Alhambra - History

The Alhambra (Red Castle) (in Arabic الحمراء) is an ancient palace and fortress complex of the Moorish monarchs of Granada, in southern Spain (known as Al-Andalus when the fortress was constructed), occupying a hilly terrace on the south-eastern border of the city of Granada. Alhambra - Overview. This terrace or plateau, which measures about 740 m (2430 ft) in length by 205 m (674 ft) at its greatest width, extends from W.N.W. to E.S.E., and covers an area of about 142,000 m². It is encl ...

Including:

• Alhambra - Overview
• Alhambra - History
• Alhambra - Setting
• Alhambra - A tour of the Alhambra
• Alhambra - Miscellaneous

Read more here: » Alhambra: Encyclopedia - Alhambra

The name Alhambra, signifying in Arabic the red (Al Hamra الحمراء), is probably derived from the colour of the sun-dried tapia, or bricks made of fine gravel and clay, of which the outer walls are built. Some authorities, however, hold that it commemorates the red flare of the torches by whose light the work of construction was carried on nightly for many years; others associate it with the name of the founder, Mahomet Ibn Al Ahmar; and others derive it from the Arabic Dar al Amra, House of the Master. The ...

See also:

Alhambra, Alhambra - Overview, Alhambra - History, Alhambra - Setting, Alhambra - A tour of the Alhambra, Alhambra - Miscellaneous

Read more here: » Alhambra: Encyclopedia II - Alhambra - History

The Moorish portion of the Alhambra resembles many medieval Christian strongholds in its threefold arrangement as a castle, a palace and a residential annexe for subordinates. The Alcazaba or citadel, its oldest part, is built on the isolated and precipitous foreland which terminates the plateau on the north-west. Only its massive outer walls, towers and ramparts are left. On its watch-tower, the Torre de la Vela, 25 m (85 ft high), the flag of Ferdinand and Isabella was first raised, in token of the Spanish conquest of Granada, on Ja ...

See also:

Alhambra, Alhambra - Overview, Alhambra - History, Alhambra - Setting, Alhambra - A tour of the Alhambra, Alhambra - Miscellaneous

Read more here: » Alhambra: Encyclopedia II - Alhambra - A tour of the Alhambra

The situation of the Alhambra is one of rare natural beauty; the plateau commands a wide view of the city and plain of Granada, towards the west and north, and of the heights of the Sierra Nevada, towards the east and south. Moorish poets described it as "a pearl set in emeralds," in allusion to the brilliant colour of its buildings, and the luxuriant woods round them. The park (Alameda de la Alhambra), which in spring is overgrown with wild-flowers and grass, was planted by the Moors with roses, oranges and myrtles; its most characteristic ...

See also:

Alhambra, Alhambra - Overview, Alhambra - History, Alhambra - Setting, Alhambra - A tour of the Alhambra, Alhambra - Miscellaneous

Read more here: » Alhambra: Encyclopedia II - Alhambra - Setting