The Alhambra sits atop the Sabika hill of a fertile plain located just south of the Moorish part of Granada known as the Albaicin. The Alhambra is now a major tourist complex catering to thousands of visitors daily. A large multi-section parking lot with water works is on the way to the entrance pavilion where tickets for the day are purchased.
The Alhambra consists of several interlinked complexes: the Alcazaba, the Nasrid Palaces, the Palace of Carlos V, the Medina and the Generalife with its Summer Palace.
In hindsight, I would recommend taking the Calle Real, the principal street in the Medina, to the Wine Gate rather than starting with the Generalife. From this gate you may explore the Alcazaba, the Nasrid Palaces and the Palace of Carlos V.
The Alcazaba with its many towers and zigzagging passages built for the needs of the military offers many vantage points and a good workout. In contrast, the Nasrid Palaces show how space, light, water and ornamentation foster culture and mind development. The controversial Palace of Carlos V is an outstanding work of the Spanish renaissance that now houses museum and exhibition rooms around the circular gallery. It opens up a dialogue between Islamic and Christian ideals. Can they be unified?
The Nasrids extended the horseshoe arch that the Visigoths had used in the construction of churches to create the lavish interiors for their palaces. Elaborate honeycomb stucco domed ceilings of the perimeter-shaded walkways combined with water-cooled elegant courtyards made for gracious living. Each room more magnificent than the previous reveals the sophisticated Islamic splendour and breathtaking craftsmanship. A remarkable feat of 11th century engineering is the Fountain of the Lions where there is a cylinder in the middle of the basin to regulate the flow of the water since the source of the water pressure is natural. The original old palace remains have been incorporated with a great rectangular pool teaming with goldfishes and crowned by a portico of five arches.
The idyllic lush floral gardens of Generalife surround what was the sultan’s summer residence is a stark contrast to the baking brick stone landscape of the Alcazaba.
The entrance to the residential part of the Generalife is through a small doorway that leads to the Patio de la Acequia. Down the middle runs a water channel, the Royal Conduit, which is the principle artery of the hydraulic system in the complex. Lined with oriental gardens with rows of water arches, the focal point is the Sala Regia at the far end of the complex. From here one is close to the secret meeting place for Zoray, wife of the Sultan, called the Patio de la Sultana. To reach the "garden of lofty paradise" climb the restored Water Stairway in the shade of a pergola of laurel to the highest part of the Generalife. This amazing stairway has rails that carry a continuous flow of water to the Acequia Real allowing one to dip one’s hand in at any time to feel its coolness.