On the floor of one of the alcoves of the Hall of Justice are to be seen
the painted tiles delineated in the centre of this plate.]
[Illustration: PLATE XLVII.
No. 56.
No. 57.
Mosaics in the Baths.]
[Illustration: PLATE XLVIII.
No. 58.
Mosaic from the portico of the Generalife.]
[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE LIONS, FROM THE WEST.]
[Illustration: TEMPLE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
[Illustration: COURT OF LIONS.]
[Illustration: SIDE ELEVATION OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS AND FOUNTAIN.]
[Illustration: ELEVATION OF THE FOUNTAIN OF THE LIONS.]
[Illustration: FOUNTAIN OF LIONS, WITH DETAILS OF THE ORNAMENT.]
[Illustration: PLAN OF THE BASIN OF THE FOUNTAIN OF LIONS.]
[Illustration: THE FIRST SIX VERSES OF THE INSCRIPTION AROUND THE BASIN
OF THE FOUNTAIN OF LIONS.]
[Illustration: PLATE XLIX.
No. 59.
Blank window, Hall of the Bark.]
[Illustration: PLATE L.
No. 60.
Soffit of arch, Entrance of the Hall of Abencerrages.]
[Illustration: PLATE LI.
No. 61.
Cornice at springing of arch of doorway at the entrance of the Ventana,
Hall of the Two Sisters.]
[Illustration: PLATE LII.
No. 62.
No. 63.
Borders of Arches.]
[Illustration: PLATE LIII.
No. 64.
Border of Arches.]
[Illustration: PLATE LIV.
No. 65.
No. 66.
Borders of Arches.]
[Illustration: PLATE LV.
No. 67.
Ornament in panels on the wall, Hall of Ambassadors.]
[Illustration: PLATE LVI.
No. 68.
Ornaments painted on the pendants, Hall of the Bark.]
[Illustration: THE LAST SIX VERSES OF THE INSCRIPTION AROUND THE BASIN
OF THE FOUNTAIN OF LIONS.]
[Illustration: ENTABLATURE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
[Illustration: DETAILS OF THE CENTRE ARCADE OF THE COURT OF LIONS.]
[Illustration: PART OF PANEL IN THE COURT OF LIONS.]
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF THE LIONS.
(_From a drawing made about 1830_).]
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF THE LIONS (UPPER PORTION).]
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
[Illustration: LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS, TAKEN
THROUGH THE PAVILION
THE ROOF IS A MODERN]
[Illustration: AT EACH END OF THE COURT, AND EXHIBITING AN ELEVATION OF
THE SIDE PORTICOS.
ONE, OF RED TILES.]
[Illustration: PLATE LVII.
No. 69.
Bands, side of arches, Court of the Lions.]
[Illustration: PLATE LVIII.
No. 70.
No. 71.
Bands, side of arches, Court of the Lions.]
[Illustration: PLATE LIX.
No. 72.
Ornaments on panels, Hall of Ambassadors.]
[Illustration: PLATE LX.
No. 73.
Ornaments on panels, Hall of Ambassadors.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXI.
No. 74.
Ornaments on panels, Hall of Ambassadors.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXII.
No. 75.
Ornaments on panels, Hall of Ambassadors.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXIII.
No. 76.
Frieze in the upper chamber, House of Sanchez.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXIV.
No. 77.
Cornice at springing of arches, windows of the Hall of Ambassadors.]
[Illustration: CAPITALS IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS, WITH A MEASURE OF ONE
METRE.]
