We went to see the Alhambra which is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is located above Granada and overlooks the city. It was constructed as a small fortress in 889 AD on the remains of Roman fortifications. In the mid 13th century it was rebuilt by the Moorish emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar, who built its current palace and walls.
The Alhambra was an amazing place with numerous buildings and scenery that is absolutely breathtaking. Once inside it was easy to see just how complex the Alhambra site was. It is a self-contained city with a Fortress, Palace and array of other support building and areas.
There were flowering wisteria vines, flowering trees and assorted gardens throughout the entire Alhambra and the smells were amazing.
We walked through the grounds of the Alhambra, for about 3 hours admiring the architecture and historic buildings. One of the areas we saw was the Palace of the Moorish emir. The Palace contained a centre courtyard with a water feature which you could see the reflection of the building.
The Palace was beautiful with spectacular detailed arabic designs. There was a pool of water in one of the rooms of the palace that reflected the ceiling which was designed with an intricate star pattern surrounded by windows letting light reflect off the design.
Rooms were adorn with detailed arabic designs.
The covered terrace area was also very detailed and intricately designed.
Once the Christian Reconquista occurred in 1492, the Alhambra became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella the King and Queen of Spain. Ferdinand ordered a Palace built for them to live in Alhambra. They began building the Palace but it was never completed because the King changed his mind.
We walked through several other garden areas and smaller buildings that were just as beautiful.
We walked to the upper garden area of Alhambra and we came across some beautiful views and gardens.
We finished our tour of Alhambra by walking along the path on the upper section of the garden. There was a long hedge system with beautiful scenery all along the way.
It was a very beautiful spot and we really enjoyed our day exploring the ancient buildings and history of Alhambra.
“Adios y que tenga un grand días”
Wow!! You two are totally retracing our honeymoon footsteps. Some of your photos are near replicas of one’s I took 31 years ago ….. so cool!
When you arrived at the palace, was there Gypsys’ begging for money??
We arrived there in a rental car …… they wanted money to ensure our car would be safe. Ya right!! …… we visibly tipped the front gate guard and pointed to our car …… Lol, all was fine when we gather done.
Next to Toledo, Granada was our favorite City. There was an amazing pizza restaurant there ….. the owner couldn’t believe how much we could eat ….. mind you, I was only 25 at the time.
Your blog is awesome, take care.
Neil
LOL .. thanks for the comment Neil, yes there is still gypsies and lots of people trying to sell stuff to the tourist. Granada is a beautiful spot for sure. Stay tune for more of a revisit to your honeymoon trip..We went to Toledo as well LOL