The Alhambra

Wa la ghaliba illa Allah. There is no winner but Allah. That is the main inscription among more than 10,000 that cover the walls of the Alhambra, the most spectacular and famous Arab-Andalusian building  in the world. The "Red Fortress" (meaning of al-qal'a al-hamra), which was both a medina, palace and citadel, shows an extraordinary and refined way of expressing light, spaces, water and symmetry. A prodigy that appeals to all the senses and seduces everyone.

Info & location
4 things that makes The Alhambra really special.
Alcazaba, the origins

This is the oldest part of the Alhambra: the ramparts, the defences, the three towers... It was built by Mohammed I, the first Nasrid king (s. XIII). When the royal palaces were finished and the king moved there, the Alcazaba was turned into a fortress.

The mysterious lions

The court of the Lions and the water-jets were the architectural pinnacle of the Alhambra. Represents the Paradise. The celebrated fountain is a complex water system. Did the 12 marble lions (each one is different) work as a sundial?

The mastery of water

The Comares Court shows the mastery of the architects. Here the pool plays a strategic role: the surface of water acts as a mirror that reflects the surrounding structures, generating a geometrical projection that breaks the horizontal lines.

7 heavens as in the Holy Quran

Not even the Chamber of Ambassadors or Throne room forgets Islamic spirituality. It is the largest and richest chamber; a place where the king received his guests. The awesome wooden ceiling represents the 7 heavens as described in the Holy Quran.