Although the upper parts of the walls are only coated with plaster,
strengthened with reeds, centuries of neglect have not sufficed to
destroy this slight, “aerie, faerie” thing of filigree, which has not
even the appearance of durability. Wherever the destroyer has mutilated
the fragile ornaments, “the temple-haunting
[Illustration: NORTH GALLERY IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
martlet, guest of summer,” builds his nest and careers in the delicate
air, breaking, with his twitter, the silence of these sunny, now
deserted courts, once made for Oriental delights, and even now the place
in which to read the _Arabian Nights_, or spend a honeymoon--
This guest of summer,
The temple-haunting martlet, does approve,
By his lov’d mansionry, that the heaven’s breath
Smells wooingly here: no jutty, frieze,
Buttress, nor coigne of vantage, but this bird
Hath made his pendent bed, and procreant cradle;
Where they most breed and haunt, I have observ’d,
The air is delicate. [_Macbeth_, Act i., sc. 6]
SALA DE LA BARCA--HALL OF THE BARQUE.
Beyond where the fountain bubbles in the Court of the Fish-pond, is the
oblong Hall of the Barque, which is still as radiant with colours as the
edge of fading evening cloud. The rivers of poems that fret the walls
sing the praises of some long dead Sultán, who conquered twenty
fortresses, and whose excellence, running clear through his great deeds,
was as the silk thread that carries a necklace of pearls.
“The ceiling of the Hall of the Barque,” says Owen Jones, “is a
wagon-headed dome of wood, of the most elaborate patterns, receiving its
support from pendentives of mathematical construction so curious, that
they may be rendered susceptible of combinations as various as the
melodies which may be produced from the seven notes of the musical
scale; attesting the wonderful power and effect obtained by the
repetition of the most simple elements.”
Alas! it must be added that this beautiful Hall was greatly injured by a
fire, which took place in September, 1890.
SALA DE LOS EMBAJADORES--HALL OF AMBASSADORS.
After traversing the Hall of the Barque, we come upon the Hall of
Ambassadors--the Golden Saloon--with a dome which bursts like a
flower-bell upon the sight. The most
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF THE BARQUE, WITH VIEW OF THE
COURT OF THE FISH-POND, OR OF THE MYRTLES.]
beautiful thing about these Moorish domes is, not their grand poise and
balance, but the airiness of them. They seem mere resting clouds
swelling round you and canopying you with colour. You have no sense of
their weight or means of permanency. The stalactite ornament, as it is
called, seems fashioned in emulous rivalry of golden-celled honeycomb,
in which honey still rests; honey, dyed by the juices of the flowers
from which it has been drawn. The walls are like the leaves of
illuminated missals, framed by cornices of poem and prayer.
[Illustration: THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
The Hall of Ambassadors is a square of thirty-seven feet, and is sixty
feet high from the floor to the centre of the dome. It is the largest,
as well as the most imposing of the Halls of the Alhambra, though in
arrangement and symmetry of details less perfect than the Hall of The
Two Sisters.
Inscriptions of verses from the Koràn abound amongst the decorations.
The present ceiling of the Hall of the Ambassadors is a dome of wood,
ornamented by ribs intersecting each other in various patterns in gold,
on grounds of blue and red. The ceiling is ingenious in construction and
beautiful in detail. Owen Jones thinks that an arch of brick was
originally thrown across the hall, which gave way after the completion
of the building, carrying with it an earlier ceiling, which was
afterwards replaced by the present dome.
In the centre divan, on the north side of the Hall, there is
[Illustration: MOSAIC IN DADO, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
a most beautiful Mosaic dado, as perfect as when originally executed,
and which seems to be imperishable. It is formed of baked clay, squeezed
into moulds of the different figures, glazed on the surface, and
bevelled slightly on the edge. Thus, when necessary, the Mosaics were
not only easily withdrawn from the moulds, but, when united, they formed
a key for the mortar. In this particular recess, doubtless, was the
throne of
[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF THE BARQUE, THE ANTE-ROOM OF THE
HALL OF AMBASSADORS, WITH VIEW OF THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.
(_From a drawing made about 1830_).]
[Illustration: PLATE LXV.
No. 78.
From the centre arch of the Court of Lions.
No. 79.
From the entrance to the Divan, Hall of the Two Sisters.
Spandrils of Arches.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXVI.
No. 80.
Details of the wood-work of the door to the Hall of Abencerrages.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXVII.
