We lined up at our designated time of 1.30pm to get into the Nasrid Palaces. The line moved pretty quickly, and, despite being at the end, within five minutes we were inside. The current palace was built in the mid 13th century by a Moorish emir, and it was converted into a royal palace in 1332. It became the Royal Court in 1492 when the Christians overthrew the Moors.
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| Waiting to get into the Nasrid Palaces, with the Alcazabar in the background |
The decorations inside the palaces are wonderful. Colourful tiles, elaborate woodworked ceilings, but the highlight is the ornate plasterwork. I took many, many photos.
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| Cuarto Dorado - the Golden Room |
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| Patio de los Leones - Courtyard of the Lions |
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| Fuente de los Leones - Fountain of the Lions |
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| These panels have been put here for visitors to touch |
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| Latin! |
The fourth ticketed area is the Partal Gardens. Technically, we were supposed to visit them before 2pm, but because the Nasrid Palaces exit into the Partal, it was almost 3pm before we got there.
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| The Partal, built in the early 14th century |
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| Views over the Albaicin |
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| Looking towards the Generalife |
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| Using the self-timer is fun, but this time my bag got in the way. Oh, well. |
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| Iglesia Santa Maria - the Alhambra's church |
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| More pretty box hedges |
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| We're pretty sure we stood underneath this part of the Nasrid Palace |
From here we left the Partal Gardens, and went to have a look at the Iglesia Santa Maria de la Alhambra. The church was built in the 17th century on the site of the Great Mosque.
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| Inside the church |
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| This is the Alhambra's Paso. It represents the Patio de los Leones. |
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| The old baths on the Alhambra site |
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| The church in front, Carlos V Palace behind |
We walked back into Granada through the gardens just outside the Alhambra. This old gate had no sign, but looked lovely. In this forest I saw my first Hawfinch. Nice!
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