Art Museums We Loved In Europe & Asia, the Alhambra, Seville, Spain.

By David Russell

On the leg from Cordoba towards Seville, I found the road a hard drive; 2 hours of continuous shifting turns until we reached E-904, N-431, a smooth, straight road into the Alhambra area. Finding our hotel, Washington Irving, was easy because the Hotel had large signs posted with directions two miles before we reached the city. Too bad other hotels don’t do the same, it would save a lot of getting lost. Finding a city is always so much easier than finding a local address.

Alhambra & Generalife – Morning Visit C49.

Tour includes: entrance fee, transport, Official guide.
Private tours available.

The Washington Irving was a period piece with little restoration. I had fallen in love with its description in a book read years back. Unfortunately it was just as described in that old book. It turned out not to be our best option when we saw the new nearby Generalife Hotel with its air-conditioned rooms and lovely pool. But our stay was to see the nearby Alhambra and we would be there only 2 days.

How old was the Washington Irving? It got it’s name during Washington Irving’s actual stay there, where he penned “The Sleepy Hollow”. Today, Frommer’s doesn’t even list it in it’s top 42 area hotels. Be careful what you wish for, sometimes you get it.

But, from the WI, it was an easy walk to the Alhambra. Once there we climbed up to the old walls to see what remained of the collapsed city and the updated glorious new city rebuilt by Arab artisans. Their challenge had been a monster of a job; they had to make Mosaics which matched the ancient Mosaics on the Palace floors, walls and ceiling. Their embellishment was to add handsome wall filigrees which updated the overall look. We and bus loads of arriving tour groups marveled over the work and the outside carefully tended Generalife Gardens.

Two and a half hours later, seeing in life what we’d seen previously only in photos as we left for lunch, we were still in awe of the Alhambra.

Alhambra (Arabic: الْحَمْرَاء‎, Al-Ḥamrā' , literally "the red one") consists of a number of palaces within a fortress complex originally constructed by Moorish rulers during the mid 14th century.

The artistic construction was at the will the last Muslim Emirs in Spain. However, after years of careful, beautifully luxurious work, when the Catholics re-conquested it, they changed many sections at their whim. Charles V while building himself a Palace inside the Alhambra, changed walls placement and closed many apartments. Then, after using it only for a short period they departed, deserting the Alhambra to the elements. All the original work and their changes fell into centuries of disrepair. When Eastern Scholars “rediscovered” Alhambra in the 19^th century, they soon began its restoration, a daunting task.

Today, Alhambra is one of Spain's major tourist attractions, exhibiting the country's most significant Islamic architecture together with 16th-century buildings and gardens. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Alhambra remains an inspiration for songs and stories.

Moorish poets once described it as "a pearl set in emeralds," an allusion to the color of its buildings and the woods around them and the roses, oranges and myrtles which bloom each Spring along with grasses and wildflowers, as well as the dense wood of English Elms planted by the Duke of Wellington.

In spite of its long neglect, willful vandalism and sometimes ill-judged restoration, the Alhambra remains an excellent example of Muslim art uninfluenced by Byzantine influences.

During its years of existence, the Alhambra has been changed many times to please different rulers. However, each followed the consistent theme of "paradise on earth", with fountains of running water and reflecting pools. Regardless of interior change, the exterior always remained plain and austere. Sun and wind pass through freely which has faded Alhambra’s chief colors of Blue, Red and a Golden Yellow. As a rule its decorations are of stiff, conventional foliage with Arabic inscriptions and geometrical patterns wrought into arabesques. The wall paneling throughout, consists of matching tile patterns.

The Palace Architecture and Design

A room of the palace and a view of the Court of the Lions.

The palaces with typical Moorish design ushered in the last period of Andalusian art in Spain. Primarily, the horseshoe arch, the use of palms, stilted arches and stalactite ceiling decorations.

Interiors are decorated with arabesques.

The Catholic conquerors who almost destroyed Alhambra, filled much open work with whitewash and also defaced painting and gilding. Furniture was soiled, torn or removed. The Palace Charles V (1516–1556) began for himself was never completed, however, he managed to destroy the greater part of the winter palace. Philip V (1700–1746) Italianized the rooms and added many partitions that blocked up whole apartments.

Over the next centuries the Moorish art was further damaged by the French, then an earthquake. Working to bring Alhambra back to its original glory, restoration was seriously undertaken by the architect José Contreras, After his death, work was continued by his son and grandson. In time, Alhambra began to regain it’s original self as the beauty of Paradise.

If you visit now, the Alhambra you’ll see is a medley of gardens, fountains and streams embellishing a palace and a mosque, all within an imposing fortress wall.

Access to Alhambra Park is through a triumphal arch called the Gate of Pomegranates,. A steep walk takes you past the Pillar of Charles V to the main entrance, the Gate of Judgment, a massive horseshoe archway topped by a square tower. The hand of Fatima, with fingers outstretched as a talisman against the evil eye, is carved above this gate. You continue through a narrow passage inward to the Place of the Cisterns and you’re stunned by Alhambra’s one-of-a-kind beauty. Take the hours to fully enjoy it; there isn’t another Alhambra in the world. It’s as singular as the Taj Mahal.

Next week we look in on an art museum that was first a city, the Imperial Art Museum of Beijing plus a short visit to the Imperial City we knew on our first China visit.