Alhambra Generalife

Do not forget that although the Generalife is, like the Alhambra, a predominantly Muslim construction, the cultural influence of its architectural conceptions is Christian and was always of great importance prior to 1492, for the continued treatment with neighboring kingdoms and isolation from the rest of Islam. This was done by using and adapting the spaces of Western conceptions carried out by its various owners and residents. Another example of the above is the opening along the courtyard of a broad viewpoint in Christian times.

Sala Regia

At the end of the courtyard of the Ditch, and after a five-arched portico one can access the Sala Regia, beautifully decorated with plasterwork. The decoration of this room like the rest of the set is comparatively more sober than the halls of the Alhambra. As a rural town of rest, lack of ostentation should be predominant. As Don Leopoldo Torres Balbas said "In the Generalife everything is simple and intimate. There is nothing, architecture or nature, conditioned by the hand of man who tries to amaze us with pretensions of grandeur or monumentality."

Courtyard of the Sultana Cypress

View of the courtyard of the Sultana cypress, from the terrace of the maxilla which limits the patio

The Sala Regia is accessed via a staircase, a body double of Renaissance galleries, which opens to the Courtyard of the Cypress of the Sultana, star of mysteries in the tradition of Granada, and in which the legend narrated by Gines Perez de Hita, encountered situations between Boabdil's wife with a gentleman, a member of clan Abencerrajes, a relative of Sultan. The court, highly modified in Christian times, retains however, the influence of its former inhabitants, in what he called Chueca Goitia castizos invariant, and the romantic charm of its suppliers and its lush vegetation. The construction of the courtyard dates back to the period between the late thirteenth century and the first quarter of the century XIV.

Patio de la Acequia

The first and more emblematic of the courts is called the Acequia. The four-yard Arabic (Char-Bagh) layout of Persian origin has a long tradition in Andalusia and is highly conditioned by the provision required by longitudinal fields and enhanced by the presence of the Acequia Real, which carried water to the rest of orchards and then to the Alhambra. In this way, the other arm of the cross is only hinted at by a break in the vegetation, and a low supply at the intersection of both. The ditch is full with two rows of jets that cross their streams of water dramatically, which were added in the nineteenth century.

Upper Gardens and Water Ladder

Then, continuing the climb through the ladder of lions, one arrives at the so-called Upper Gardens of the Palace. To do this we will pass through the Straight of Water, an ingenious artifice in the service of the Senses. The main aim of this ladder was the palace of the Generalife that communicates with a small chapel atop the hill. Access and slope, were concerns that the mason was able to save with singular Nazari mastery: the stairs, interrupted by several circular landings chaired by sources available, has two channels and handrails made humble and whitewashed brick and tile. For these runs the water of the Acequia Real is rugged and irregularly produces a symphony of peace and rest, and moistens the atmosphere, all under a closed canopy of laurels. The resulting space, shady and cool, serves to make the pre-prayer ablutions. The staircase is a lesson and architectural response to a condition making a virtue of necessity and with poor materials.

It was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1984. It was built during the XII-XIV centuries and was transformed by Abu I-Walid Isma'il. Nazari is an Arabic style and is situated on the northern side of the Alhambra. At the time of its construction, it was located outside the perimeter of Muslim Granada, and had no direct communication with the Alhambra, with its main access road to the Aikabia Barranco and the current Cuesta de los Chinos rising from the river Darro.

It consists of a set of buildings, courtyards and gardens that make it one of the greatest attractions of the city of Granada, and, together with the Alhambra, one of the most remarkable architectural complexes of civil architecture in mulsulmana. From the outside looking at two pavilions located north and south, it is connected by a courtyard tour of the water course. The Generalife presently has three paths, one from the Alhambra, one from the Sultan and his entourage, the other was located towards the southeast, near the entrance pavilion, and a third in the north, called Postigo de rams.

View from theAlhambra Generalife

Models reproduce the confined spaces of the courtyards of Nazari Granada. The judicious combination of historic references and grenadine tradition (cobblestones, the use of water, lush flower beds etc) makes New Gardens prominent and widely seen as inseparable from the palaces of the above.

In 1954 an outdoor auditorium was opened, mainly used for ballet performances of music and dance festivals of Granada. Below the gardens above, the Generalife is accessed through two courtyards of entry to the architectural Nazari, which, being built on a hillside, follows a composition (paratas) to be the basis of many carmenes Granada.

It is staggered in narrow strips separated by walls. Thus, the builders created a series of intimate spaces called Recoletos that are common characteristics of Muslim architecture, but also dump the exceptional views of the city and the Alhambra. The first courtyard is accessed by having a bench along the back wall. The second is a steep staircase to the courtyard of the Acequia.

Generalife is the villa with gardens used by the Muslim kings of Granada as a resting place. It was conceived as a rural village, where ornamental gardens, orchards and architecture were integrated in the vicinity of the Alhambra. The name's origin is disputed. Some advocate Yannat al-Arif as the Architect Huerta. The real garden courts were common in Hispanic-Arabic.