One of the best places to see free authentic flamenco in Granada is at Mirador de San Nicolas. There are usually some talented flamenco artists playing, singing and even dancing in informal spontaneous jam sessions in the San Nicolas look out point opposite the Alhambra. Mirador de San Nicolas is one of the places in Granada where most visitors to Granada will eventually go to. Most people will take a few selfies of themselves with the Alhambra in the background.
Category Archives: Alhambra
Tales of the Alhambra
Tales of the Alhambra is a collection of essays, verbal sketches, and stories by Washington Irving. It was originally published in May 1832.
You can buy the book in most of the souvenir and bookshops in Granada.
You can read it for free here. We have added a lot of pictures.
https://granadablog.net/tales_of_the_alhambra/en/index.htm
When was the Alhambra built?
The Alhambra
The Alhambra was first mentioned during the reign of Abdullah ibn Muhammad (888-912) when it was referred to as a primitive small red castle where the Arabs sought refuge after being defeated in one of their battles with the Muladies. It was then largely abandoned until the 11th century when it was rebuilt in order to protect a Jewish settlement on the Sabika hill. Major reconstruction, however, was undertaken during the Nasrid dynasty (1212-1492) and it is this that we can see today.
Serious work on the Alhambra began in 1238 under the command of Sultan Muhammad I Ibn Nasr and in only one year, the ramparts had been completed, water had been brought from the river and a water channel built.
Where can I buy tickets for the Alhambra?
Alhambra Queue - For people who have not bought a ticket in advance.
It is a good idea to buy your tickets in advance online or by phone. For more information about how to buy tickets, see this page. The general day ticket is valid for the morning or afternoon and includes entrance to the Alcazaba, the Nasrid Palaces and the Generalife. This way you have more choice and you will be able to indicate the time you want to enter the Nasrid palaces.
Waiting in the que for the Nasrid Palaces
Make sure you get into the queue for the Nasrid Palaces on time. If you are late they probably won’t let you in !!!!!!!!!
Space of the month (December 2010) – Casas de la Partal
These Moorish houses were built in the 14th century. Inside there is a mural which was painted in the first half of the 14th century and which is important as being the only figurative Nasrid painting conserved in situ. The painting was discovered in 1908 when plaster was stripped away and provides important information about daily life during the days of the Nasrid dynasty.
Carlos V Palace
Carlos V Palace
When Carlos V came to Granada on his honeymoon, he fell in love with the Alhambra and the city. He took up residence in the Arab palaces but decided to build his own larger, more spacious palace adjoined to the Nasrid Palaces so that he could continue to enjoy them.
He commissioned the architect Pedro Machuca to design a building befitting a Roman Emperor and work began in 1527. Machuca died in 1550 and his son Luis took over. The project was then continued but most of the major work had by this time been completed.
Facade
This Renacentist building is 63m2 square on the outside with a 30m diameter circular courtyard on the inside. Originally there would have been a well in the middle but this has now been covered over.
The project was partly paid for with taxes collected from the Moriscos (Muslims who had converted to Christianity) in return for being allowed to stay in Granada and continue with their traditions.
Doric columns
Ionic column
The building has two levels: the lower level of the patio has 32 stone Doric columns and the upper level has 32 Ionic columns. The building was to be covered with a domed ceiling like the Pantheon in Rome but was never finished and the roof on the superior gallery was only completed in 1957.
Carlos V Palace courtyard
Carlos V never lived here. When he died, Felipe II transferred his court to Madrid in 1561 and in 1607 Madrid became the capital of Spain.
Today, the building houses the Museo de Bellas Artes with exhibits from the Alhambra.
For more photos of the Carlos V Palace, please visit this page.
How can I get to the Alhambra?
The Alhambra sits on the Sabika hill, 100 metres above Granada. There are four main ways to get to the Alhambra ticket office:
- Walk up the Cuesta Gomerez (pedestrian only – 1,100m from Plaza Nueva)
- Walk up the Cuesta de los Chinos or Cuesta del Rey Chico (pedestrian only – 720m from Paseo de los Tristes)
- Catch the minibus from anywhere along their routes. See Routes
- Drive along the Ronda Sur – the Granada ring road and park in the Alhambra carpark (map).
