Alhambra Presentation

8/10/2019 Alhambra Presentation

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/alhambra-presentation 1/4

Presentation

Good afternoon everybody. As most of you know, my name is Cristinaand, in this presentation, I am going to talk about the Alhambra. I ampretty sure that most of you know a lot of things about it but I hope

that, during this presentation, you could learn some interestingaspects about its history and its construction, which is the mainpurpose of the talk.

The presentation is divided in several matters, so…

Guide

To start with I will give a brief introduction about the monument.Afterwards, I want to talk about its construction and the main parts,and nally I will comment brie!y on the Alhambra at the present time,that is to say, the current situation.

Introduction and construction

The Alhambra is a "oorish palace and fortress comple# located inGranada. As you probably know, the building has a characteristicreddish colour which gives the monument its name, Alhambra, anArabic word which means red castle or red fortress. It was originallyconstructed as a fortress in $$%, and was converted into a royalpalace some centuries later, which is the reason why it has no dened

structure. Its construction, therefore, lasted several centuries anddi&erent sultans took part in it. 'ome of them are, for e#ample,"ohamed ben Al(hamar or )usuf, among others.

The palace is famous because it combines the main characteristics of the Islamic architecture and Andalusian Art. *or this reason, we cannd a really simple e#ternal structure full of detailed internaldecoration. Arches, columns, ceilings and chambers are completelydecorated with colourful tiles, arabes+ues and Arabic calligraphy,among other things.

The Alhambra is also well known for its great and impressive gardens,which are located inside the fortress. In these areas the water is thefocus and beautiful ponds and fountains can be found in the innercourtyards, surrounded by fragrant plants like "yrtle. This factre!ects the ingenious hydraulic systems imported by the "uslimculture and how they felt completely attracted to nature, specially,water.

The main parts

As I was saying before, the Alhambra is a huge comple# constructedover several centuries. As a result of this situation, the palace isdivided in several areas. In this case, I want to draw your attention to



the most important ones, in order you could have a general ideaabout its architecture and composition.

The frst o them is The Alcazaba:

It-s the oldest part of the Alhambra, it was built in the th centuryand it-s composed of the outer walls, the towers and the ramparts.'o, as you can see, this part was the military area and that-s thereason why it was used as a defence and monitoring center.

/espite the fact it was constructed in the th century, the rsthistorical reference to the e#istence of the Alca0aba dates from the %th

century and it is believed that it was constructed during some to theghts between the "uslims and "uwalladins 1Christians converted tothe Islam2.

Ater that we fnd The Nasrid Palaces:

They are one of the best known and most visited parts of the palace.It is composed of three independent areas which are called the"e#uar, the Comares 3alace and the 3alaces of the lions.

In the past, the "e#uar was a semi(public space used mainly foradministrative and protocol functions. The Comares 3alace, on theother hand, was the o4cial residence of the king and, in third place,we nd the 3alaces of the lions, which was the private area of thepalace, where the 5arem was located.

6ot only were these areas di&erent because of their functions, butalso because of their artistic characteristics. The Comares 3alace wasdecorated in a typically "uslim way, but the 3alace of the 7ionspresents Christian in!uences, probably as a conse+uence of thefriendship between "ohammed 8 and his Castilian counterpart 3edro

I.

And fnally there is the Generalie:

The most famous outlying building connected to the Alhambra. Itwas built between the 9th and :th century and was used as asummer residence. In this monument there is no kind of decorativee#cess or points of interest in its architecture. All the buildings are, ingeneral, poor and simple. This is due to the peaceful atmosphere thatthe kings were looking for when they retired to this residence to rest.



The gardens are the main element of this residence and, as in theAlhambra, we can nd great ponds and fountains surrounded byplants.

As I said before, these are the three main areas that compose theAlhambra but there are also two more places that I would like tomention;

Hall o the Ambassadors; Is the most ma<estic room of thepalace, where the grand receptions were celebrated and, also, theplace where the throne was placed. It was, therefore, the main o4cialreception hall, used for important state business.

As we can see in the photograph, the central chamber is the most

richly decorated with inscriptions, tiles and arches, among otherthings. =esides, it is interesting to know that, at that time, most of thespace was in semidarkness, producing an e&ect of great lightingconcentrated on the throne.

Charles the Palace; This palace is located inside the 6asridfortication of the Alhambra but it-s not a part of it. Its constructionwas ordered by the king Charles 8, who wished to establish hisresidence close to the Alhambra palaces, in the >th century. Itsconstructor, on the other hand, was 3edro "achuca and, at the

present time, it-s one of the most important buildings of the?enaissance.

The construction of this new building changed completely the aspectof the Alhambra comple#, altering its internal structure and itsconnection to the city. The palace is said to be based in the @?omanstyle and it has a characteristic and original structure, s+uaredoutside with an inner circular courtyard. *urthermore, the selection of the Alhambra as the site to erect the palace manifests the triumph of Christianity over Islam.

The current situation

To conclude, about the current situation, I would like to emphasi0ethat nowadays the Alhambra is one of the most important and visitedmonuments in the world. A lot of people come from many di&erentcountries <ust to see this wonderful palace. =ecause of this hugesuccess, if you want to visit it you have to buy your tickets in advancecause if you don-t, you probably wonBt be able to see the palace.

It-s also important to know that there are di&erent itineraries to seethe Alhambra depending on the season and the part you want to visit.In fact, sometimes in summer, they give you the opportunity to visit itat night, which I recommend because it-s really moving to en<oy such



a wonderful sight. Also, in this season, they celebrate the famous@Alhambra concerts well known because of the important artists andorchestras who play there.

*inally, I <ust want to recommend you to visit this ama0ing place if you

haven-t been there yet. I strongly believe that it-s a good way of learning more about our history and the ama0ing way of life of thelast "uslims that lived in 'pain. )ou will discover more about theirculture, customs and how they had to abandon the country when theCatholics recon+uered Granada.

Thank you very much for listening.

Alhambra Presentation

Documents

Transcript of Alhambra Presentation