No. 81.
No. 82.
Spandrils of Arches, Hall of Justice.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXVIII.
No. 83.
Ornaments on the walls of the Hall of the Ambassadors.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXIX.
No. 84.
From the entrance to the Court of Lions from the Court of the Fish
Ponds.
No. 85.
From the entrance to the Court of the Fish Ponds from the Hall of the
Bark.
Spandrils of Arches.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXX.
No. 86.
No. 87.
No. 88.
No. 89.
No. 90.
No. 91.
No. 92.
Mosaics from the Hall of Ambassadors, Hall of Two Sisters, and Hall of
Justice.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXI.
No. 93.
Plaster Ornaments, used as upright and horizontal bands enclosing panels
on the walls.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXII.
No. 94.
No. 95.
No. 96.
No. 97.
No. 98.
No. 99.
No. 100.
Mosaics from the Hall of Ambassadors, Hall of Two Sisters, Hall of
Justice, and Court of the Fish Pond.]
[Illustration: PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: SECTION AND ELEVATION OF THE INTERIOR OF THE HALL OF
AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: DETAIL IN THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: KUFIC INSCRIPTIONS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: MOSAIC ON DADO OF BALCONY HALL OF AMBASSADORS]
[Illustration: ORNAMENT FROM THE SIDE OF A WINDOW, HALL OF
AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: MURAL ORNAMENT, ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: ORNAMENT AT THE SIDE OF DOORWAY, ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF
AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXIII.
No. 101.
Panels on walls, Tower of the Captive.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXIV.
No. 102.
Blank window, Hall of the Bark.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXV.
No. 103.
Rafters of a roof over a doorway now destroyed beneath the Tocador de la
Reyna.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXVI.
No. 104
Band at springing of arch at the entrance of Hall of the Two Sisters
from the Court of Lions.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXVII.
No. 105.
Panelling of the centre recess, Hall of Ambassadors.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXVIII.
No. 106.
Part of ceiling of the Portico of the Court of the Fish Pond.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXIX.
No. 107.
Blank window, Hall of the Bark.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXX.
No. 108.
Ornaments on the walls, House of Sanchez.]
[Illustration: AN ARABIAN ORNAMENT, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: AN ARABIAN ORNAMENT, ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF
AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: INSCRIPTIONS AND ORNAMENT, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: ORNAMENT FROM THE SIDE OF A WINDOW, HALL OF
AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: INSCRIPTIONS IN THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: MURAL ORNAMENT, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: ORNAMENT FROM THE SIDE OF A WINDOW, HALL OF
AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: ORNAMENT FROM THE SIDE OF A WINDOW, HALL OF
AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXI.
Cornice and window in the centre of the Façade of the Mosque.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXII.
Detail of the central part of “Lindaraja’s” Balcony.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXIII.
Lower part of “Lindaraja’s” Balcony.]
[Illustration: ORNAMENT FROM THE SIDE OF A WINDOW, NORTH FRONT OF THE
HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: ORNAMENT IN THE SIDE OF A WINDOW, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: A CEILING IN OUTLINE, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: THE CEILING OF THE DOME LAID FLAT, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: DETAILS OF GLAZED TILES IN THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: MOSAIC IN DADO, EAST SIDE OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: MOSAIC IN DADO, NORTH SIDE OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: MOSAIC IN DADO, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: MOSAIC IN DADO, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
the Moorish kings, as indicated both by the inscriptions on the walls,
and the extraordinary care bestowed upon the decoration of the recess.
The Mosaic dados present a great variety in their patterns, the
combinations being endless.
