Architecture
Alhambra
Visible from afar, the approximately 740 m long and up to 220 m wide city castle enthrones on the Sabikah Hill above Granada. According to interpretations, the euphonious name Alhambra goes back to the Arabic term al-qal'at al-ḥamrā, which means "the red fortress". This interpretation is largely supported by the fact that the colour adjective (granat, i.e. red) is also found in the city name Granada.
Another assumption, on the other hand, refers to Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf ibn Naṣr, known by the epithet al-Aḥmar, "the Red". He is considered the founder of the Nasrid dynasty – the last Muslim-Moorish dynasty of the Emirate of Granada (1232-1492) in what is now the Spanish region of Andalusia. The Nasrids were considered patrons of the sciences and arts, so that the Alhambra developed under their influence into one of the most important Moorish-style buildings and was even designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.
The entire complex is often mistakenly referred to as the Alhambra. However, it is divided into several complexes, some of which can be attributed different functions, periods and influences.
The building complex known as the Alhambra is a combination of a fortified upper city and a separately fortified citadel, typical of the Middle Ages. This in turn is surrounded by a tower-fortified city wall – the Alcazaba. The heart of the city is formed by the Nasrid palaces, which include not only the incredibly richly decorated buildings of the palace city and several symbolic gardens, but also the palace of Karl V, built in the Renaissance style.
To the east of the entire complex – outside the fortress walls – is the summer palace Generalife, which is separated from the Alhambra by a ravine and was originally a completely independent complex.
The art-historical significance of the Muslim architecture is revealed above all when entering the Nasrid palaces. Here, the efforts of the former builders are unmistakable. Every column, every arch, every wall and every corner has decorative elements or is entirely of a decorative rather than a statically necessary nature. Furthermore, colourful ceramics, elaborate stucco and ornately carved woodwork adorn countless walls and ceilings. And despite the Islamic ban on pictures, nothing remains undecorated or unconsidered thanks to striking calligraphy – called Kufi. The most impressive architectural style element, however, are the so-called Muqarnas. These honeycomb-like, pointed-arch elements, set inside and on top of each other, usually form the transition or conclusion between a wall, a niche or a spandrel and an adjoining dome. Their decorative appearance is reminiscent of stalactite caves and therefore bears the significant name stalactite vaults.
A favourite motif of Granadian architects, on the other hand, were stylised tendril and interlace ornaments together with vegetative decorations. These arabesques not only decorate large areas of walls or niches and corners in the palaces. They often enclose the Kufic characters and, with their filigree features, form an impressive and at the same time harmonious contrast to the placative calligraphy.
The many palace buildings of the Alhambra always include gardens, which play an important symbolic role in the lives of Muslims as places full of longing, joy and pleasure. Thus, all these gardens are characterised by a paradisiacal atmosphere, which – in the interplay of Spanish and Arabic ideas – is supposed to touch all the senses. Aromatic fruits meet fragrant flowers, evergreen cypresses and hedges meet calming water features. And the play of light and shadow wanders over the garden walls, on which verses about the beauty of gardens are sometimes carved. The almost sacred significance of the gardens may also be expressed in the fact that they are directed inwards – protected by high walls and guarded from envious glances. Thus sheltered, those gardens corresponded to the idea of the perfect order of the world at that time, the Garden of Eden, the Paradise. The paradise that towers over Granada, visible from afar.
Spain, March 2022. | All words and photos by The Sturgheons.
