Churches and Monuments: Alhambra
From Spain of the Spanish by Janie Villiers-Wardell, 1909
From: 1491 C.E. To: 1913 C.E.
Location: Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From Spain of the Spanish by Janie Villiers-Wardell, 1909.
The Alhambra
It has been said that all lovers of Spain find themselves the prey of mixed emotions on visiting Granada! This is a sweeping assertion and not a little misleading, but it is probable that its roots have been cherished by the waters of truth, for Granada, at first sight, seems to fall very short of the wonderful Moorish capital of our imagination: that romantic city which remained the stronghold of the Caliphs for two centuries and a half after the triumph of the Christians in Cordova, in Sevilla, and in Toledo.
Let those who will testify to the contrary, Granada of the present day is a City of the Dead. The Alhambra is the vast and unrivalled Valhalla of the Moorish kings!
Modern life in the ancient capital is a parasitic growth: but with this modern life we are not concerned.
In the Hall of the Ambassadors, in the exquisite Court of Lions, in the fragrant gardens of the Generalife, we find—if we but look for them—the spirits of Mohammed V, who, in the Court of Myrtles, is eulogised in such glowing words as these:
"Thou givest safety from the breeze to the blades of grass, and inspirest terror in the very stars of Heaven. When the shining stars quiver, it is through dread of thee, and when the grass of the field bends down it is to give thee thanks”; of Aisha, the wife of Abul-Has-an, whose happiness was wrecked by the charms of the beautiful Spanish slave Zorayah—the “Morning Star"; of Boabdil, the luckless son of Aisha, who, in the year 1491, was forced to deliver up the keys of the Alhambra to Ferdinand of Aragon, and of whose life story an Arab historian has written—"Blessed be Allah, who exalteth and abaseth the kings of the earth according to his divine will, in the fulfilment of which consists that eternal justice which regulates all human affairs."
Countless other restless spirits, who in past days bore great names, people the Alhambra and take their pleasure on the matchless Vega, and it is into this society of invisible kings and nobles that we must enter if we are to appreciate and understand Granada.
I have often wished to offer my services as guide to persons visiting Granada for the first time: so much, so very much, depends on first impressions, and in so many cases these are absolutely and hopelessly wrong!
To obtain the best from the best it should be so arranged that this pilgrimage to the "Glory of the Kings" should begin in the afternoon of a hot day in late spring. And the first hours in Granada ought, if possible, to be spent in the Generalife—the magnificent summer palace of the Moorish
kings.
Here, more markedly than in any other part of Andalusia, we find an atmosphere purely Moorish: palace, courts, gardens, and architecture alike recall the glories of the past, and it does not require a very vivid imagination to people with stately forms the great avenue of sombre cypress trees through which we approach the palace. The wealth of glorious flowers and foliage in the garden court comes as a revelation: jessamines, myrtles, orange blossoms, and a hundred other sweet-smelling flowers grow on all sides in luxuriant abundance, and the walls are literally covered with pale yellow roses.
I once heard a writer, an inveterate traveller, say that in all the world only three things had failed to disappoint him : the Taj Mahal, the Mosque at Cordova, and the Generalife!
And then, just before sunset, make a visit to San Miguel el Alto, from which a splendid view is obtained. The Alhambra, with its red walls and tiled roofs, and its base of vivid green: the wonderful, silent, Vega, which spreads itself out like a great carpet of young green under the shadow of the "Mountains of the Moon."
And then, later on, the nightingales will serenade you from their home in the forest of elms which, so it is said, were planted by the Duke of Wellington. And with the moonlight and the nightingales the glamour of Granada will enter into possession of its kingdom!
Of the Alhambra much has been written and said, but its subtle charms have not yet been exhausted. Individual minds find individual points of special interest, but I think that if it were put to the vote it would be found that to true lovers of Andalusia the Court of Lions in the "Red Palace" heads the list of favourites. And yet it is quite small, this world-famous court: smaller than the Court of Myrtles close by.
In the centre is the Lion Fountain, with its twelve Byzantine beasts crouching in stiff poses: lions with round and flattened heads and semicircular ears, with looped up manes and solid, square legs. And from the mouth of each beast there comes a great spout of dear water!
And surrounding the Lion Fountain there is a delicious arcade supported by delicate columns, and these columns are covered with a network of fine lace, cut into the stone.
When you stand under the arcades of the Court of Lions and feast your eyes on the gleaming tiles and mosaics—a bewildering scheme of azure and ivory, your thoughts unconsciously go back to Boabdil the luckless, and you understand that he was justified in saying, "Woe is me. When was sorrow ever equal to mine?" as he turned and looked upon his lost Alhambra—for the last time.
The best known feature of the Alhambra is the Hall of the Ambassadors, at the base of the Tower of Comares. Here the Moorish love of splendour of colour and elaborate design is most perfectly realised.
It is a lofty room with alcoves on three sides and the walls are covered with the richest ornamentations it is possible to imagine. Each of the nine alcoves shows a different scheme of decoration, the designs being of exceeding intricacy and delicate as the finest embroidery. It is asserted that 150 different designs may be found on the walls of this unique Hall of Ambassadors. The roof is made of larch wood, and is intricately carved and inset with ivory and mother-of-pearl.
So gorgeous is the colouring in this room that it is a relief to pass out into the Court of Myrtles, where the pavement is of marble and where a long pool of clear water gleams silver against its frame of myrtle hedges. Between the Hall of the Ambassadors and the Patio de la Alberca, or Court of Myrtles, lies the Sala de la Barca, the atrium of the Tower of Comares.
Everywhere in the Alhambra inscriptions are to be found, but of those over the arches of the recesses in the Sala de la Barca one is specially worthy of mention, for it is delightfully poetic.
"He who comes to me, tortured by thirst, will find water, pure and fresh, sweet and unmixed. I am like the rainbow, when it shines, and the sun is my lord."
Wardell, Janie Villiers. Spain of the Spanish. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1909.
About TOTA
TOTA.world provides cultural information and sharing across the world to help you explore your Family’s Cultural History and create deep connections with the lives and cultures of your ancestors.
