Dal Horra Palace

Stopped here as it was included in our ticket of places to visit. We both felt it is not really a worthwhile stop unless on the way as it does not offer anything particularly unique. However, we were appreciative of the efforts taken in its historical preservation. As we were to learn the next day, this Arabic small palace and those of the Albumbra owe much to the lifelong work of an early conservationist and restorative specialist named Torres Balba.

Palacio de Dar al-Horra, “Home of the Honest”, a, formed part of the large palace of Zirid King Badis,
It was so-named for having been the official residence of Aixa la-Horra, wife of Muley Hacén and mother of the last Emir of Granada, Boabdil.
After the conquest, it was transferred by the Catholic Monarchs to Hernando de Zafra, who made it his residence. Zafra tied to establish a convent of Dominican nuns in this building and adjacent buildings, although he did not succeed, it eventually being converted into a Franciscan convent by Queen Isabel, inhabited from 1507 to this day by nuns of the order of St Clare. The building is centered by a rectangular patio, with a small pool toward the south side, with porticoes on the north and south sides. Due to being a cloistered monastery, it has maintained its former Islamic forms and part of its former Nasrid decoration intact. The inscriptions carved into the plaster of the viewpoint enhance the private nature of the house with words and phrases of celebration such as “Blessing”, “Happiness”, “Health is perpetual” and “Joy continues”. The upper floor retains the style of Islamic houses and has wonderful views over the Axarea quarter, with its mosque converted into a church of San Cristóbal and the Zirid wall Its small garden is irrigated with water from the Aynadanar canal, from the large Aljibe del Rey cistern, located nearby, reaching it through the so-called Arch of the Nuns.Read more