“The colours of blue, red, and gold are still to be seen on the capital
of the column of the centre window of the Hall, but no traces of gold,
or any colour, have been discovered
[Illustration: CEILING OF GALLERY, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
on the shaft. The same thing occurs in the Court of the Fish-pond and
the Court of the Lions, but, in each case, the harmony of the colouring
appears to require that they should be gilt. It is probable that in the
restorations which the Palace underwent during the residence of the
Spanish kings, it was found much more easy to remove the gold from the
columns, exposing the white marble, than to incur the expense of re-
gilding.” Such is the opinion of the famous decorative artist, Owen
Jones; but the fondness of the Oriental for the spotless purity of
marble, and the transparency of alabaster, so oft expressed in the
inscriptions, forbids its acceptance.
In the several alcoves, or divans, which surround the Hall, the walls
are covered with plaster ornaments in relief, presenting the greatest
variety; the patterns in each divan being different.
[Illustration: EXTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE (PRIVATE PROPERTY).]
Beneath this Golden Saloon is a network of dungeon-like passages, by
which, it is said, Sultáns escaped in treasonable revolts, when angry
scimitars were glittering in the fountain-courts, or when the incensed
populace were tossing their threatening spears in the humming city
below. Here is also a prison-cell sort of room, with whispering holes at
each end, which
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXIV.
Detail of the lateral windows in the Hall of the Two Sisters.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXV.
Details of the front of the Mosque in the Harem.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXVI.
Details of the upper part of “Lindaraja’s” Balcony.]
[Illustration: FAÇADE OF THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: ELEVATION OF PORTICO ADJACENT TO THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: DETAILS OF ORNAMENT OF KORÁN RECESS NEAR THE
ENTRANCE-DOOR OF THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: DETAILS OF ORNAMENT IN THE COURT OF THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: DETAILS IN THE COURT OF THE MOSQUE, EASTERN FAÇADE.]
[Illustration: AN ARCHED WINDOW OF THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: AN ARCHED WINDOW OF THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: THE MOSQUE, FROM KORÁN RECESS.]
[Illustration: ARAB LAMP IN THE MOSQUE.]
Philip the Second built to amuse the wretched child, Don Carlos. Also a
vaulted cellar, where some rude sculpture has been immured by the
prudish monks.
PATIO DE LA MEZQUITA--COURT OF THE MOSQUE.
The exquisite façade of this Court is much disfigured by a modern
gallery. From the portions which remain, however, the general design may
be traced with tolerable certainty.
The inscriptions are few and unimportant, consisting, for the most part,
of the constantly-recurring motto: “There is no Conqueror but God,” and
some verses from the Koran.
The grand Mosque of the Alhambra was built in 1308 by Mohammed III., and
was in good preservation until the occupation of the French, who, says
Don Pascual de Gayángos, entirely destroyed it. It has been thus
described by _Ibnu-l-Khattíb_, the Grand Wizír of Yúsuf I.: “It is
ornamented with Mosaic work, and exquisite tracery of the most beautiful
and intricate patterns, intermixed with silver flowers and graceful
arches, supported by innumerable pillars of polished marble; indeed,
what with the solidity of the structure, which the Sultán inspected in
person, the elegance of the design, and the beauty of the proportions,
the building has not its like in this country; and I have frequently
heard our best architects say that they had never seen or heard of a
building which can be compared to it.”
LA MEZQUITA--THE MOSQUE.
The old Mosque, afterwards a chapel, was “purged” and consecrated by
Ferdinand and Isabella, and retains but few traces of its purpose during
the Moorish Dominion. The door was once overlaid with bronze, and, like
all the rest of the Palace, was stripped and spoiled by generations of
guardian thieves, who allowed no one but themselves to steal. Above the
door is still the exquisite-laced niche where the Korán used to be
placed by the green-turbaned Moollahs. Near the entrance is an elaborate
and beautiful niche, which was probably the _Mihráb_, or sanctuary of
the Mosque. Whilst at his prayers in this _Mihráb_, the martyred
Yúsuf--he who built the Gate of Justice in 1348, and who completed the
Alhambra--fell a victim to the dagger of an assassin in the year 1354.
The inscriptions in the Mosque, which were dumb to the conquerors, still
protest for the old faith, and cry aloud from barge-board and netted
rafter, “Be not one of the negligent.” “God is our refuge in every time
of trouble.”
