This excursion was part of our 2009 cruise on the Windsurf from Lisbon to Barcelona. We took the ship's tour from the port in Malaga to Alhambra, a bus ride of about 1.5 hours inland through fertile country with lots of olive trees and fields with rows of asparagus. |
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The tour included the transportation, entrance fee, a nice lunch and a guide for groups of about twenty people. The weather was good, so we should have an interesting visit. |
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The map above shows some of the important parts of Alhambra. The entire complex is built against a hillside and overlooks the valley and the river Rio Darro. The latter is the blue line upper left. The red line is the defensive wall surrounding the important palaces and other buildings of Alhambra. But the elongated green area is Generalife, the Gardens of Alhambra. Notice the additional blue lines which represent the Acequia or aqua duct system throughout the area. The two pictures below show this channel as it crosses between the gardens and the main 'city'. A source of water has always been important for all cultures and Alhambra was certainly at a great location in the foothills of the snow covered Sierra Nevadas. |
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Our guided tour started at the lower end of Generalife and quickly followed the 'Patio of the Irrigation Ditch' . This was the summer place of the Nasrid sultans and was used only during the day because it lacked the defensive wall. Some of the buildings have seen several changes since the whole complex was started in the ninth century, The gardens date back to the reign of Muhammad III around 1305 and obviously a lot of restoration took place during the last century. |
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A section of the wall provides a view across the fields towards the towers and buildings of Alhambra and Granada in the distance. At one time a covered walkway and bridge connected the gardens and the main defensive section. |
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At the end of the 'Patio de la Acequia' is the main palace with its ornate columns and decorated chambers. This was the main day residence of the royal family. Later, during the Christian times, parts were converted to a chapel. Old sections of the wall dating back to around 1600 are still visible on the opposite side of the aqua duct. |
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After exploring the interior, we exited the palace through the 'Patio of the Cypress'. According to a legend sultan Boabdil's wife was meeting her lover, a knight, in this area. When the sultan found out, he had the entire nobel Abencerrajes family executed by slitting their throats. From here we walked back and continued our excursion of the palaces of Alhambra. |
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