The Alhambra

216 Pages·2005·3.69 MB·English

by  Robert Irwin

wonders of the world
THE ALHAMBRA
ROBERT IRWIN
the alhambra
Robert Irwinlives in London.His fiction includes The Arabian Nightmare
(1983) and Exquisite Corpse(1995).His many books and articles on Islamic
subjects include The Arabian Nights:A Companion(1994),Islamic Art(1997)
and Night & Horses & the Desert:An Anthology ofClassical Arabic Literature.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Fellow of the
London Institute of Pataphysics.
‘Irwin is a brilliant Arab scholar and a storyteller.The Alhambra,aimed at
scholar and tourist alike,is a must for anyone visiting Moorish Spain.’
TimesHigher Education Supplement
‘This highly readable study provides both a welcome demystification and a
fascinating reinterpretation’The Scotsman
‘Essential reading not only for tourists to Andalusia but for all those
misguided enough to take a Robert Kilroy-Silk view of the major Arab
contributions to civilisation.’Daily Mail
‘This fascinating book provokes and challenges’Scotland on Sunday
‘a lively,yet clear-headed introduction encouraging a more thoughtful and
critical approach to the monument.’Literary Review
‘This book captures and conveys the mysterious attractions of the
Alhambra.’Doris Lessing
‘a fascinating and very manageable guide’Daily Telegraph
‘he brings the majestic ruins to life’Newsweek
‘[a] delicious,tart monograph’Independent on Sunday
‘fascinating’Sunday Times
also by robert irwin
The Middle East in the Middle Ages:
the Early Mameluke Sultanate 1250–1382
The Arabian Nights:a Companion
Islamic Art
Night and Horses and the Desert:
an Anthology ofClassical Arabic Literature
Also six novels,the most recent of which is
Satan Wants Me
This paperback edition published in 2005
First published in Great Britain in 2004by
Profile Books Ltd
58aHatton Garden
London ec1n 8lx
www.profilebooks.co.uk
Copyright © Robert Irwin,2004,2005
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Typeset in Caslon by MacGuru Ltd
[email protected]
Designed by Peter Campbell
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Bookmarque Ltd,Croydon,Surrey
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved.Without limiting the rights under
copyright reserved above,no part of this publication may be
reproduced,stored or introduced into a retrieval system,or
transmitted,in any form or by any means (electronic,
mechanical,photocopying,recording or otherwise),without
the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and
the publisher of this book.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library.
ISBN 186197487 6
CONTENTS
Chronology vi
1
Introduction
1 15
chapter The Fairy-Tale Palace?
2 69
chapter Poisoned Paradise
3 99
chapter A Palace to Think With
4 133
chapter The Romance ofthe Moor
187
Making a visit?
191
Further reading
203
List ofillustrations
205
Acknowledgements
207
Index
CHRONOLOGY
711 Arabs enter Spain.
755 ‘Abd al-Rahman I establishes Umayyad emirate
in Spain.
c.880s The first version of the Alcazaba,or citadel of the
Alhambra,built.
928 The Umayyad ‘Abd al-Rahman III takes the title
of Caliph.
936 Foundation of the Umayyad Palace of Madinat
al-Zahra outside Cordova.
1013 Sack of Umayyad Cordova.
1031 End of the Umayyad dynasty and beginning of
the age of Ta’ifaor Petty Kings.
1085 Fall of Muslim Toledo to Christian Castile.
1230 Ibnal-AhmarestablishesNasridruleoverGranada
and becomes the last Muslim ruler in Spain.
c.1320s Building of the first version of the Mexuar.
1333–54 Reign of Nasrid Yusuf I over Granada.During
his reign the Comares Palace is built.
1354–9 First reign of Muhammad V (followed by exile in
Morocco).
1362–91 Second reign of Muhammad V.Additions to the
Comares Palace and the building of the Court of
the Lions.
[ vi]
1368 Muhammad V conquers Algeciras.
1369 Death of Pedro the Cruel.
1374 Murder of Ibn al-Khatib in Fez.
1392 Murder of Ibn Zamrak in Granada.
c.1450s Building of the Tower of the Princesses.
1492 Fall of Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella and
the surrender of the last Muslim territory in
Spain.
1526 Arrival of Charles V in Granada and
commencement of work on his palace.
[ vii]
INTRODUCTION
The Alhambra is Spain’s best-kept secret.This glorious medieval
palace, which resembles a child’s toy castle, sits on the Assabica
hills.(Assabica is Arabic for red.) The palace was built in the years
1334–91and was the seat ofthe magnificent Nasrid caliphs.What
stories this building could tell if only it could speak! Despite the
austerity of the palace’s outward appearance, its immaculately
restored interior more closely resembles a lady’s boudoir.However,
there are no statues or figurative paintings in the palace,as Islam
strictly forbids images of any kind. Like Hittite and Ottoman
palaces, the palace of the Alhambra was divided into three sec-
tions. First, there was the Mexuar, the chamber where public
business was transacted.Members ofthe public could penetrate no
further into the palace than the Mexuar.At the end ofthe Mexuar
is a small private chapel that was built by the Catholic monarchs,
Ferdinand and Isabella,after they conquered the palace in 1492.
Beyond the Mexuar, there was the Court of the Myrtles where
more private administrative business was conducted and where
ambassadors were received. (It was in the Hall of the
Ambassadors that Columbus presented his scheme to cross the
Atlantic to the Catholic monarchs of Aragon and Castile.) The
goldfish pool is the central pivot ofthe Court ofthe Myrtles.
Finally,the private apartments ofthe king and his wives and
[ 1]
concubines were located in the Court ofthe Lions.Offthe Court of
the Lions,one enters the Hall of the Two Sisters,which was the
private apartment of the king’s favourite concubine of the
moment. (Note its trompe-l’oeil ceiling.) The Lindaraxa
chamber that leads off it was the dressing room of the favourite.
Then there is the Gossip Room,which was a factory of intrigue.
Finally, do not miss the Hall of the Kings and its celebrated
dancing room.This was also the place where great roistering feasts
were held.Though the Court of the Lions was home to the royal
harem,its eunuch guards did not guard it carefully enough.In the
Hall of the Abencerrages (and here note another trompe-l’oeil
ceiling based on a theorem by Pythagoras), the Sultan Boabdil,
having invited thirty-nine members of the Abencerrage clan to
dinner,had them all slaughtered,after he had discovered that one
of them had been having an affair with his favourite concubine,
Zorayda.The struggle for the affections ofZorayda led directly to
the fall of Granada to the Christians in 1492.The paintings on
the ceiling ofthe nearby Hall ofthe Kings were done by a Spanish
Christian painter and depict historical scenes. The Lion
Fountain,that gives this part of the palace its name,was origi-
nally made for a Jewish palace ofthe eleventh century,but subse-
quently it had its Jewish imagery erased and Muslim motifs were
substituted.The twelve lions,that support the fountain and leer
at the tourists, symbolise the twelve signs of the zodiac and the
four water channels that cross the courtyard represent the four
rivers ofparadise.After 1492the palace fell into dilapidation,but
during the Peninsular War,the Duke ofWellington chased out the
chickens,beggars and gypsies and made his home in the Alhambra.
He also planted elm trees all the way down the slopes of the
Alhambra hill. Conclude your tour by visiting the Generalife
(Arabic for Garden of the Architect), which was the Nasrid
[ 2]