LOS BAÑOS--THE BATHS.
The plan of these Baths is very similar to the arrangement still used
throughout the East.
[Illustration: CHAMBER OF REPOSE.]
From the elegant little saloon at the entrance where the bathers
unrobed, and whither they resorted after the bath, we pass, by a
circuitous passage, in which are two smaller baths, into the general
vapour-bath, paved with white marble, and lighted with openings in the
form of stars, lined with glazed earthenware. This corresponds with the
apartment called by the Arabs the _hararah_, or vapour-bath, and
described in Lane’s _Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians_; and
it was under the graceful arcades which support the dome that the
bathers
[Illustration: CHAMBER OF REPOSE.]
underwent the attentions of the _masseuses_ who waited on them. From the
great hall we pass into a smaller one, having at each end a marble tank,
used for solitary ablutions. Beyond, at the present day, an accumulated
heap of ruins prevents the recognition of the means for heating the
bath.
The upper part of the Chamber of Repose, which is supported on marble
columns, forms a gallery with small divans, in which two persons, or, at
most, four, could be accommodated at
[Illustration: CHAMBER OF REPOSE.]
the same time; from which it would appear that the bath was confined
entirely to the use of the sovereign and his hareem. The floor is paved
with beautiful Mosaics, which are in perfect preservation.
Inscription: “What is most to be wondered at is the felicity which
awaits men in this palace of delight.”
Los Baños are well preserved, for they lie out of the way of ordinary
ill-usage. The vapour-bath is lighted from above by small lumbreras, or
“louvres.”
GARDEN OF “LINDARAJA.”
The _Mirador_--Prospect-chamber--of “Lindaraja” overlooks this secluded
little court or garden, with its alabaster fountain, its cypress,
orange, and citron trees rising from trim
[Illustration: GARDEN OF “LINDARAJA,” AND THE APARTMENTS TRADITIONALLY
SAID TO HAVE BEEN OCCUPIED BY “LINDARAJA,” A FAVOURITE SULTÁNA.]
hedges of myrtles and roses. The _Mirador_ is a charming little
apartment of fifteen feet by ten feet, or thereabouts, with three tall
windows protected by _jalousies_. It is ordinarily and
[Illustration: THE GARDEN OF “LINDARAJA.”]
erroneously pointed out as the residence of Washington Irving during his
abode in the Palace in 1829. His apartments were, however, in the Mihráb
Tower, now known as the _Tocador de la Reina_.
TOCADOR DE LA REINA--THE QUEEN’S DRESSING-ROOM--
so called by the Spaniards, is about nine feet square. It was,
[Illustration: MOSAIC PAVEMENT IN THE QUEEN’S DRESSING-ROOM (TOCADOR DE
LA REINA).]
in part, modernised and painted in arabesque by Charles V. In a corner
is a marble slab drilled with holes, through which, it is said, perfumes
were wafted while the Queen was dressing.
It is not unimportant to locate precisely the dwelling-place of
Washington Irving during his sojourn in the Alhambra in 1829. It was in
the suite of rooms annexed to the Queen’s Dressing-room that he took up
his quarters. The kindly American genius, who regarded Englishmen as his
own kith and kin, makes it quite plain. He says: “On taking up my abode
in the Alhambra, one end of a suite of empty chambers of modern
architecture, intended for the residence of the
[Illustration: “THE QUEEN’S DRESSING-ROOM,” AT THE SUMMIT OF THE MIHRÁB
TOWER, WITH DISTANT VIEW OF THE GENERALIFE.]
