ALHAMBRA. 
334 
tains, about twenty-five miles fouth-weft of Granada, on 
the banks of the Rio Frio, in lat. 36. 59. N. Ion. 1. 10. W. 
and is famous for its warm baths. It was taken from the 
Moors in 1481, The inhabitants, though furprifed, and 
the town without a garrifon, made a gallant defence : but, 
being at length forced to fubmit, the place was abandoned 
to the pillage of the Chriftian foldiers ; who, not fatisfied 
with an immenfe quantity of gold and jewels, made Haves 
of upwards of 3000 of the inhabitants. 
ALHAM'BRA, the ancient fortrefs and refidence of 
the Moorith monarchs of Grenada. It derives its name 
from the red colour of the materials wjth which it was 
originally built, Alhambra fignifying a red houfe. It ap¬ 
pears to a traveller a huge heap of irregular buildings, all 
huddled together, Seemingly without the leaft intention 
of forming one habitation. The walls are entirely un¬ 
ornamented, of gravel and pebbles, daubed over with 
platter by a very coarfe hand : yet this is the palace of 
the Moorilh kings of Granada, indifputably the molt: cu¬ 
rious place internally, that exifts in Spain, perhaps in the 
world. 
“ On my firtt vifit,” fays Mr. Swinburne, “ I confefs I 
v. as ftruck w ith amazement, as I fcept over the threfhold, 
to find myfelf on a hidden transported into a fpecies of 
fairy land. The fir ft place you enter is the court called 
the communa or del mefucar, that is, the common baths ; an 
oblong fquare, with a deep bafon of clear water in the 
middle; two flights of marble fteps leading down to the 
bottom ; on each lide a parterre of flowers, and a row of 
orange-trees. Round the court runs a periftyle paved 
with marble; the arches bear upon very flight pillars, in 
proportions and flyle different from all the regular orders 
of architecture. The ceilings and walls are incruftated 
with fret-work in ftucco, fo minute and intricate, that the 
ipoft patient draughtsman would find it difficult to follow 
it, unlefs he made himfelf matter of the general plan. In 
every divifion are Arabic fentences of different lengths, 
moft of them expreffive of the following meanings: “There 
is no conqueror but God;” or, “ Obedience and honour 
to our Lord Abouabdoulah.” The ceilings are gilt or 
painted, and time has caufed but little diminution in the 
frethnefs of their colours, though confiantly expofed to 
the air. The lower part of the walls is molaic, difpofed 
in fantaftic knots and fefloons. The porches at the ends 
are more like grotto-work than any thing elfe to which 
they can be compared. That on the right hand opens in¬ 
to an odtagon vault, and forms a perfect whifpering gal¬ 
lery, meant to be a communication between the offices of 
the houfes. 
“ Oppolite to the door of the communa through which 
you enter, is another leading into the quarto de los leones, 
or, apartment of the lions; which is an oblong court, 100 
feet in length and fifty in breadth, environed with a co¬ 
lonnade feven feet broad on the fides and ten at the end. 
Two porticos or cabinets about fifteen feet fquare, pro¬ 
ject into the court at the two extremities. The fquare 
is paved with coloured tiles ; the colonnade with white 
marble. The walls are covered five feet up from the 
ground with blue and yellow tiles, difpofed chequerwife. 
Above and below is a border of fmall efcutcheons, ena¬ 
melled blue and gold, with an Arabic motto on a bend, 
fignifying, “ No conqueror but God.” The columns that 
Support the roof and gallery are of white marble, very 
flender, and fantaflically adorned. They are nine feet 
high, including bafe and capital, and eight inches and a 
half diameter. They are very irregularly placed ; forne- 
times Singly, at others in groups of three, but more fre¬ 
quently two together. The width of the horfe-fhoe arches 
above them is four feet two indies for the large ones, and 
three for the fmaller. The ceiling of the portico isfinifhed 
in a much finer and more complicated manner than that 
of the communa, and the ftucco laid on the walls with 
inimitable delicacy; in the ceiling it is fo artfully frofled. 
and handled as to exceed belief. The capitals are of va¬ 
rious defigns, though each defign is repeated feveral times 
in the circumference of the court, but not the leaf! atten¬ 
tion has been paid to placing them regularly or oppolite 
to each other. Not the fmalleft representation of animal 
life can bfc difcovered ainidft the varieties of foliages, 
grotefques, and ftrange ornaments. About each arch is 
a large fquare of arabefques, furrounded with a rim of 
characters, that are generally quotations from the Koran. 
