Ghani and I had been to the Alhambra before, in pre Adrian days but decided that it was so magnificent, it warranted another visit, while on our round the world travels. We arrived in Granada, to celebrate Ghani's birthday and had a brilliant time walking through the splendour of the buildings and it's gardens. The day came to an anti climax though, when we got to the campsite at sunset to discover we had left the cranking handle for our roof tent in the previous campsite in Estepona!
The Alhambra, the complete form of which was Calat Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex constructed during the mid 14th century by the Moorish rulers of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus, occupying the top of the hill of the Assabica on the southeastern border of the city of Granada, now in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain.
The Alhambra's Moorish palaces were built for the last Muslim Emirs in Spain and its court, of the Nasrid dynasty. After the Reconquista by the Los Reyes Católicos ("The Catholic Monarchs") in 1492, some portions were used by the Christian rulers. The Palace of Charles V, built by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1527, was inserted in the Alhambra within the Nasrid fortifications.
After being allowed to fall into disrepair for centuries, the Alhambra was "discovered" in the 19th century by European scholars and travelers, with restorations commencing. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions, exhibiting the country's most significant and well known Islamic architecture, together with 16th-century and later Christian building and garden interventions. The Alhambra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
2 June 2008
2 June 2008
