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| Moorish ceiling at the Alhambra - Granada, Spain |
Alhambra is power. Alhambra is knowledge.
There are many fortresses to visit in Spain, in Europe and in the World, but the Alhambra, in Granada has something unique and special.
You realize this immediately, as soon as you look at the Alhambra from Granada's old town narrow alleys.
This Moorish fortress, overlooking the town, didn't protect just men and treasures.
It protected also art and culture, things even more rare and precious.
The Alhambra contains a genial and perfect world, a word so special that it has to be protected by high, strong walls.
The Alhambra contains a genial and perfect world, a word so special that it has to be protected by high, strong walls.
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Alhambra,
late afternoon
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It
is said to be the Heaven on the Earth.
It is said to possess God's beauty.
It is
said to possess the most beautiful birds, the freshest water, the
most colourful flowers and the biggest trees.
Once
upon a time the best artists, the most skillful musicians, the most
inspired poets and the most beautiful women were living at the
Alhambra.
The
Alhambra is a world of perfect symmetries, of incredible prospectives
and of unreal panoramas.
Watch our video of the Alhambra.
Click on the "play button" and enlarge the screen clicking on the bottom right button
It
is easy to be envious of Washington Irving, the American writer who
visited the Alhambra when it wasn't yet so touristy and noisy.
He
visited the Alhambra when it was silent and it was abandoned and in
the loneliness and in the peace of this place he found the
inspiration to write “The legends of the Alhambra”.
The Alhambra inspired Irving's romantic tales of love and of war.
The
Alhambra is particularly beautiful when the sun rises. It is magic to
enter through the large decorated gates or to stop in the park in
front of the statue of Washington Irving and look to the huge towers
of this fortress.
The
Tower of Justice seems really to hide a treasure, with its large key
and its open hand sculpted at the top.
The
treasure is at Nazaries Palace. It is the large fountain surrounded
by twelve lions. Maybe the lions are there to guard the fantastic
ceiling in the Sala de la Dos Hermanas.
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| The amazing El Generalife's Palace |
Each
room of the Palace has a ceiling differently decorated.
In the Templada Room on
the ceiling is represented the sky.
In the Kings Room the ceiling is
decorated with wonderful geometric figures, so beautiful that you
need to sit and look at them for a while to take in their beauty.
Outside
in the large garden, beautiful plants are lining along the road that
connect the Nazaries Palace with the Generalife.
The
Generalife is the private house of the King at the Alhambra.
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| All the beauty of the palace... unfortunatley not us beautifully kept... |
There
the king used to retire, away from his court, to think and take
decisions.
The
Generalife, with the large pool in front, reminds immediately of the
Indian Taj Mahal.
Although much more little than the Indian wonder,
the pool of the Generalife is very beautiful, particularly in spring
when the yellow and violets flowers are reflecting in the water.
The
Alhambra is a unique place, situated in the heart of Granada. Granada
is a beautiful historic city situated in the Spanish region of
Andalucia.
Read here How to visit Granada and The Alhambra.
Read also our page Visit Spain for more posts, tips and itineraries for your travel in Spain.