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Spain Trip – Part 5: Alhambra

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And now the last part of my blog post series about my trip to Spain. What I wrote about so far:
We first stayed 3 days in Barcelona:  part 1: Barcelona. Followed by a trip down the east coast of Spain to Granada: part 2: Spanish East coast. From there we made a few day excursions: part 3: Day Trips. We spend a long time in Granada and explored the city: part 4: Granada.

But lets move on to what I consider the absolute highlight of my trip, which is why I saved it for last: the Alhambra.

Alhambra

What we call Alhambra today is actually a whole complex of different buildings from different times and different cultures. All of them are housed on a hill of the Assabica with Granada on its foot.
The oldest part, the Alcazaba was more of a military fortress than a castle and build in AD 889.
The Nasrid Palaces or Alhambra proper was build during the Nasrid dynasty by the Moorish emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar in the mid-13th century, and then converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada. In 1492 it was altered to Renaissance tastes when the Christians had concurred Spain.
Generalife, a summer palace and gardens were built during the reign of Muhammad III (1302–1309) and redecorated shortly after by Abu I-Walid Isma’il (1313–1324).
In 1526 Charles I & V commissioned a new Renaissance palace in the Mannerism style now called Palace of Charles V right next to the Nasrid Palace.

For some of you fellow geeks, the Alhambra appears as a multi player location for Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood’s final DLC. It is is a wonder in Civilization V: Gods & Kings. And the film ‘El Dorado’ features many scenes shot in and around the Alhambra palace. And is featured in many more books, movies, games, etc.
The main feature though is in Washington Irving’s Tales of the Alhambra. Which is a collection of essays, verbal sketches, and stories. Irving lived in the palace while writing the book and had a big role in reintroducing the Alhambra to Western world.

Following are impressions of the Alhambra. Enjoy!

If you have missed the previous posts, here they are:
Spain Trip – Part 1: Barcelona 
Spain Trip – Part 2: Spanish East Coast
Spain Trip – Part 3: Day Trips
Spain Trip – Part 4: Granada