The Alhambra is not a single building born complete and perfect at a particular moment in time rather it has evolved of three centuries of building which continued on from the end of the Muslim rule in al-Andalus into the Christian period almost until modern times. It is the outstanding example of Islamic art and it was no hardship to spend a whole day there.
We began in the Generalife and its gardens. This was a retreat where the Granadan monarchs could relax, away from the daily toil and bustle of the court. Nevertheless, its proximity to the Alhambra meant that the sultan could still be close enough to palace affairs to attend to any urgent matter which might arise, whilst at the same time be far enough away to enjoy the intimacy of the countryside.
After some lunch we moved on to the Alcazaba or old castle. This a fortress at the western tip of the Alhambra site. Its name comes from the Arabic term al-qasabah, which became Alcazaba in Spanish. It is the oldest surviving part of the Alhambra, having been built by Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar, the founder of the Nasrid dynasty after 1238.
Finally we went into the Nasrid Palaces where there are three independant areas: the Mexuar, which corresponds to the semipublic part of the palace, for justice administration and state affairs; the Comares Palace, which was the official residence of the king; and the Palace of the Lions, which was the private area of the palace where the harem was located. The different areas differed in their artistic characteristics. The Comares Palace was decorated in a typical Muslim way, but the Palace of the Lions presents the Christian influences, probably as a consequence of the friendship between Mohammed V and his Castilian counterpart Pedro I. The Cruel.
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