{"id":25149,"date":"2024-01-31T10:35:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T09:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fromplacetoplace.travel\/?p=25149"},"modified":"2024-01-26T10:04:26","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T09:04:26","slug":"alhambra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromplacetoplace.travel\/spain\/andalusia\/granada\/alhambra\/","title":{"rendered":"Beautiful Alhambra in Granada"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the most visited tourist attractions in Spain is located in Granada, Andalusia. More than 2 million people visit the Alhambra every year. Is the Alhambra, which has been a World Heritage Site since 1984, really worth a visit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"Granada<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What is an Alhambra?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Alhambra is a building complex typical of the Middle Ages. It consists of a fortified upper city in which the nobility, the military, the armourers and also the higher-ranking bourgeoisie and merchants lived. A fortified citadel for the ruler, known in Granada as the Alcazaba (city castle), is also part of the complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the Alhambra was built in Granada<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After the Moors had conquered the Iberian Peninsula, they built a castle complex on the already populated castle hill. This is already mentioned in documents from the 9th-12th century as “Ma’qil Ilb\u012bra” (Elvira Fortress). However, it is not known what the castle complex looked like at this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mauern<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1238, Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr Al-Ahmar moved his residence to Granada and ordered the construction of a citadel on the site of today’s Alhambra. In the following decades, the various rulers remodelled the citadel so that it was only used for military purposes. The remaining areas of the upper town became the seat of government and administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1492, the last Moorish ruler in Granada capitulated and the fortress fell to the Catholic Monarchs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The time after 1492<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Spanish kings appointed Don \u00cd\u00f1igo L\u00f3pez de Mendoza y Qui\u00f1ones as royal administrator of the Alhambra. The first remodelling work began under his administration. He had a huge cistern built between the Alcazaba and the palace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When King Charles I (later known as Emperor Charles V) later planned to make Granada the seat of government of the Spanish kingdom, construction work progressed rapidly. A Renaissance palace was built, although it was never completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After the occupation of Spain by the French under Napoleon, they blew up parts of the Alhambra during their retreat. They wanted to prevent any munitions left behind from falling into the hands of the Spanish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the years that followed, the huge complex received little attention. It was not until the 19th century that restoration and maintenance work began to preserve this unique building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit to the Alhambra in Granada<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you want to visit the Alhambra, you need to buy your ticket in advance<\/a>. Especially in the summer months, it can happen that there are no more tickets available. We were there in March and already in December of the previous year we only found limited free dates (there are fixed time slots for the Nasrid Palaces).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you can no longer buy tickets, you can walk around the former medina between the buildings without a ticket and get a small impression of the complex. Today, there are mainly gardens and foundations of the original buildings, a church (Santa Mar\u00eda de la Alhambra) and a monastery dedicated to St Francis of Assisi, which now houses a hotel. It is best to use the side entrance (Puerta de la Justicia or Puerta de los Carros) to the palace complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nebeneingang<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The entire complex can be divided into four large areas: the Medina, the palaces of the Nasarids, the Alcazaba and the Generalife area outside the walls. The complex is surrounded by high and very massive walls. If you stand in Granada and look up at the Alhambra, these walls conceal the size of the complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lageplan<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You need a lot of time to visit the whole complex, we were there for over 3 hours. We even visited the complex twice. Once during the day and then in the evening, when the buildings are illuminated inside and out. However, we didn’t visit the gardens in the evening and only bought a ticket for the Nasrid Palaces. It was an unforgettable experience for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walking to the Alhambra<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are two footpaths to the Alhambra. We opted for the historic route, which starts at the Puerta de las Granadas. The path to the entrance is steep, supposedly over 20% uphill, but beautiful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Stadttor<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The beautiful gate at the beginning of the path dates back to 1536 and formed the entrance to the town. Behind it begins the former poplar avenue that leads up to the complex. Today you walk through a shady forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the way, you pass a large fountain basin. The Pilar de Carlos V was built by the Count of Tendilla by Pedro Machuca in the 16th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Brunnen<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you continue on to the main entrance, you walk underneath the walls, which give you a first impression of the size of the complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nasrid Palaces<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Nasrid Palaces were once the seat of government and the private rooms of the Moorish ruler. To visit them, you need an admission ticket that is only valid during a certain time slot. Very important – you have to provide your ID details when buying the ticket and then show it on entry, bags are x-rayed and large objects are prohibited. Visitors, who wait in a long queue, are allowed into the palace complex every 30 minutes. This naturally leads to “traffic jams” in the building at the favourite photo spots. So either walk quickly in front of the group or calmly after the group. Once you are in the building, nobody will rush you and you can take your time to see everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Wandgestaltung\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I find it difficult to describe the beauty and splendour of the rooms. Walking through the illuminated palace in the evening is like stepping into a fairytale of 1000 and 1 Nights. Shadows dance between the ornate columns and the light makes the rooms seem almost mystical. During the day, these rooms still look impressive, but I didn’t find them quite as impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n