5/2/2023 0 Comments Memories of alhambra![]() ![]() Structurally similar to the Hall of the Ambassadors is the Sala de Dos Hermanas (Hall of the Two Sisters), a room whose name is derived from the two large white marble slabs that were laid as part of the pavement. The ceiling is exquisitely decorated in blue, brown, red, and gold. The room is square, with a lofty cupola and trellised windows at its base. The name of the Sala de los Abencerrajes (also spelled Abencerrages) is taken from a legend in which Boabdil, the last sultan of Granada, invited the Abencerraje chiefs to a banquet in this room and there massacred them. This was the grand reception room, and the throne of the sultan was placed opposite the entrance. It is 37 feet (11 metres) square and is topped by a dome whose centre is 75 feet (23 metres) high. The Salón de los Embajadores (Hall of the Ambassadors), inside the Torre de Comares (Comares Tower), is the largest room in the Alhambra. Beyond the Alcazaba is the Alhambra palace and beyond that the Alhambra Alta (Upper Alhambra), which was originally tenanted by officials and courtiers and was part of a royal city constituting a seat of government. ![]() The Moorish portion of the Alhambra includes the Alcazaba, or citadel, which is the oldest part only its massive outer walls, towers, and ramparts are left. This is the Puerta Judiciaria (Gate of Judgment), a horseshoe archway surmounted by a square tower, which was used by the Moors as an informal court of justice. ![]() A steep ascent leads past a fountain, erected in 1554, to the main entrance of the Alhambra. Just inside the gate is a statue of American author Washington Irving, which was erected in 2009, on the 150th anniversary of Irving’s death, to commemorate his role in sparking interest in Spain’s Moorish past. The lower entrance to the park is the Puerta de las Granadas (Gate of Pomegranates), a massive triumphal arch dating from the 16th century. Additional restoration and conservation work continued through the 21st century. Upon Rafael’s death in 1890, he was succeeded by his son, Mariano Contreras Granja (died 1912). After the death of Contreras in 1847, his son Rafael continued his work for nearly four decades. An extensive repair and rebuilding program was undertaken in 1828 by the architect José Contreras and endowed by Ferdinand VII in 1830. In 1821 an earthquake caused further damage to the complex. In 1812 some of the towers were blown up by a French force under Horace-François-Bastien Sébastiani during the Peninsular War (War of Independence), and the rest of the buildings narrowly escaped the same fate. Charles V, who ruled in Spain as Charles I (1516–56), rebuilt portions in the Renaissance style and destroyed part of the Alhambra in order to build an Italianate palace designed by Pedro Machuca in 1526. After the expulsion of the Moors in 1492, much of the interior was effaced and the furniture was ruined or removed. The splendid decorations of the interior are ascribed to Yūsuf I (died 1354).
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