This is the addition built for Carlos V and his queen in which they stayed their honeymoon. The bricks are designed to look like pillows, and this structure, though I didn't explore it as much as the other areas, is really interesting.
When we visited the Alhambra, the director of the entire place gave us a fantastic presentation on the epigraphs of the Alhambra. The motto of the Kings of Granada was "No hay vencedor sino Alá" or "There is no conqueror but Allah". From his presentation I learned to recognize that phrase in arabic and I saw it absolutely everywhere in the Alhambra.
Some of the writing is really easy to pick out like the stuff in the center of this flower motif. However, much of the art in the palace consists of the epigraphs and is much more difficult to recognize, since it takes the "cursive" form and is elongated into practically abstract shapes.
This is a picture that's easy to demonstrate what I mean. In the medallion style circles near the top, there is some clear writing in this picture below. However, if you trace the lines on the sides of it down to where they curl like and loop back, you'll notice that the lines forming the medallions are letters as well and that some of the letters are stretched incredibly tall and loop back to look like knots.
The Arabic people were fantastic at geometry, and the design below can be completely constructed from interlocking circles.
Originally the whole palace would have been incredibly colored. Look at the picture below. The deep areas would have been blue, the mid depth spots red, and the lettering and overlay would have been covered in gold leaf.
After their honeymoon, Carlos V and his wife never returned to the Alhambra. It gradually fell into disrepair and was left somewhat forgotten. However, Washington Irving came and stayed in the Alhambra for months to learn more about its history stories and legends, and wrote his famous Tales from the Alhambra. After the book's release, the Alhambra became an instant tourist attraction and has been visited by the thousands every year since.
The gardens were really beautiful, and I can only imagine what they would have looked like earlier in the season.
The Alhambra was one of my favorite things I visited in Spain. It's absolutely beautiful, and I think I gained a much deeper appreciation for the religion of Islam during my stay in Spain. While I still don't understand many of the beliefs and key tenets of the religion, I love the architectural symbolism and the devotion and faith I saw woven and engraved into the Moorish and mozarabe buildings.
I really like the icicle ceiling.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the thin reflection pool in the garden and this last picture with the stained glass are both nice photos.