Governor, was fitted up for my reception. It was in front of the
Palace.... I was dissatisfied with being lodged in a modern
apartment.... I found, in a remote gallery, a door, communicating
apparently with an extensive apartment, locked against the public.... I
procured the key, however, without
[Illustration: TOWERS AND PROMENADE.]
difficulty; the door opened to a range of vacant chambers of European
architecture, though built over a Moorish arcade.... This fanciful suite
of rooms terminated in an open gallery with balustrades, which ran at
right angles with a side of the garden. The whole apartment had a
delicacy and elegance in its decorations, and there was something so
choice and sequestered in its situation along with this retired little
garden, that it awakened an interest in its history. I found, on
inquiry, that it was an apartment fitted up at the time when Philip V.
and the beautiful Elizabeth of Parma were expected at the Alhambra, and
was destined for the Queen and the ladies of her train. One of the
loftiest chambers had been her sleeping-room; and a narrow staircase
leading from it ... opened to the delightful belvedere, originally a
_mirador_ of the Moorish Sultanás, but fitted up as a boudoir for the
fair Elizabeth, and which still retains the name of the _tocador_ or
toilette of the Queen. The sleeping-room I have mentioned, commanded
from one window a prospect of the Generalife and its embowered
terraces.... I determined at once to take up my quarters in this
apartment. My determination occasioned great surprise ... but I was not
diverted from my humour.”
TORRE DE LOS SIETE SUELOS--TOWER OF THE SEVEN STAGES.
This Tower is said to descend seven stories under ground. Four
subterranean chambers have been investigated. Divers marvellous tales
are related concerning this building, in which the Moorish kings are
believed to have deposited their treasures. Here, according to fable, is
heard the clash of arms, and of soldiers seen stationed to guard immense
treasures.
LA TORRE DE LOS PICOS--THE TOWER OF THE PEAKS--
is a Moorish postern gate crowned with minarets. The openings in the
Tower for dropping missiles upon assailants are of the time of the
Catholic Sovereigns. It is said that the
[Illustration: THE TOWER OF THE PEAKS.]
French intended to blow up this Tower--the holes made by the sappers yet
remain--but the procrastination of their agents saved the building. From
this postern, a path, crossing the ravine, leads up to the _Generalife_.
TORRE DE COMARES--TOWER OF COMARES.
The whole interior of this gigantic Tower is occupied by the Hall of the
Ambassadors which is described _supra_.
[Illustration: THE CAPTIVE’S TOWER.]
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE INFANTAS TOWER.]
[Illustration: THE INFANTAS TOWER.]
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE INFANTAS TOWER (CEILING).]
[Illustration: SECTION ON THE LINE C. D. OF PLAN.
SECTION ON THE LINE C. B. OF PLAN.
SECTIONS AND PLANS OF THE INFANTAS TOWER.]
[Illustration: ROOM IN THE TORRE DEL CAUTIVO, OR CAPTIVE’S TOWER.]
[Illustration: THE LADIES’ TOWER.]
[Illustration: THE HOMAGE TOWER, ANCIENT ARAB RUINS IN THE ALCAZÁBA.]
[Illustration: GRANADA, FROM THE HOMAGE TOWER.]
[Illustration: TORRE DE LA AQUA--TOWER OF THE AQUEDUCT.]
[Illustration: DETAIL OF THE ONLY ANCIENT “JALOUSIE” REMAINING IN THE
ALHAMBRA.]
TORRE DE LA VELA--THE WATCH-TOWER.
Here, an inscription records, the Christian flag was first hoisted by
the Cardinal Mendoza and his brother. The panorama from the roof of this
Tower is glorious. Below, lies Granada, belted with plantations; beyond,
expands the Vega, guarded like an Eden by a wall of mountains. It is a
scene for painters to sketch and for poets to describe.
The _Torre de la Vela_ is so called, because on this _watch-tower_ hangs
a silver-tongued bell, which is heard on a still night even at Loja,
thirty miles away. The bell is rung on 2nd January, the anniversary of
the surrender of Granada. Maidens come on this day to strike the bell,
which act ensures a
[Illustration: THE INFANTAS TOWER.]
husband, and of excellence in proportion to the noise made, which, it
need not be said, is considerable and continuous.
TORRE DE LAS INFANTAS--TOWER OF THE INFANTAS.