If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 366

The Alhambra, Granada, Spain

[photo:  Jesus Gomez]

An unused postcard with the photograph by Jesus Gomez, published and printed in Spain.  The number 1004 appears in the box designated for the stamp.  It came with several others from the trip my son and his wife took earlier this year to Portugal and Spain.  This aerial view card shows the sprawling complex mentioned in last week's postcard Thursday.

Although the name means “The Red One,” for the red clay the fort was made of, at one time the Alhambra was white washed and known as the “pearl set in emeralds” referring to the white walls surrounded by the lush green woods around it.  As mentioned in the previous postcard Thursday, the Alhambra is a sprawling complex of palaces, forts, and gardens completed during the end of Muslim rule of Spain by the Sultan of Granada, Muhammed V.  Originally it was a small fortress built around 889 AD on the remains of Roman fortifications.  It had gone to ruins and was rebuilt, enlarged, and improved by Yusuf I who ruled from 1333 to 1353.  He converted it into a royal palace and Mohammed V who was Sultan from 1353 to 1391 continued to add to it .  In 1492 following the Christian Reconquista the site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella and is where Christopher Columbus received permission and endorsement for his expedition. 

The Alhambra fell into disrepair and was occupied by squatters for a period of time before being rediscovered following the defeat of Napoleon.  Today it is one of Spain’s major tourist attractions.  It contains significant and well-known Islamic architecture and later Christian gardens.  The Alhambra is recognized as an UNESCO Heritage Site. 

Famous for intricate and delicate carvings and geometric patterns there are also inscriptions on the walls.  Poems mostly by Ibn Zamrak praise the palace.  The ornamentation is found carved into stucco and also on tile mosaics.  The postcard below has a photograph by Miguela Gomez and shows a pattern in tile containing an inscription in Arabic.  

Mosaic tile patterns, Alhambra

[photo:  Miguela Gomez]

The palace/fort complex evolved over a period of several centuries.  Construction materials included granular aggregate held together by a medium of red clay providing a layered brick and stone exterior while the interior contains alabaster and white stuccowork.  There is a system of water conduits and water tanks that create an inter-play of light, sound and surface. 

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra