Emblematic place with a rich history… The Alhambra so called because of its reddish walls (in Arabic, («qa’lat al-Hamra’» means Red Castle). It is located on top of the hill al-Sabika, on the left bank of the river Darro, to the west of the city of Granada.
It’s a must see place when visiting Andalusia. Discover the history and changes that Alhambra underwent over the centuries and what is its structure today.

THE 9TH CENTURY
The Arabs regarded the Roman urban communities and streets, making them bigger by including new contructions. In the ninth century proof from Arab writings focuses to new developments inside the Alhambra, in spite of the fact that it is believed that some constructions were built during the Roman period and even earlier.

THE 11TH CENTURY
After the Caliphate of Cordoba civil war, the capital of the Granada region was moved from Elvira to Granada in the eleventh century, promoted by the Zirid Dinasty. The Ziries settled their court in the Alcazaba Cadima, situated in the Albayzin region and occupied in the 15th century with the constructions of King Dar-al-Horra’s Palace.

At the slant foot there was a Jewish settlement, around which the city of Granada began developing.
Vizier Samuel ibn Nahgralla reconstructed the deserted vestiges situated on the Sabikah Hill and constructed his castle there.

THE 12TH CENTURY
The progressive attacks of Almorávides and Almohades in Granada finished with furious and grisly fights that occurred in the Alcazaba del Albayzin and in the structures of the Alhambra, which turned into the shelter for the nearby Andalusians and now and again for the North African invaders.

THE 13TH CENTURY
Al-Ahmar, the founder of the Nasrid Dynasty, took up residence at the Old Alcazaba of the Albayzin in 1238, though he was attracted by the ruins on top of the Alhambra hill. Thus he started the reconstruction of the building for the residence of his Court as we know it now.

The Alhambra was a castle and a fortification, the habitation of the Nasrid Sultans and top government authorities, court workers and the royal guard.
The Nasrid Kingdom became Islamic sultanate on the Iberian Peninsula, and its capital Granada dynamically got Muslim populaces compelled to withdraw from the Christians. The city developed with the improvement of new rural areas and expanded its dividers almost until it was vanquished toward the end of the 15th century.

TODAY
It’s currently an artistic-historical monumental group with four clearly distinguishable zones: the Palaces, the military zone or Alcazaba, the city or Medina, and the villa of the Generalife, all of them surrounded by woods, trees, gardens, parks and vegetable gardens.