144 ARCHITECTURE. 
were carried away from Roman and Carthaginian buildings. The columns 
are only 18 inches thick, and not much above 12 feet high. The arches 
sprung from front to rear are Moorish; those from side to side, resting on 
the capitals of the columns, are of the same form, but their springings are 
laid against pillars which rise between them from the capitals of the 
columns, and are six to eight feet high, terminating in cubic capitals, on 
which rest somewhat depressed Romanesque arches which connect them. 
The spaces between the upper and lower arches are left open. The effect 
produced by this extensive lattice-work between. the arches and the ceiling 
is very pleasant. The arches of the hall Maksourah (pl. 31, fig. 2) are still 
more complicated and their effect grander i in proportion. Their construction 
is more easily illustrated than described ; a eee at our figure will give a 
clear idea of their surpassing splendor. 
When the Moors lost the supremacy in Spain, the mosque was made a 
Christian church, but remained unaltered until 1528, when several altera- 
tions were made in the interior, executed in the German style, and totally 
destroying the harmony of the whole. The chapels, especially, which we 
have mentioned are in grievous discordance with the leading features of the 
ground plan. 
The greatest architectural work of the Moors is the palace Alhambra, 
built by order of Mahomed Abu-Abdallah, in the beginning of the 13th 
century, near the city of Granada. This edifice is situated on a hill by — 
itself; its various component parts covering an area of 2300 feet by 600. 
The exterior is rather plain. The buildings are approached by a Grecian 
gate, erected by the Emperor Charles V. The inner gate is known as the 
Gate of Justice, having formerly been the place where minor litigations 
were adjusted. Above this gate a colossal hand is wrought symbolical of 
judicature. Some have thought it and the key over another gate to have 
been intended for a magic spell whieh was to insure perpetuity to the palace. 
These gates lead into an open space with a tasteful palace erected by 
Charles V. Thence a simple gate leads into the palace of the Moorish 
princes, Alhambra proper. The first court, that of Aleerba, is paved with 
white marble. In its centre is a reservoir, 130 feet by 30, surrounded by 
rose trees and containing gold fishes. Thence an arcade leads into the 
court of the lions (pl. 32, jig. 1), named from twelve Hons which support 
the alabaster reservoir of a magnificent fountain in the centre of the court. 
The splendid halls surrounding this court afford the best facilities for study- 
ing the details of the Moorish style, of which we have represented a number 
in jigs. 2-12. Only the sides towards the court have white marble arches ; 
the ceilings are of wood, flat, and gorgeously decorated. One of the halls 
exhibits rich inlaid eee bens Damascus, and designs ornamented with 
inlaid work of lapis lazuli. Among the many Me of the palace, the 
hall of the ambassadors, or the solden hall (jig. 13), and the hall of the 
two sisters (fig. 14), are the most attractive. The latter takes its name from 
two marble columns found there, which are exactly alike, even to the most 
minute parts of the decoration. All the apartments of the palace and all 
its courts and gardens are provided with good water by special water-works. 
144 
