PALACE & COURTYARD OF THE LIONS

This was the focal point of the sultan's private dwellings. From the original entrance, the beauty of this patio progressively revelaed itself to the visitor. In either direction that he chose to take around the cloister, he found himself walking through a forest of gilded pillars, like gold fringes of lace hanging from the ski. "Ever since the Egyptian lotus capitals, never have columns been crowned more elegantly" (Oleg Grabar)  

The Comares complex including the Hall of the Ambassadors, or Throne Room, forms the most important nucleus of the Alhambra. Its balanced proportions lend the courtyard a feeling of serene majesty. The Mexuar is almost certainly the oldest surviving part of the royal palaces but also the one that has undergone most transformation since its early days.

  ALCAZABA, GATES, WALLS & TOWERS

The Alcazaba is the solitary forbear of an entire palatine city which would later come to be known as Madinat al-Hamra (The citadel of the Alhambra). Of the thirty or more towers which originally fortified the ramparts surrounding the Alhambra twenty-two still exist, each with its own name usually based on mundane usage.

The Generalife is the only one remaining of the many granges that once existed. It was a retreat where the Granadan monarchs could relax, away from the daily toil and bustle of the court.

THE PARTAL, THE MEDINA AND OTHER PALACES

From the 14th to the 16th century within the Alhambra walls in the Sabika hill existed a city (medina) of which little remains today. Yet, some nazrid houses and palaces managed to survive. The Partal includes the whole area besides the Palace of the Lions with the Tower of the Ladies and hanging gardens bordering the towers which provide a delightful stroll to the Generalife.

CHARLES V AND THE CHRISTIAN ALHAMBRA (

If any one monument can be so controversial and misunderstood and yet so often referred to as outstanding it is the Palace of Charles V. Romantic clichés vilified it as an attempt by authotitarian Spanish monarchs to erase the Muslim past but a more dispassiuonate look at history will reveal the contrary to be true. THeur intention was to reinforce Granada's role as a capital city by building great new monuments without destroying the old. Complementing rather than detracting from the past.

ALHAMBRA IN WHITE (WINTER IN THE ALHAMBRA)

These pictures were taken in January 2003 and January 2010 when Granada and the Alhambra got white for a few hours. These are once-in-a-while shoots of the Alhambra covered in snow. Something only seen twice in the last 20 years!

INSIDE THE ALHAMBRA AND GENERALIFE AT NIGHT

Unique pictures of the Alhambra and Generalife at night. A different, more romantic, quieter approach to the monument.

THE ALHAMBRA FROM GRANADA'S BEST VIEW POINTS

The Alhambra seen from Granada's best viewpoints including sunset shots from San Nicolas (the most beautiful in the world according to Bill Clinton's words) the Generalife Gardens.

 INFINITE UNIVERSES INFINITE UNIVERSES INFINITE 

A fascination for repetition and symmetry and the continuity of motifs is the prime motivation in Islamic art. Ornamental designs follow each other in reiterative rhythms towards infinity as a metaphor of eternityin.

 GRANADA PHOTO GALLERY  

Granada is a city filled with history, living with the hubbub and bustle of her squares, her streets, her gardens. A city that entices you to discover the secrets it keeps, a seductive temptation for any traveller. .