Great Lives, Great Places - The Alhambra, Muslim Spain 1246-1354
VognoDuut750
Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzin, Granada (Spain)
The AlhambraThe Alhambra (Red Castle) is an ancient palace and
fortress complex of the Moorish monarchs of Granada, in southern Spain
(known as Al-Andalus when the fortress was constructed), occupying a hilly
terrace on the south-eastern border of the city of Granada.
Overview
This terrace or plateau, which measures about 740 m (2430 ft) in
length by 205 m (674 ft) at its greatest width, extends from W.N.W. to
E.S.E., and covers an area of about 142,000 m². It is enclosed by a strongly
fortified wall, which is flanked by thirteen towers. The river Darro, which
foams through a deep ravine on the north, divides the plateau from the
Albaicin district of Granada; the Assabica valley, containing the Alhambra
Park, on the west and south, and beyond this valley the almost parallel
ridge of Monte Mauror, separate it from the Antequeruela district.
History
The name Alhambra, signifying in Arabic the red (Al Hamra), is
probably 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; and others
derive it from the Arabic Dar al Amra, House of the Master. The palace was
built chiefly between 1248 and 1354, in the reigns of Al Ahmar and his
successors; but even the names of the principal artists employed are either
unknown or doubtful.
Patio of the palace Charles VThe splendid arabesques of the interior
are ascribed, among other kings, to Yusef I, Mohamed V, Ismail I, etc. After
the Christian conquest of the city in 1492, the conquerors began to alter
the Alhambra. The open work was filled up with whitewash, the painting and
gilding effaced, the furniture soiled, torn or removed. Charles V
(1516-1556) rebuilt portions in the Renaissance style of the period, and
destroyed the greater part of the winter palace to make room for a
Renaissance-style structure which has never been completed. Philip V
(1700-1746) Italianised the rooms, and completed his palace right in the
middle of what had been the Moorish building. He ran up partitions which
blocked up whole apartments. In subsequent centuries under Spanish
authorities, Moorish art was further defaced; and in 1812 some of the towers
were blown up by the French under Count Sebastiani, while the whole
buildings narrowly escaped the same fate. Napoleon had tried to blow up the
whole complex. Just before his plan was carried out, a crippled soldier who
secretly wanted the plan of Napoleon - his commander - to fail, defused the
explosives and thus saved the Alhambra for posterity.
In 1821 an earthquake caused further damage. The work of restoration
undertaken in 1828 by the architect Jose Contreras was endowed in 1830 by
Ferdinand VII; and after the death of Contreras in 1847, it was continued
with fair success by his son Rafael (d. 1890), and his grandson Mariano.
Road to the Alhambra
Tower and walls of the AlhambraThe 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 8 km (5 miles) long,
which is connected with the Darro at the monastery of Jesus del Valle, above
Granada.
In spite of the long neglect, wilful 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 Mezquita
cathedral of Córdoba, more elaborate and fantastic than the Giralda at
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.
The decoration consists, as a rule, of stiff, conventional foliage,
Arabic inscriptions, and geometrical patterns wrought into arabesques of
almost incredible intricacy and ingenuity. Painted tiles are largely used as
panelling for the walls.
Miscellaneous
The Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzin of Granada are listed as World
Heritage Sites by the UNESCO. It is also the setting of Washington Irving's
classic novel Tales of the Alhambra. Irving lived in the palace while
writing the book, and was instrumental in reintroducing the site to Western
audiences.
Torpedo
"VognoDuut750" <VognoD...@zilmore.com> wrote in message
news:joqdnRI2lvY...@comcast.com...
Mirza Ghalib
except for Mohamdenism?
They will look at you with contempt. They might
offer you a position to clean out the Latrines.