A very early start saw us shift the car from the central Granada apartment to the Alhambra car park (nicely shaded) to ensure we were at the gates as they opened at 08.30. This proved to be a very wise decision before the heat and the crowds became overwhelming.

The Moors, a group of North African Arabs and Berbers invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 711AD and then reigned in southern Spain’s Andalucía region for nearly 800 years. Much of their influence upon the architecture of the region survives to this day. Full of symbolism from the Islamic faith, it has a beauty that all faiths or none can both admire and appreciate.  

A stand-out example of the Moorish influence is the Alhambra including the Nasrid palace. Alhambra is a beautiful collection of buildings, baths, Palaces and gardens. Wonderful shady walkways, and bubbling cool water streams and fountains in the Generalife gardens separate the various palaces, towers and hallways.

The Nasrid palaces are one of the largest examples of Muslim power ever built in Europe. Perhaps the most impressive structure is the La Vela tower which gives a stunning view of Alhambra and Granada. The courtyard of the Lions with its fountains is one of the most beautiful and serene (and photographed) places… or would be, without quite so many people! The palace guides only allow 300 people into the Nasrid palace at any one moment and provide time-limited tickets to ensure this, but there’s still a lot of people about.

The palace rooms, chambers and courtyards take your breath away, with abundant coloured mosaic tiles and myriad carved and inscribed marble adorning the ceilings, walls and walkways. My favourite inscription was at the entrance to the Royal Hall where the Sultan received his advisors: “Enter with wisdom, offer knowledge, speak few words and go in peace”. Goes to show there’s nothing really new in the business of running a country. Maybe they should hang a sign over the entrance to the Cabinet Office?  

The Nasrid kingdom finally fell to the Christian King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I of Spain in 1492. Thereafter many of the mosques were repurposed as chapels, churches and even, in the case of Granada, a cathedral. The splendour of the palaces remains today. Despite at various times being bombarded by Napoleon’s troops and thereafter being allowed to decay further over the nineteenth century, it was comprehensively and sensitively restored in the 1930s.  

A famous Spanish guitar solo, Recuerdos de la Alhambra (memories of Alhambra) was written about the palaces in 1899 (before they were fully restored). Its lovely melody captures the beauty and majesty of the place perfectly. If you listen and think you’ve heard it before, you probably have since it’s featured in films like the Sopranos, The Killing Fields and several others since.  

Today Alhambra remains the most visited tourist attraction in Spain, and in the top few in Europe. And one of my favourite places visited to date.

Simon