Dictionary of islamic architecture

See also:
Bijapur, Deccan, India
Granada
City in south-west Spain famous as the capital of the last
Muslim state in Spain.
Granada is located high up in the mountains near
the Sierra Nevada and rose to prominence after the
other Muslim states were defeated in the thirteenth
century. During this time from 1231 to 1492 Granada
was ruled by the Nasirid dynasty who survived by
maintaining alliances with Christian dynasties.
Undoubtedly the most famous building in the
city is the Alhambra which has a claim to being one
of the most beautiful buildings of the Islamic world.
The palace is located on a rocky spur which
dominates the rest of the city. Although contained
within a single enclosure the Alhambra is not a
single palace but a complex of palaces built over
hundreds of years. The earliest parts of the complex
date from the twelfth century although most of the
buildings were erected in the fourteenth or fifteenth
centuries. On the opposite side of the valley from
the Alhambra is the Generalife palace which is
sometimes erroneously thought to be part of the
Alhambra. Although now covered with gardens the
Generalife was originally a country estate for the
Nasirids.
Some remains of the eleventh-century walls are
still standing together with five of the city gates, the
Puerta Nueva, the Puerta de Elvira, the Puerta de
Fajalauza and the Puerta Hizna Roman.
Architecturally the most interesting of these gates is
the Puerta Nueva which combines a bent entrance
with an upward sloping ramp to slow down
potential attackers. Within the walls several public
buildings survive including the hammam (Bañuelo
Carrera del Darro) which is one of the best examples
remaining in Spain. Also within the city is the Casa
del Carbón (coal exchange) formerly known as the
Funduq al-Yadida (new market) which is one of the
few surviving khans in Spain. It has a monumental
portico decorated with plaster and decorative
brickwork within which the entrance is set below a
set of paired windows. The interior of the building
consists of a square courtyard with three storeys of
arcades on each of the four sides containing sixty
rooms. In addition to public buildings several
Muslim houses survive in the Albaicín Quarter of
the city.
With the exception of the one in the Alhambra
there are few remains of Granada’s many mosques,
although traces can be found in some of the churches.
The church of San Salvador is built over a tenth-
century mosque and remains of the ablutions court
and the minaret can still be seen. The church of San
Sebastian is a converted rabita, or hermitage, and is
the only example of its type in Spain. It consists of a
square courtyard covered with a ribbed dome
supported on squinches.