{"id":3682,"date":"2019-08-29T18:53:19","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T16:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/?p=3682"},"modified":"2019-09-02T08:17:18","modified_gmt":"2019-09-02T06:17:18","slug":"the-jewel-of-nasrid-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/the-jewel-of-nasrid-art\/","title":{"rendered":"The jewel of Nasrid art"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex built between the 9th and 16th centuries on the top of a steep hill facing the Albaic\u00edn quarter of Granada. Boasting some three and a half million visitors a year, it is, after the Antonio Gaud\u00ed-designed Sagrada Familia in Barcelona (4.5 million visits a year), the second most visited tourist attraction in Spain and it is also usually included in the list of the most popular in the world.<\/p>\n

It consists of a military fortress, a medina quarter, several palaces and gardens and other buildings, mostly built by the sultans during Muslim rule over the Iberian Peninsula after moving their capital to Granada. This period ended with the conquest of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, the last territory held by the Muslims, by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, the same year as the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.<\/p>\n

At this point, the complex passed into the hands of Christian monarchs who added some buildings, such as a Renaissance-style palace commissioned by Emperor Charles V in 1526 and the Church of Santa Mar\u00eda, completed in 1618 on the site of an old mosque. After a period of neglect, the arrival of the Romantic era in the 19th century renewed interest in the complex and restoration works began. In 1898, ownership of the Alhambra was transferred to the Spanish state and shortly afterwards it was declared a national heritage site. In the early 20th century, the trust that today manages it was created, placing it under the auspices of the regional government of Andalusia, and, in 1984, it was listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.<\/p>\n

The palatine city<\/h4>\n

Despite the sprawl of the site, surrounded by two thousand metres of wall and thirty towers, and the variety of buildings of interest from different periods, what has made the Alhambra world famous are its palaces and gardens from the Muslim era and, in particular, the Nasrid dynasty. In spite of the characteristically low quality of construction materials used in Islamic architecture \u2013stone, brick and wood\u2013 and the exterior sobriety, the beauty and artistic quality of the interior rooms make it unique. Its gardens and courtyards, adorned with pools, ponds and fountains \u2013such as the famous fountain in the Court of the Lions, perhaps the most recognisable image of the complex\u2013 are also responsible for the Alhambra\u2019s uniqueness and universal reputation.<\/p>\n

It is located on an elevated site known as Sabika Hill that was initially used as a military post, probably beginning in Roman times. The first palace was built in the mid-13th century by the ruler Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr, better known as Ibn al-Ahmar, a name from which the name \u2018Alhambra\u2019 is believed to be derived, although other theories suggest that the name means \u2018red fortress.\u2019 Though this is not the colour of the buildings, the name is attributed to the optical effect produced by the torch lighting at night during construction. Successive rulers continued to add palaces and rooms, and reinforced the walled military zone, the Alcazaba, which is notable for the Place of Arms, the Sail Tower, the Weapons Tower and the Adarve Gardens. The walled site can be accessed by several gates, the most important of which are the Gate of Arms, the Gate of the Poor Quarter, the Gate of Justice\u00a0 and the Gate of the Seven Floors.<\/p>\n