“A Pearl set in Emeralds”
At certain times in our lives we’ll experience things that cannot be properly expressed by any form of communication, whether photograph, video, or spoken word. These things must be Lived in order to be truly appreciated or understood. For each of us these will be different things, as we all live very different lives. For me, one of these experiences was walking through the grounds of Alhambra, on the outskirts of Granada, Spain. I took a few Hundred photos, and still I couldn’t begin to capture its magnificence. I can try to put my experience into words over the next few pages, but I’ll fail. This place really is that amazing. And in so many different ways. Many places you go, and things you see, can be described by placing them into certain categories. Whether it’s an expression of Art, Nature, Complexity, Serenity, Architecture, Science, or a number of others. The Alhambra displays all these and more.
To even describe What it is, is difficult. It’s part Palace, and part Garden. Part Fortress, and part Monastery. And equal parts a memory of both Dynasty and Conquest. If all you wanted to focus on was a single piece of its complexity, it would still be absolutely brilliant. It’s one of those places that you can stop every foot or two and look at everything around you, and you’ll still miss things. All I can hope is that my limited description builds a desire in You to go there and make your own memories of it. I promise it’ll be worth every minute and every penny spent in order to make it happen.
So exactly what is it? Like I said that’s tough to really say. It contains a palace of one of the last Muslim dynasties present in the Iberian Peninsula, along with it the gardens and grounds associated with those that lived there. It also contains Roman Catholic elements from numerous Kings and Queens that ruled the area. It has a Fortress used to protect these Palaces and grounds. It has remnants of living and working areas of those that served the rulers of the different dynasties. It has religious grounds utilized by commoners as well as Kings. Finding accounts of all the history and significance of this place is not hard, so I won’t try to summarize too much. I’ll just say that this place has been extremely important to a great number of people over the better part of a millennium. And considering what it’s been through, it’s still in unbelievably good shape.
I had the good fortune to visit Alhambra during the off season, meaning it was only somewhat completely packed with people. I can only imagine what it’s like during the usual tourist months. Even with as few people as I was around, trying to get a picture of some of the massive vistas the grounds present without a bunch of random strangers sprinkled throughout was tough. As the main attraction of the site is the Nasrid Palace (itself segmented into a few different distinct portions) your admission ticket specifically tells you when to be in line to enter this chunk. But aside from the palace your ticket allows you to walk around as you please, and you’ll have plenty to look at. The fortress, as well as the palace of Charles I were interesting to view, but not compared to the Palace and the Gardens. And yes, to the ghost of Charles I, I find the gardens here much more impressive than your palace, you silly king!
The Nasrid Palace is often viewed as one of the most amazing displays of Muslim Art, Mathematics, Poetry, and Architecture to exist on the planet. And it’s all in one place. Throughout its many many rooms, hallways, courtyards, and ceremonial spaces are carved thousands of individual poems, Quranic verses, philosophical phrases, historical accounts, and dynastic proclamations. They’re formed in the most symbiotic beauty with flourishes of geometric and natural displays that are as absolutely breathtaking inch by inch as they are by the dozens of feet. The intricacy is hard to imagine without being able to see at so many degrees of scale. It almost seems as though after an hour or two of taking it all in your brain is just too overwhelmed, and it’s difficult to focus as much as you know you should be. Because, again, every foot or two forward you move gives new light, shadow and angles of perception to every degree of sight. It’s almost as if it was designed to seem wholly imperceptible.
The gardens and incorporation of natural elements into the palace spaces was one thing that was very impressive to me. While I’ve walked through botanical gardens and pretty green spaces in other palatial type locations, most seem to be more interested in form than function. But I didn’t get that feeling here at all. Most of the garden spaces here are centered first and foremost around the flow of water, and the cultivation of food bearing plants, shrubs, and trees, with some more vibrant flowers and other species placed around when possible. A modern Permaculturist would be in love with this place. So many elements seem designed to produce food and conserve space and water, but if you weren’t looking for them you’d still just be absolutely taken aback by the beauty and scope of the various plots, and how they’re incorporated into the walking and living areas of the grounds. They provide such a contrast to the structures of the palaces, while at the same time forming such a balance with them.
Alhambra is one of those places that is kind of out of the way, unless you’re specifically trying to get there. It’s not on the way to anywhere really, and it’s not centered in some cultural or economical point on any map. I don’t know if that was true so many hundreds of years ago when it was built. But if it was, perhaps that was on purpose. Perhaps in the time when traveling hundreds or thousands of miles was pretty difficult, getting to a place like this was part of its splendor. Perhaps at the end of days or weeks of travel, finally cresting a hill to view this place in the light of a setting sun made it even that much more dreamlike. I can only imagine. But even though I only viewed it in the early morning sun after driving there in a rented Opel, it will always be one of the most Awe Inspiring places I’ll ever have the pleasure of experiencing. I hope you can find your way there someday as well!
