The Alhambra and the Generalife En Lectura Fácil 1 ANA SÁNCHEZ PEINADO Illustrations by LUISA TIMMERMANS THE ALHAMBRA AND THE GENERALIFE This guide has been written with the help of mentally disabled people with a variety of cognitive abilities, who have cognitively validated its contents. Proofreading and technical validation Published by Asociación Lectura Fácil Department of Culture ELISABET SERRA of the Regional Government of Andalusia. Board of Trustees of the Alhambra and the Generalife Instituto Lectura Fácil JORGE M. PÉREZ GARCÍA © Current edition INMACULADA LLOVET GARCÍA BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE ALHAMBRA AND THE GENERALIFE, 2018 Cognitive validation Asociación en favor de las personas Editorial coordination con discapacidad intelectual de Dos Hermanas, ANIDI, Servicio de Investigación y Difusión del Patrimonio Mentally Disabled Persons Association, Seville. MANUELA REINA DE LA TORRE LAURA HINOJOSA GUTIÉRREZ MARIANO BOZA PUERTA JUAN FRANCISCO BAREA CASTILLO Text LAURA MONGE RIVERO JOSÉ LUIS LINEROS CHAMORRO ANA SÁNCHEZ PEINADO Administrative Assistance English Translation Instituto Lectura Fácil TREVOR BULTITUDE JOSÉ LUIS CASTAÑO CHAPARRO Illustrations LUISA TIMMERMANS Layout and design SUSANA MARTÍNEZ BALLESTEROS The LF logo identifies materials which abide by guidelines established by the International Federation of Library Asso- ciations and Institutions and Inclusion Europe, concerning language, content and form in order to facilitate compre- hension. It is granted by the easy-to-read association, Aso- ciación Lectura Fácil (www.lecturafacil.net). All rights reserved. No part of this guide may be reproduced by any mechanical, electronic or other means, in any form, without prior written permission from the Board of Trustees of the Alhambra and the Generalife (Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife). INDEX Introduction .............................................................................................. page 9 The Nasrid Kingdom of Granada The Alhambra The Medina, the walled old town ........................... page 21 The Alcazaba: the fortress .................................................... page 27 The palaces: Home of the sultans ........................... page 35 The Mexuar Palace The Comares Palace The Palace of the Lions The Partal y the Promenade of the Towers ......... page 57 The Palace of Charles V (the Fifth) ...................... page 65 The Generalife ....................................................................................... page 73 Regulations ................................................................................................. page 81 The Alhambra and the Generalife The Nasrid Palaces The Palace of Charles V The Alcazaba neighbourhood Albaicín Realejo neighbourhood Plaza Nueva The Generalife The Partal The Medina Entrance INTRODUCTION The Nasrid Kingdom of Granada The Nasrid sultans (Muslim kings of the Nasrid family) made Granada one of the most beautiful and important cities of its time. They built the Alhambra on top of a hill. It was from here that they ruled and defended the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, the last Muslim kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). Long before this, in the eighth century, Arabs and other Muslim peoples, ancestors of the Nasrids, had crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and invaded the Iberian Peninsula. They were followers of Islam, the religion Muslim: Follower of the of Muhammad. doctrines of Mohammed. Seize: To take something Those wise and cultured Muslims gave the name with sudden force. al-Andalus to the lands that they had conquered Visigoths: People who governed on the Iberian Peninsula. the Iberian Peninsula after the They seized power from the Visigoth kings, who Roman Empire, in the sixth were Christians, and they organised the life of the and seventh centuries. entire population according to their laws and customs. 11 Iberian Peninsula Kingdom of Navarre Kingdom of Kingdom Aragón of Castile Kingdom of Portugal Kingdom of Granada Both Christians and Jews lived on the Iberian Peninsula. When the new settlers arrived, three different cultures (Christian, Jewish and Muslim) began to live together on these lands. But several Christian kingdoms developed in the north of Spain and their kings advanced south, recovering much of the land. So, little by little, the Muslims lost almost all of their territory. Sometimes they made agreements with the Christian kings and at other times they fought against them on the battlefield: Sometimes they were friends and sometimes enemies. By the beginning of the 13th century, the kings of Castile and Aragon had already reached Andalusia. They won the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa Christians: followers and conquered a large part of Andalusia. of the doctrines of Jesus Christ. Only the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada remained Jews: followers of the Torah, the book that contains (the provinces of Málaga, Granada and Almería). the law and heritage It was the last Muslim kingdom of the Israelite people. on the Iberian Peninsula. 