The best page with information on this subject is granadainfo.com
Click here for
Information on getting to the Alhambra
Carlos V
Juana la Loca
When Queen Isabel died in 1504, her will stated that her daughter Juana should succeed her on the throne. Unfortunately, Juana suffered from schizophrenia and this wasn’t helped by her husband Felipe’s frequent affairs. Following his death after short illness (though some believed that he had been poisoned by Juana’s father, Fernando), Juana went mad and her father Fernando acted as regent until his death in 1516.
Emperor Carlos V
After Fernando’s death, Carlos became King and he was to become one of the most powerful rulers in the world. In 1520, he was crowned Carlos V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, an empire on which “the sun never set”. When his father Felipe died in 1506 he became Duke of Burgundy and ruler of the Netherlands, and on the death of his grandfather Fernando, he became King of the Two Sicilies and of Spain. His plan was to establish his court and residence in Granada to commemorate the Catholic Monarchs conquest of the Moor’s last stronghold and with this aim, he commissioned the Carlos V Palace.
Having become a European leader after a power struggle with France, he decided to retire and split his empire between his brother Fernando and his son Felipe. In 1556, his son became King of Spain and Carlos retired to a Spanish monastery in Yuste where he died in 1558.
Space of the month (November 2010) – Casa de la Calle Real
The Calle Real Alta passes through the Medina (the city of the Alhambra where the courtiers lived) and stretches from the Puerta del Vino to the Parador de San Francisco. This was where the workshops of the craftsmen responsible for the Alhambra decorative work were to be found.
This month, it is possible to visit one of the houses in the Calle Real which was built between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. The house was built around an interior courtyard and is of particular interest for its decorative plasterwork.
The house is open between 8:30 and 18:00 on Tuesdays, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday throughout November.
Restoration of the Lions
Lions from the Patio de los Leones
The lions will return to the Patio de los Leones in January 2012. Until then, they can still be seen in the exhibition near the courtyard in the Carlos V crypt with information about the restoration work. After four years of initial research and investigation, restoration began in 2006 but their return to the courtyard has been delayed by the need to repair the original leaking water pipes which were installed last century.
The lions as they were before restoration
NEWS: The lions were returned to the Patio de los Leones on Jan 15, 2012
Alcazaba
Alcazaba and Torre de la Vela
The triangular Alcazaba with its thick walls and towers was the main form of defence for the Alhambra against attack. This is the oldest part of the Alhambra complex and was the site of the original red castle. It was Mohammed I who built the surrounding walls and the three towers: the Torre de la Vela (Watchtower) in the far-right corner, the Torre Quebrada (the “Broken” Tower) and the Torre del Homenaje (the Keep). Work on the palaces began later and the Sultan lived here until they were finished.
Alcazaba (citadel)
The Alcazaba was the main military residential area and where the soldiers responsible for defending the Sultan and the Alhambra lived. A walkway runs through the middle of the Alcazaba and the smaller houses on the left were probably for single soldiers without families while the larger ones on the right were for soldiers and their families.
The houses were built around an inside courtyard: downstairs would be the main living room, the food store and the latrine with more rooms upstairs.
Torre de la Vela & battlements
As a city in its own right, this area would have had silos, an arsenal, steam baths and a bread oven where food would be prepared. Below the Alcazaba are the dungeons and this was where the captured prisoners were held.
For more photos of the Alcazaba, please visit this page.
Torre de la Vela
This tower dominates both the Alhambra and the City of Granada. The tower itself was built in the 13th century during the Nasrid Dynasty and the bell has always played an important role in daily Granadinian life.
When Boabdil surrendered, the Royal standards of the Catholic Monarchs were raised from the tower. Nowadays, four flags are flown from the tower: the blue European flag, the green and white Andalucian flag, the red and yellow Spanish flag and the red and green Granada flag.
