Showing posts with label Generalife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Generalife. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

An afternoon at the Alhambra Granada

On Wednesday 31 October 201, my wife and I paid a visit to the Alhambra in Granada.

The Alhambra reigns supreme in the city of Granada and rightly so. If it stood on a flat plain, it would still be one of the most spectacular fortresses ever built. However, it sits at the top of the highest wooded hill in the city. Not only that - this red-walled palace has the fairy-tale backdrop of the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada.

Alhambra viewed from the Mirador San Nicolás
There's lots to see in the grounds...
....like the Convent of San Francisco where you don't have to have religious tendencies to stay because it also serves as a Parador...

Convent of San Francisco
There are pleasant views...

...the Sierra Nevada...
 

...and the Albaicin area of Granada...


Alcazaba wall
The distant views might be spectacular but the interior of the Alhambra is simply stupendous! There is so much of artistic merit to see. However, there are four main areas to explore: the Alcazaba, the Palace of Charles V, the Casa Real or Royal Palace and the Generalife Gardens.



The 'must see' part of the Alhambra is the Royal Palace which really comprises a number of buildings called the Nasrid Palaces. They are the central nucleus of the Alhambra. Visitors, who have already admired other parts of this magnificent fortress, are spellbound when they encounter the magnificence of these palaces. If you do not have time to explore the Alhambra in totality, you simply must allow time to visit the Nasrid Palaces! They are built around three courtyards - the Golden Room, the Myrtle Courtyard and the Lion Courtyard.
Such is their splendour and unsurpassed beauty, that I cannot really find the words to describe the exquisite detail of the palace interiors, so I won't! Instead, I will add a few of the many photographs that I took!

ceiling of the Comares Palace
Patio del Cuarto Dorado
In all the rooms of each palace and patio the walls and ceilings are exquisitely decorated...




Patio de los Arrayanes

Patio de los Leones
Sala de los Abencerrages

alcove in the Sala de la Barca
...even little alcoves are exquisitely decorated!




 







---another beautiful ceiling in the Hall of the Two Sisters!

Sala de las dos hermanas - ceiling

a view from the Alhambra
There are a number of lovely patios and gardens in the Nasrid Palace complex...

Jardines de Daraxa

another pleasant garden in the Alhambra - the Jardines del Partal...



and then, of course, there are the Generalife Gardens...



I have covered only a small part of this magnificent World Heritage site. To see more photos of the Alhambra and Generalife click on the link below...

http://www.panoramio.com/user/2391258/tags/Alhambra


more blogs by Robert Bovington...

"Spanish Impressions"
"postcards from Spain"
"you couldn't make it up!"
"a grumpy old man in Spain"
"bits and bobs"
"Spanish Expressions"
"Spanish Art"
"Books About Spain"

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Granada

Granada is a city in the autonomous region of Andalucía, situated at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. It is one of the great cities of Spain if not the World. 

When visiting Granada it is tempting to spend all one's time admiring the Alhambra. From afar one can admire the beauty of its red walled parapets contrasting with the snow capped Sierra Nevada whilst once inside one can absorb oneself in the sheer splendour of its fantastic palaces and its tranquil gardens. However, Granada has much more to offer the visitor. 

It is a city where both Moorish and Christian history is visible in art and architecture. 

Moorish Granada is exemplified by the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the Alhambra, the Generalife and the Albaicín district whilst the Capilla Real and the Cathedral represent Christian Granada.

view of an Alhambra tower and a carmen
on the Alhambra hill
      photo R.Bovington






















for more photographs of Granada click on the following link....


Robert Bovington
28 February 2012