Alhambra

We visited the great Moorish and Renaisence palace and fortress on the hill overlooking Granada. Stark Cubistic Islamic military architecture in the Alhambra fortress. Perfect for B&W architectural photography.

The buildings known as the Nazrin palaces we the homes of the Sultans and are absolutely extrordinary, apparently they are the best surviving examples of this type of architecture and decoration anywhere in the world. Because representative architecture was proscribed by religion instead artists were forced to investigate abstraction – every surface covered with organic and geometric carvings in the stucco plaster. Light, darkness, water and air all connecting in interlocking patterns burried among which is an Islamic script which says (I believe – I can’t read ancient arabic well) ‘God is the only conqueror’. To be honest it is too much to appreciate.

In the evening we went for food and then to ‘Hannigansd Irish Bar’ a detail perfect mimesis of an Irish pub in London. It was like stepping into one of those funny Umberto Eco essays about the fluidity of reality. The Guiness was very good. It was the odd little details that gave it away – the tables were too clean.