Granada, Andalusia, Spain. 26th October 2018.

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Looking back.

We are walking up a steep street late in the afternoon on our way to a Night Tour of the Nasrid Palace and the Carlos V Palace.  I suspect we are heading to a different gate than the normal day access.

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Patio of the Palace of Charles V.

This is also the centre of the palace, which is a square building.

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(Both images taken with a fisheye lens).

Construction started on this palace in 1527 but Charles’ son Felipe II had other priorities in Madrid so it was left unfinished and construction abandoned in 1637.  It was restored between 1923 and 1970.

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Detailed wall decorations.

This of course is not Spanish; we are now in the Nasrid Palaces.

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Ceiling of the Hall of the Ambassadors.

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Wall detail including Kufic script, Throne Room, Court of the Myrtles.

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Ceiling of the Hall of the Abencerrajes.

(A view of this was the final image in Alhambra by day, but I got right underneath it this time).

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While the Nasrid family has gone, the Alhambra is not without its inhabitants.

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Interior and view through bay window of a royal bedroom, Palace of the Two Sisters, quite different to the daylight image in the second-to-last post

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Looking up in the Palace of the Lions (on the boundary between two chambers).

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Daily Life.

Most parts of the Alhambra, and Moslem art generally, have no representational art.  However, these three paintings appear in the Hall of Kings, Palace of the Lions, part of the the royal residence.  They were painted on a sheepskin leather sheet and attached to oval-shaped wooden sections of the ceiling.  The were created during the reigns of either Muhammad VII (1395-1410) or Yusuf III (1410-1424) and appear to be the work of Christian painters.

There is no right way up for these images because they are directly overhead but if you want to see them the  other way up you can always turn your monitor around or stand on your head..

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Ten Nasrid Sultans.

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Fighting and Hunting Scenes.

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Palace of the Lions ceiling and a corner of the Fighting and Hunting Scene painting.

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Palace of the Lions ceiling.

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Hall of the Abencerrajes and adjoining chamber.

There is an Escher-like quality here because you are looking up but in the bottom part you appear to be looking across.  The dome of the Hall of the Abencerrajes is at the top, somewhat distorted by perspective, but we are standing in archway between two chambers.  So the arch is above us and at the top is another ceiling that may appear to be a wall.

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Wall recess.

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Reflection, Courtyard of the Myrtles.

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Symbolic wall decoration.

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A rather wonderful door.

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Courtyard of the Lions.

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Patio de Mexuar.

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Courtyard of the Myrtles, looking south.

One of the advantages of the night tour is that only the tour group is there, so you can take photographs with few or no people from the edge of the group.

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Courtyard of the Lions.

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Looking through towards the Courtyard of the Lions.

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Courtyard of the Myrtles, looking north.  Hall of the Ambassadors not visible behind in the dark.

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