Day follows night in the Alhambra

We spent today wandering about the Alhambra. Because it is built on a hill above the town of Granada, it’s often a competition between the internal views and the views out over the town. Both where just as spectacular in daylight as at night.

The Nasrid Palaces were again the highlight, although in daylight it was harder to avoid the pictures being filled with the crowds which we were forming part of. In daylight, though, it was easier to appreciate some of the details, and to see the way the arches and doorways form layers.

A walk through the lovely gardens took us to the Generalife which was a sort of summer retreat in the distant past. Now it is another lovely set of gardens which provide a view back to the main part of the Alhambra.

After some rest stops – yes it remains horribly hot – we visited the small Alhambra museum. Although the museum was a bit disappointing, we did learn that the Quran does not actually prohibit pictures of people – the prohibition came later and it’s debatable enough that many instances of pictures do exist including in the Nasrid Palaces. We had noticed the pictures but, mistakenly, dismissed them as Christian additions.

The other thing we learned today was that Islamic architects made rooms in proportions that create irrational numbers because they are unknowable or infinite and so link to the divine. (And, by-the-by, A4 paper has the same property. It’s always nice to find a few geeky facts mixed in the some sublime beauty.)

One of my friends commented on yesterday’s post to agree that the Alhambra is ‘one of the beautiful places’. And I think that sums it up – it is one of the World’s beautiful places and no one could look at this and not be awed. We certainly were.