The bell has been replaced several times over the years and the current one dates back to 1773. The bell tower was originally positioned in the corner of the tower but was moved to its current position in 1840 and then rebuilt in 1882 after it had been struck by lightning.
Until recently the tolls were used by farmers to mark the changes in irrigation turns. It is also rung every year on 2nd January in commemoration of the Taking of Granada. Traditionally, single girls would climb the bell tower and ring the bell and it was said that if they did, then they would be married before the year was out. These days, anyone can ring the bell and the bell rings non-stop all day.
During the time of the Catholic Monarchs, the bellringers were appointed by the military governor. They would normally be soldiers who had been injured in combat and they would live in the bell tower itself. The last person to live there was Encarnación “La Velera”, who was the widow of the last bell ringer.
Puerta de los Siete Suelos
This south-facing gate is opposite the medina and was built in the middle of the 14th century for military and ceremonial events. Following Boabdil’s surrender, Christian troops entered the Alhambra through this gate on the morning of 2nd January 1492.
Legend has it that Boabdil left the Alhambra through this gate as he fled Granada for the Alpujarras and that out of respect for him, the gate was then blocked off so that no one else could pass through it. It now appears, however, that it was only filled in in the mid-18th century.
It was only reopened in 1812 when Napoleonic forces attempted to blow it up. The gate was rebuilt in the 1970s.
Puerta de los Carros
The Puerta de los Carros is not one of the original gates but was built in the 16th century so that building materials for the construcion of the Carlos V Palace could easily be brought in to the Alhambra.
What happened in the years after the Moors surrendered?
King Fernando
Queen Isabel
Although the treaties signed by the Catholic Monarchs with Boabdil for the surrender of Granada stated that the different languages, religions and customs would be respected, after a few years it became clear that this was not happening in practice, and Cardinal Cisneros insisted that everyone, regardless of their religion, be baptised.
The inquisitors had never been happy with these treaties which they believed slowed down their attempts to reduce the Muslim population and the practice of Islam in Spain. They also thought a Muslim revolt was imminent and that it was useless to expect peaceful conversion to Christianity. Cardinal Jimenez de Cisneros therefore asked Isabel and Fernando for permission to continue his inquisition activities and they agreed. Consequently, on 18th December 1499, some three thousand Moors were baptised, a major mosque in Granada was converted to a church and the burning of supposed religious books and documents began.
This understandably led to revolts and protests with a lot of unrest among those who had been forced to convert to Christianity, and a series of mutinies followed, culminating in the 1680 revolt which was finally put down. The most determined rebels fled to the Alpujarras where there was a violent uprising several years later.
Cardenal Cisneros
Although promises were made that the treaties would be honoured, this did not happen and Cisneros announced that those Moors who refused to be baptised would be expelled. These baptisms were carried out en masse and at an incredible speed – so fast in fact that there was no time for religious instruction to be given to the new “converts”. It has been estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 Muslims were forcibly baptised in this way in Granada. The offer of emigration to Africa was really only a hollow promise and only available for those who were able to pay and who had not already been baptised.
Queen Juana ("La Loca")
After the Catholic Monarchs died, things got progressively worse: Queen Juana forbade the Moriscos to wear their national dress, and Carlos V introduced a theological council in 1526 which attempted to reform them. These rules were not rigidly imposed and people were able to avoid them by paying certain taxes.
King Felipe II
That all changed, however, with Felipe II who prohibited the use of Moorish dress, language and customs. As a result, there was a violent uprising on 24th December 1568. It began in the Albaicín and continued on into the Alpujarras with the Morisco Aben-Humeya being proclaimed king. Reinforcements were sent from Africa and the revolt extended to the rest of the province of Granada. Churches were burnt, villages ransacked and Christians were murdered. Following the death of Aben-Humeya, the uprising was eventually squashed in 1571. The rebels were then expelled from the kingdom and it was subsequently repopulated by Spaniards from other parts of the country.
You must be logged in to post a comment.