Life & Style D E S T I N AT I O N S
Splendor in the Light
The Alhambra – a palace, fortress and township of long-ago Moors – exudes architectural symbolism in Granada, Spain.
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nsconced in the Andalusian hills and bluffs of Granada is the imposing Alhambra. The last citadel of the Moors of southern Spain, with the Sierra Nevada cresting behind, must be on your list of
places to visit. The historic architectural stunner was an alcazar (palace), an alcazaba (fortress) and a medina (township) as well as a masterpiece of harmonious natural light, tones and effects. The brilliant union of three colors (depending on the time of day) reflects the iron hue of the structure. Red at dawn becomes gold during the day before turning to silver in moonlight. The word • Avoid the August heat so you can linger during hamra is Arabic for red. Tinges your tour. of orange and gold also appear • Buy a guidebook so you can read details (beon the towers and ramparts, as fore or afterward) and concentrate on visuals and well as an ochre oxidization of photography while touring. • Arrange for tickets early and beware of crowded the marble. The jalis (decorative grilles), parking and admission lines. Kufic calligraphy and other • Read the first chapters of The Constant Princess stylistic treasures of Arabic by Philippa Gregory to imagine Katherine of script in white cursive of verses Aragon’s childhood perspective of the palace. (She and poems are inscribed within became the first wife of England’s Henry VIII.) the architecture. Geometric pat• Refamiliarize yourself with King Ferdinand terns create a celestial imagery and Queen Isabella’s commission of Christopher of stars and heavens within the Columbus’ explorations of the New World.
TRAVEL TIPS
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OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE | MARCH 2019
mesmerizing carpentry. Some of the many sections of the estate include the Royal Bath, the Hall of Two Sisters, the Court of the Lions and the Hall of the Kings. Porticos are separated by arches of stalactites based on a fretwork rhombus. Marquetry, intricately carved plaster, vivid tiles and mosaics provide other decorative details. The seven heavens of the cosmos were symbolically arranged within seven levels for the royals, who once sat “shielded” beneath this canopy. The 23 towers and four gates, which loom over the Granada skyline, included prisons, carpenters’ homes, barracks, bathhouses, mosques and dwellings for (reportedly) 40,000 people at one point. This Moor edifice became a Christian court in 1492 under Roman Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella. During the 18th century and part of the 19th century, the Alhambra fell into neglect, with many sec-
