Alhambra
The most magnificent reminiscence of Alandalus is Alhambra. As glorious as it looks from the outside, from the inside it is a hidden heaven on earth.
After centuries of Alandalus, the Kingdom of Granada was the last independent Arab and Muslim state left in the Iberian Peninsula. Muhammad ibn Nasr, Al Ghalib b'Allah fought against the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon who were closing in as their kingdoms were growing larger and more powerful, and had the support of the church. Ibn Nasr managed to take control of Granada and it survived for almost three more centuries, which is a miracle. Contrary to popular belief, these centuries were lived in wars and battles, trying to protect what’s left of Alandalus. Since the Andalusians witnessed what happened to the rest of Alandalus, they lived with a sense of impermanence, which made them live life to the fullest.
Alhambra flourished during those centuries. Ibn Nasr started adding palaces to the fortress. The royal citadel served as a residence for the rulers and their families, barracks for the elite guards, and as a city where court officials and their families resided and worked. But it was also a place for reflection, a quality apparent in the contrasting relationship between the simple exterior and the ethereal indoor spaces. Shaded patios and covered walkways juxtapose the well-lit rooms and sun-filled gardens.
The palaces were built with the intentional use of proportion in the building’s design. During construction, Muhammad V asked his architects to harmonize the floor plan by following a set of proportions using the ratio created between the diagonal of a square and a side of a rectangle. Every structural element uses a variation of this pattern, embracing the proportions between the ground and elevation. The idea behind it was not only to make use of the specific space that they had to build the palaces at but also, proportions and symmetry give a subtle and subconscious calmness to the senses.
Their use of geometry to build a harmonized and peaceful place extended further than that. The interiors are designed with intricate patterns controlled by grids that then extensively use repetition and symmetry. The simple shapes and forms create tessellations that allude to their continuation in infinity. There are different types of symmetrical arrangements in the Nasrid palaces - translation, rotation, reflection, and glide reflect. Translation repeats a pattern in a linear direction. Rotation rotates a design around a center. Reflection creates a mirror image of a pattern. Glide reflection combines both translation and reflection. Some of the most common patterns present in the Alhambra include rosettes as well as eight and sixteen pointed stars.
Geometric formulas and shapes were not the only decorative aspect present in Alhambra, calligraphy is an important part of their design. Arabs regard their language as their most precious possession. To a Muslim, the prophet’s miracle was the language of the Quran. It is only fitting to use the most valued characteristic as a decorative style. The walls, ceilings, arches, niches, and vaults are all inscribed with Quranic verses, prayers, poems, dedicatory verses, and devout inscriptions. Alhambra houses the largest collection of Arabic poetry murals. There are 53 poems known to be inscribed in Alhambra, 40 of which are still found there, and 13 are recorded in literary sources.* Each poem was specifically composed for a particular place. For example, a niche by the gate would have a poem describing the jar of water it housed. The poem in the picture below describes the view it’s overlooking and some details about the colored glass ceiling it had. The 53 known poems were written by four poets: Ibn Aljayyab, Lisan Aldin Ibn Alkhatib, Ibn Zumrak, and Ibn Farkoun. The calligraphy was written in between the plant-inspired arabesques which surface in the panels of carved stucco motifs, wood, and marble. Alhambra is an architecture of words, a living book that will mark their presence for eternity.
Their ingenuity didn’t stop there. A complex water system was built to facilitate water throughout the Alhambra palaces and Generalife. Fountains filled each palace, courtyard, hall, and patio. Their obsession with water took them as far as to make a staircase of water in Generalife. The elongated pools mirrored the buildings and made them look grander, while the small fountains that were placed in the halls were used to cool the air inside. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing, but the soft sound of water fountains is incredibly soothing, it also provides a private atmosphere for secretive conversations.
In every design aspect of Alhambra, spirituality was at the heart of it. They used the Quranic description of what heaven looks like as their design plan. From the continuous water features, the gardens that flow throughout, and the shapes and patterns that represent the concept of infinity through mathematical repetitions. Alhambra embodies a culture that was obsessed with knowledge and was an expert in the art of luxurious living. A society that excelled in improvisation of poetry, enhanced musical instruments, used analytical geometry in their design art, expressed progressive philosophical ideas, improved the agricultural state of the land, and had the sophistication to be completely hygienic during the middle ages. The Arabian culture of Alandalus was the torchbearer of science and society that facilitated the renaissance. Alhambra is the greatest gift to modern Spain - the palace has become a symbol of Arabic and Islamic architecture - it has inspired tourists from all over the world.
* This statistic is from the book “Reading The Alhambra” by Professor José Miguel Puerta Vílchez who is a professor of Art History at the University of Granada.
