Mystery and Murder

The Alhambra of Granada

Part 3 (1 and 2)

Nisrad Palace and Partal Palace

The last part of the most famous Islamic Architecture in Spain, is the Nasrid Palace and the Partal Palace.

Enjoy, the dripped ceilings, the calming water and the mystery of these spaces. 

Entrance to the Hall of the Mexuar

Hall of the Mexuar

Court of the Gilded Room

The space where meetings where held.

Ceiling Gilded Room

Court of the Myrtles

Where the Nasrid did their best to tame water, the water is supposed to have an intricate construction to be completely quiet and reflect the buildings. I therefore thought it was quite awkward that fishes had been added to it. 

Entrance ceiling, Comares Room

Court of the Lions

Hall of the two sisters

Supposedly named after two imprisoned sisters who is said to die of desire after seeing a couple secretely making love in the nearby garden.

In the Hall of the Abencerrajes there is also another myth. The Abencerraje massacre, the leader was supposed to be smitten by the beautiful Zorraja, the Kings favorite. This ended in a massacre and the red bloodstains are said to be still there. Later the episode has been thought of as the downfall of Grenada.

Jardin de Lindaraja

Partal Palace

Alhambra's oldest castle, with what is left of it and it's gorgeous less secluded garden. 

What better way to end this wonderful trip, than to see a couple in love?

With this I will end my vacation and go back to the Contemporary world in London for a while.

See you next week:)

With Love 

Kristin

The Warriors Den

The Alhambra of Grenada

Part 2 (Part 1 here)

Alxazaba/ Charles V. Palace

Walking to the fortress and the Narid Palace you have a view back up to the Generalife, we walked by the gorgeous Palace hotel in the center to where the burial place for the Catholic Ferdinand V and Isabella I is, in a Crypt in the Royal Chapel. The two were known to bring unification to Spain (15th Century). A continuos Golden time for Spain and the Catholics but turned in to a rather horrible time for the Jews and Muslims with the "inquisition". The Spanish inquisition was established in 1480 and meant in simple terms that you either had to convert or leave.

The ceiling of the Crypt

Burial Stone

Ferdinand V and Isabella I, conquered Granada in 1492 and then turned the mosque into a church.

The Palace of Charles V

With the later rule of Charles V. the Holy Roman Emperor continued the colonization of America and in Granada he decided to build a palace befitting an emperor. The Palace is built by Pedro Machuca (1527) in a mannerism style... and to be honest it seems directly insulting to the surroundings. A building with grandeur on the outside and empty on the inside, a building built to impress not for any particular stated use. Now though they have filled the empty spaces with gallery's and museums. 

Alcazaba

I walked to the Alcazaba with much lighter steps, here is the original fortress, presumably where the Nasrid people lived while they built their palace. Wonderfully situated on the peak of the mountain with a fantastic view.

The Warriors den

With the tension within the sultans, this fortress was built not only to  defend from the outside but also from within. Built so the sultans could defend themselves from their own guards. As a visitor one is always confronted by at least one wall forming a bend that one has to go round in order to penetrate into the interior. 

View to Granada

Few would understand the beauty of the inside of this fortress by seeing the facade.

After seeing the Fortress, I walked back to the timed slot (important to book in advance) for the Nasrid palace and the Partal Palace, the pearls of this place. Will write about these wonders next time as the last segment about the Alhambra of Granada. Until then enjoy:)

With Love

Kristin

The Sultans Heavenly Pantry

The Alhambra of Granada

Spain

Part 1- Generalife

A trip to the Alhambra of Granada has been an excellent vacation treat. The silence of the place and the well organized settings made you feel that you could spend the whole day there and at times feel all alone. But, don't go there without ordering tickets... the silence is deceiving... you are actually walking among thousands.

I will show you the place by the way I walked it, not by how it was chronologically built. The founder of the Nasrid Dynasty was Muhammad I al-Ahmar and he installed his Court on the Sabika hill in 1238, and with that began building the Alhambra Paradise.

Generalife and the Sultan's Heavenly Pantry is built in the 13th Century on a fertile hill with an abundance of water. The Nasrids tried here to recreate in this land the paradise with which the Koran promised to reward them after death..

"A fertile garden, with flowing rivers, full of fruit trees, palm trees and flowers, with shady nooks in which they would lie on beds lined with brocades, accompanied by youths and shy virgins "With large eyes like well conserved pearls".

View From Generalife

Showing the beauty of their irrigation system

The lower gardens of the Generalife

Walking along the cypresses, the orange trees and the flowers made you remember that you should always surround yourself with wonderful scents and how healing that can be.

Breathtaking details

Court of the water Channel

Coming out of the Romantic Mirador tower you walk through a staircase overgrown with Lilacs.

Me and my man:)

During the Christian Period, Generalife changed, therefore it is impossible to know how it looked originally, but a great sanctuary it still is.

Alcazaba, Nasrid Palaces and Partal coming up soon!

With Love 

Kristin

(Part 2 here)

First impressions

Annemarie Wright

Woolf Gallery

89 Charlotte Street

I woke up this morning in Sunny Marbella (Spain) to discover that I have had 40,000 hits on my blog. This gave me a kick start to write a short blog, even on vacation. I have been intending to share this fun opening of Annemarie Wright's drawings/writings for a couple of weeks. She uses well known portraits but with the simple trick of words she creates a new dimension. The text represents the person in the portrait either by what the person has said or written or what has been written about the person.

"She's in Fashion"

Text: Lyrics from Suede's "She's in fashion"

and extraxts from "Shop!" Mary Portas Telegraph column.

Insert "She's in Fashion"

Gilbert & George

Text: Gilbert and George art work titles

Norma Jean

Text: Lyrics from "Candle in the wind"

"Le Trou Normand"

Text: A list of films in which Bridget Bardot has starred

"The aim of my work is to challenge people's perceptions and make them realize that first impressions can in fact change"

            Annemarie Wright

"I agree fashion is about sex"

Text: Vivienne Westwood Quotes

The executer Annemarie Wright in front of portraits of mass murderers.

Run to buy one, they are actually affordable, about $1,200 each. A lot of them sold already at the opening, but there might still be one left for you?

With Love

Kristin