Cheryll Rogers

The first regular meeting of the Fredonia Shakespeare Club was held on Oct. 16, at the home of Judi Lutz-Woods. After a short business meeting Cheryll Rogers presented her paper on the Alhambra Palace in Spain.

The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Islamic world. The Alhambra was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984 and is now one of Spain’s major tourist attractions. It was one of the first Islamic monuments to become the object of modern scientific study and has undergone numerous restorations since the 19th century.

Alhambra derives from Arabic and means “the red one” or “the red fortress,” a reference reddish color of its walls from the iron oxide in the local clay used in its construction. The site covers an area of about 35 acres.

The complex was begun in 1238 by Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr, the first Nasrid emir and founder of the Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim state of Al-Andalus. Continuous modifications to the complex were made with the most significant taking place during the 14th century. The lands and structures were surrendered to King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile in 1492 with the expulsion of the Moors. The site then became the royal court of Ferdinand and Isabella. Two major events occurred during their years in Alhambra. The first was the signing of the Alhambra Decree which ordered the expulsion of all Jews in Spain who refused to convert to Christianity. The second was the signing of the contract with Christopher Columbus setting the terms of the expedition with landed in the Americas.

In 1526, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain and Archduke of Austria and his wife Isabella of Portugal, empress consort, Queen of Spain and Germany and Lady of the Netherlands, visited Alhambra and decided to convert it into a royal residence for their use. A new Renaissance-style palace was commissioned in 1526 by Charles, but it was left incomplete in the early 17th century. The Alhambra fell into disrepair over the following centuries, and finally partially destroyed by Napoleon’s troops in 1812, and an earthquake in 1821 caused further damage.

During the Nasrid era, the Alhambra was a self-contained city separate from the remainder of Granada below and included most of the amenities of a Muslim city such as a Friday Mosque, public baths, roads, houses, artisan workshops, a tannery and a sophisticated water supply. The magnificent gateway to the Alhambra is called the Gate of Justice, or the Gate of the Esplanade, with an impressive orange-red door. The gate consists of a large horseshoe arch leading to a steep ramp passing through a bent passage. The passage twists and turns 90 degrees to the left than to the right, with an opening above where defenders could throw projectiles onto any attackers below. The image of a hand, whose five fingers symbolized the Five Pillars of Islam, is carved above the archway on the exterior façade. The image of a key, another symbol of faith, is carved above the archway on the inner façade. A Christian-era sculpture of the Virgin and Christ Child were later inserted in a niche just above the gate.

Alhambra contained at least six major palaces, most located along its northern edge with commanding views over the quarter. Residents of the palace, representing various social classes, each had their designated walkways, maintaining strict segregation. The sultan and his family had a distinct entrance known as the royal court walk.

The architecture of the Nasrid palaces reflects the tradition of Moorish architecture developed over previous centuries, characterized by the use of courtyards as a central space and basic unit around which other halls and rooms were organized. Courtyards typically had a water feature at their center, such as a reflective pool or fountain. Decoration was focused on the outside of the building and was executed primarily with tile mosaics on the lower walls and carved stucco on the upper walls. The layout of the courtyards, the distribution of windows, and the use of water features were designed with the climate in mind, cooling and ventilating in the summer while minimizing cold drafts and maximizing sunlight in the winter. Upper-floor rooms were smaller and more enclosed, making them more suitable for use during the winter. Geometric patterns, vegetal motifs and Arabic inscriptions were the main types of decorative motifs for tile mosaics and wooden ceilings. The tilework is pure symmetry, and all the corners adhere to mathematical principles. This was designed to represent Allah’s grandeur on Earth. However, it is said that the designers included one mistake invisible to the naked eye as aiming for complete perfection was considered to be a defiance of God. Stalactite-like sculpting known as muqarnas was used for 3-dimensional features like vaulted ceilings. Arabic inscriptions were carved along the walls and included Quran excerpts, poetry by Nasrid court poets, and the repetition of the Nasrid motto meaning “And there is no victor but God”.

While the stucco decoration, wooden ceilings, and marble capitals of the Alhambra often appear colorless or monochrome today, they were originally painted in bright primary colors - red, blue, and (in place of yellow) gold.

In the 18th century, the Alhambra became a destination for British, American and other European romantic travelers, the most influential of them being Washington Irving, whose “Tales of the Alhambra” published in 1832 brought international attention to the site.

The Alhambra was often remembered nostalgically in some Muslim societies after the Christian conquest of 1492 and may have influenced later examples of Islamic architecture, such as several monuments constructed by the Saadian dynasty which ruled Morocco in the 16th and 17th centuries. Its architecture was also a model emulated in the “Moresque” style that became fashionable in Europe in the 19th century.

Following the very informative presentation we shared delicious snacks, tea and coffee provided by our hostess, Sharon Klug. Mary Croxton poured.