THE ALHAMBRA 37 



short sides of the court is that of the squares 

 upon the sides of a right-angled triangle. This 

 obtaining of beautiful symmetry through irregu- 

 larity is a strangely lost art." 



We will now proceed to a more detailed descrip- 

 tion of the Palace of Al Ahmar. 



THE PATIO DE LA MEZQUITA AND 

 ADJACENT BUILDINGS. 



Recent researches have shown that the ancient 

 ingress to the Palace of the Alhambra was by a 

 doorway leading into what is now the chapel. 

 It is square in shape and has long been walled up. 

 Above it may be deciphered the following inscrip- 

 tion : " O place of the high kingdom and asylum 

 of prodigious aspect ! Thou hast achieved a 

 great victory, and the merits of the work and of 

 the artificer [are] the glory of the Imam Mo- 

 hammed. The Shadow of the Most High [be] 

 upon all ! " This text is believed to refer to 

 Mohammed III. (1302-1309). 



The chapel, which had been established by 

 Ferdinand and Isabel adjacent to the Patio de 

 los Leones, was transferred to this part of the 

 Palace of Philip IV. in 1621. At that time a 

 fine chimney-piece in the Renaissance style was 

 converted into an altar. The apartment contains 

 but few remains of its Moorish builders . Without, 

 is the Patio de la Mezquita, with an exquisite 



