The Alhambra, Granada, Spain
One of the citadels of Moorish power in the Mediterranean, the Alhambra has a history as sad as the palace is beautiful.
The Moors, African Muslims in medieval times, once inhabited vast lands in Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and southern Spain. As Spanish supremacy grew, the Moors were gradually pushed out of the Iberian peninsula (which encompasses present-day Spain, Portugal and Andorra). By 1200 AD their last stronghold was Granada where they continued to live for three more centuries.
The Moors were finally brutally evicted from the peninsula by the armies of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in their quest to establish a Christian Spain. The Moors and Jews of Granada had to either flee, face death or embrace Catholicism. The court at the Alhambra in the centuries that followed was transformed. Attempts were made to obliterate its Moorish art and style; fortunately, they were not successful.
The Alhambra is an intriguing mix of buildings in Spanish-Christian and Moorish styles.
Some facts you probably did not know:
The word Alhambra means red for the colour of the complex.
The earliest building at Alhambra must have come up around 800 AD.
Alhambra is home to a large population of nightingales and there are groves of orange and myrtle trees.
Photograph: Jose Luis Roca/AFP/Getty Images
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