The Alhambra (from Arabic  = Al-Ħamrā', literally "the red fort"; the complete name was  = al-Qal'at al-Ħamrā' = "the red fortress") is a palace and fortress complex of the Moorish rulers of Granada in southern Spain (known as Al-Andalus when the fortress was constructed during the mid 14th century), occupying a hilly terrace on the southeastern border of the city of Granada.

History 

In the Middle Ages the Alhambra was the residence of the Muslim rulers of Granada and their court, now it is one of Spain's major tourist attractions. There one can see the most famous Islamic Architecture of the country. Within the Alhambra, the Palace of Charles V was erected by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1527.

The Muslim rulers lost Granada and Alhambra in 1492 without the fortress itself being attacked when King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile took the surrounding region with an overwhelming force of numbers.

Media

Other reading sources

 
 
 
 
 Grabar, Oleg. The Alhambra. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1978.
 Jacobs, Michael and Francisco Fernandez. Alhambra. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 2000.
 Lowney, Chris. A Vanished World: Medieval Spain’s Golden Age of Enlightenment. New York: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 2005.
 Menocal, Maria, Rosa. The Ornament of the World. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2002.
 Read, Jan. The Moors in Spain and Portugal. London: Faber and Faber, 1974.
 D. Fairchild Ruggles, “Alhambra,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, third edition. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2008.
 D. Fairchild Ruggles, Gardens, Landscape, and Vision in the Palaces of Islamic Spain, Philadelphia: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000.
 D. Fairchild Ruggles, “The Gardens of the Alhambra and the Concept of the Garden in Islamic Spain,” in Al-Andalus: The Arts of Islamic Spain, ed. Jerrilynn Dodds. New York: Metropolitan Museum, 1992, pp. 162–71.
 D. Fairchild Ruggles, Islamic Gardens and Landscapes, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008.
 Steves, Rick (2004). Spain and Portugal 2004, pp. 204–205. Avalon Travel Publishing. .
 lexicorient.com 
 Stewart, Desmond. The Alhambra. Newsweek Publishing, 1974. .
 The World Heritage. Istanbul and Cordoba, Vol. #15. Film Ideas, 2008. .

Related pages

 Islamic architecture

References 

 Lowney, Chris. A Vanished World: Medieval Spain’s Golden Age of Enlightenment. New York: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 2005.

Other websites 

 Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife. Official web page of the Alhambra
Guided Tours Alhambra
 Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife. Official web page for particular clients
 www.AlhambraDeGranada.org
 www.alhambra.org 
 www.AlhambraGranada.info
 BBC Four documentary  —  Art in Islamic Spain
Article about Alhambra as one of the 21 candidates shortlisted for the New7Wonders of the World 
 Alhambra in turgranada.es  Official site for tourism of the province of Granada
Photos of Alhambra 
Alhambra Architectural Review
Photos and text at greatbuildings.com
Alhambra - information on garden history and design 
Detailed study with photos of the Alhambra Granada
Google maps satellite image
Article with English translations of the poems on the walls of Alhambra * 

 Washington Irving's Tales of the Alhambra 
 Panoramic virtual tour of Alhambra 
 Large photo collection of the Alhambra and palaces

Buildings and structures in Spain
World Heritage Sites in Spain
Andalusia
12 Treasures of Spain