Day 49c. Alhambra, Granada

Today we took our only excursion. We went to Alhambra, the palace of the last Emir of the Arabic Calliphate of Spain. It was capture by King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castilla in the 15th Century.
While is was first a Roman fort and second a Arabic stronghold it was the Emirs that gave its its scale and magnificence. Isabelle and Ferdinand made minor changes and later King Carlos built the Summer Palace but it was the Moors (Arabas) that were the true architects of The Alhambra.
The palace fell into disuse in the 16th Century and for many years it was occupied by squatters, but in 1870 Washington Irving discovered it and popularised it with his novel "Life in the Alhambra" and since then it has been a tourist "mecca".
In the Alhambra the space is arranged as enclosed gardens separated by rooms and passage of intense beauty. Gardens are centered on water features with still reflective pool with water channelled from mountains 8km away.Read more