The Alhambra

We spent our last day in Granada exploring the Alhambra. The Alhambra is one of the most famous sites in Southern Spain, and the reason most people visit Granada.

The Alhambra was originally built as a fortress and a palace by Moorish rulers in the 14th Century. It is well known for it's amazing Moorish and Islamic architecture and it also became an UNESCO Heritage Site in 1984.

Most people visit for the entire day, but we only had a few hours before we had to get the bus to Malaga for our flight back to London. I don't think we felt rushed though, we managed to see the entire palace and the gardens and it was a fantastic way to spend our last day in Spain. 

The Alhambra was added to by the different Muslim rulers, so is now a huge sprawling fortress, with fountains and amazing gardens. There are also mosaics all throughout the Alhambra, all over the walls, similar to the Plaza de Espana in Seville.

The Alhambra was neglected for centuries and restoration started in the late 19th century by European travellers. It is still undergoing restoration and when we visited there were workmen everywhere, especially in the Generalife Gardens planting new plants and trees.

As The Alhambra is located high on the hills overlooking Granada, there are amazing views over the city and of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was fun trying to find our hotel in the photo below. I'm pretty sure it's to the left of the photo at the top by the brown Church!

One of the 13 towers that surround the Alhambra

Looking towards the Sierra Nevada mountains. There was heaps of low lying fog making them look very eerie.

Waiting to enter the Nasrid Palaces

When you book your tickets to The Alhambra, you choose a time slot in which to enter the most famous part of the Alhambra the Nasrid Palaces. They only allow a certain amount of visitors per day, so you have to plan your visit accordingly, and arrive at the Alhambra early enough so you have time to walk around before entering. It's their way of making sure the Palaces stay protected and don't get ruined by too much foot traffic. It also means there aren't heaps of people in there at once, so we could walk around without feeling rushed or crowded.

Some of the amazing mosaics

Not really sure what my hand is doing here... but look at how clear the water reflection is!

The Court of The Lions - currently under renovation

Hall of the Abencerraje - The inside made me feel like we were inside a beehive!

Unsure if this is a Gazelle or a Llama??

Wandering around the Gardens really made us feel like we were in Spain. You can really tell how much of California was influenced by the Spanish.

The Generalife Gardens in the Palacio de Generalife

The amazing view towards The Alhambra from the Palacio de Generalife

It was nice to spend our last day in Granada in the lovely sun wandering around the old Alhambra palaces and the gardens.

It took us a good nine hours to get home with all the delays we ran into, so our good feelings didn't last too long! But luckily it didn't ruin our thoughts of Spain, and we're already trying to decide which part of Spain to visit next.