who swears by his olive oil, seafood, jamon iberico de bellota & wine lovers diet and long walks, may pop up on any of our tours or destination weddings. He has 4 bilingual children and recently met his future next wife who is a Spanish lawyer.