THE ALHAMBRA 39 



Adjacent to the mihrab is the ruined tower of 

 Punales, which presents many architectural points 

 of difference from the rest of the palace, and has 

 features which may have suggested these charac- 

 teristics of the Mudejar style seen in other parts of 

 Andalusia. The principal window of the tower 

 was furnished with a wooden balcony with 

 lattices similar to those seen in Constantinople 

 and Cairo. 



Retracing our steps across the Patio de la 

 Mezquita, we reach the spacious Court of the 

 Myrtles or of the Fishpond (Patio de los Arrayanes, 

 or de la Alberca). This is the court first entered 

 by the visitor through the modern entrance. It 

 is one of the most beautiful parts of the palace, 

 and gives a foretaste of the glories that lie beyond. 

 One feels immediately transported to the East. 

 " The originality of the architecture [says Don 

 Francisco Pi Margall], the airy galleries, its rich 

 alhamis or alcoves, the splendid apartments of 

 which glimpses are obtained through its arches, 

 the fountains and foliage, the reflection of its 

 stuccoed walls in the waters of the pond, the 

 murmur of the breezes that agitate the dense 

 myrtles, the transparency of the sky, the silence 

 that reigns all about all oppress the soul at the 

 same time, and leave us for some moments 

 submerged in a sea of sensations which reveal to 

 us little more than the harmony of the whole 