Over the pillars is another fquare of delightful ftlligree 
work. Higher up is a wooden rim, or kind of cornice, 
as much enriched with carving as the ftucco that covers 
the part underneath. Over this projects a roof of red 
tiles, the only thing that disfigures this beautiful fquare. 
This ugly covering is modern, put on by order of Mr. 
Wall, the late prime minifter, who a few years ago gave 
the Alhambra a thorough repair. • In Moorilh times, the 
building was covered with large painted and glazed tiles, 
of which fome few are ftill to be feen. In the centre of 
the court are twelve ill-made lions muzzled, their fore 
parts Smooth, their hind parts rough, which bear upon 
their backs an enormous bafon, out of which a Idler rifes. 
While the pipes were kept in good order, a great volume 
of water was thrown up, that, falling down into the ba- 
fons, pafled through the beads, and iffued out of their 
mouths into a large pefervoir, where it communicated by 
channels with the jet d’eaus in the apartments. This foun¬ 
tain is of white marble, embellilhed with many felloons 
and Arabic diftichs, thus tranllated : 
“ Seed thou not how the water flows copioufly like 
the Nile ?” 
“ This refembles a fea wathing over its fhores, threat¬ 
ening fliipwreck to the mariner.” 
“ This water runs abundantly to give drink to the 
lions.” 
“ Terrible as the lion is our king in the day of battle.’* 
“ The Nile gives glory to the king, and the lofty 
mountains proclaim it.” 
“ This garden is fertile in delights : God takes care 
that no noxious animal (ball approach it.” 
“ The fair princefs that walks in this garden, covered 
with pearls, augments its beauty fo much, that thoti 
may’ft doubt whether it be a fountain that flows, or the 
tears of her admirers.” 
“ Palling along the colonnade, and keeping on the South 
fide, you come to a circular room tifed by the men as a 
place for drinking coffee and Sorbets in. A fountain in- 
the middle refrelhed the apartment in Summer. The form 
of this hall, the elegance of its cupola, the cheerful dis¬ 
tribution of light from above, and the exquifite manner 
in which the ftucco is deligned, painted, and ftnifhed, ex¬ 
ceed all powers of defcription. Every thing in it infpires 
the moft pleading, voluptuous, ideas; yet in this Sweet 
retreat they pretend that Abouabdoulah affembled the 
Abencerrages, and caufed their heads to be ftruek off into 
the fountain. Continuing your walk round, you are next 
brought to a couple of rooms at the head of the court, 
which are fuppofed to have been tribunals or audience- 
chambers. 
“ Oppofite to the Sala de los Abencerrages is the entrance 
into the Terre de las dos hermanas, or the tower of the two 
fillers ; fo named from two very beautiful pieces of mar¬ 
ble laid in the pavement. This gate exceeds all the reft 
in profufion of ornaments, and in beauty of profpedt which 
it affords through a range of apartments, where a multi¬ 
tude of arches terminate in a large window open to the 
country. In a gleam of funfftine, the variety of tints and 
lights thrown upon this enfilade are uncommonly rich. 
The firff hall is the concert-room, where the women Sat; 
the muficians played above in four balconies. In the mid¬ 
dle is a jet d’eau. The marble pavement is equal to the 
fineft exifting, for the fize of the flabs and evennefs of the 
colour. The two Afters, which give name to the room, 
are flabs that meafure fifteen feet by Seven and a half, 
without flaw or (lain. The walls, up to a certain height, 
are mofaic, and above are divided into very neat com¬ 
partments of ftucco, ail of one defign, which is aMo fol¬ 
lowed 