13 The Nasrid Kingdom lasted another 250 years, until the end of the 15th century. From the Alhambra, the Nasrid sultans endured the pressure from the Christian kings of Castile and Aragon. They made deals with their enemies and paid large amounts of money to the Christian kings to leave them alone and not attack their borders. They took good advantage of the resources of their territory. The Nasrid Kingdom of Granada was a good place to live from agriculture, industry and from trade with distant lands. The Nasrid people were experts in irrigation. They grew fruit trees and also many mulberry trees to feed silkworms. The silk industry was very important and silk was very appreciated outside the kingdom. They cherished culture and supported the arts and science. They surrounded themselves with philosophers, artists and poets and were renowned for their refined customs. They valued wisdom and liked to think and reason before making a decision. 14 They also liked to express themselves with elegant words and phrases, and live in beautiful places. They turned the Alhambra into a paradise. Many years later, in 1492, the Christian kings Isabel and Fernando (known as the Catholic Kings) conquered the kingdom of Granada and took possession of the city. When they entered the Alhambra they were amazed by its beauty. The kings of Spain conserved it and used it as a residence when they visited Granada. The Alhambra The sultans of Granada had always lived on the hill in the Albaicín neighbourhood, in the upper part of the city. Their palaces were in the same place Winding: Not straight: Full of that ordinary people lived. twists and turns. Their houses were in narrow, winding streets. Crowded: Full of people. The city was always crowded and busy. 15 Alhamar, the first sultan of the Nasrid dynasty, did not feel safe there and decided to move his residence onto the hill on the other side of the Darro River. He ordered a walled fortress to be built on the hill. From there, he could control what was happening in the city and defend his kingdom. He had a ditch made to bring water from the Darro River to the hill, because there was no water there. Thus, the Alhambra began to be built at the beginning of the 13th century. The descendants of Alhamar extended it, making it safer and more beautiful. Gradually, the Alhambra became a small city Dynasty: Kings and princes with palaces and walls with towers to defend it. from the same family. A lot of people worked in the city, Ditch: A channel to transport which is why there were so many water. different buildings. 16 Palaces were built for kings and their families, as well as housing for employees and servants of the court, workshops for artisans, mosques for prayer and public baths. Building took place in three distinct areas: • The Alcazaba: a military zone, where the soldiers lived and worked. • The palaces: where the kings lived with their families and other important members of the royal court. • The Medina: the area where servants, employees, artisans and merchants at the service of the palaces lived and worked. They also built roads and internal gates to move from one area to another. The small city was encircled by a 2,000 metre long wall with a number of watchtowers. The outer gates, to enter or leave the Alhambra, were at the base of some of the towers. The gates have an unusual design. The exit cannot be seen from the entrance and you have to go through a curved passageway like a tunnel. 17 Guards always watched over the exterior gates, and entering through one of them without permission was very difficult. There were four gates in the wall: The Gate of Justice, The Gate of the Seven Floors, The Gate of the Arrabal and The Gate of Arms. The Gate of Justice is the most important and largest gate in the walls of the Alhambra. The 2 arches of the gate are engraved with a hand and a key. The hand represents the 5 Muslim commandments. The key is the symbol of the Nasrid dynasty. Outside the city walls, on a nearby hill, the sultans built the Generalife: a place of rest, with orchards and gardens. The hand represents the 5 basic Following the Nasrid period, several changes rules of Islam: were made to the Alhambra. Belief in one God and in the The most important was prophet Muhammad; prayer; charity; fasting; the Palace of Charles V (The Fifth). and pilgrimage to Mecca. It was built by order of Charles V (The Fifth), Charles V (The Fifth): Charles I (The First) of Spain the grandson of the Catholic Kings. and Charles V (The Fifth) of He liked the Alhambra so much that Germany. he wanted to live there. 18 The Nasrid kings lived in the Alhambra for more than 250 years. It was from here that they ruled and defended the kingdom of Granada. Later, it became property of the kings of Spain. Today it is a World Heritage Site. 19 THE MEDINA The Medina was a small city within the Alhambra. There were houses, workshops, a mosque, public baths and even a school.