Sacred Sites
The Alhambra
Islamic Sites
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The Alhambra is a fortified palace and citadel complex above Granada, Spain, built chiefly under the Nasrid dynasty, the last Muslim rulers of Iberia, in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Its halls and courtyards are lined with muqarnas vaulting and carved stucco combining geometric, vegetal and calligraphic ornament, and its small palace oratory, the Mexuar, sits within the same citadel as the halls of state. A 2007 study of its geometric tiling identified decagonal, quasi-crystalline patterns in the Alhambra's ornament centuries before the formal mathematical description of such tilings in the West. After the completion of the Reconquista in 1492 the complex passed to the Catholic Monarchs, who preserved most of its Islamic fabric while adding new structures of their own, including the Renaissance Palace of Charles V.
Facts
Geography
LatitudeApproximate reference point, rounded to one decimal place; this marks the site's general location for a map, not a survey-grade or precise boundary measurement. LongitudeApproximate reference point, rounded to one decimal place; this marks the site's general location for a map, not a survey-grade or precise boundary measurement. Site
Type of SitePalace with a sanctuary 1 A royal palace and citadel containing its own small oratory, the Mexuar, rather than a free-standing mosque or shrine. Type of Site DetailFortified Islamic palace and citadel complex whose halls carry a small palace oratory amid Nasrid geometric ornament. 2 Status
Status TodayStanding, but maintained as a museum or heritage monument 1 UNESCO World HeritageInscribed on the World Heritage List 1 History
Historical NoteIts geometric tiling was analysed in a 2007 peer reviewed study (Lu and Steinhardt, Science) as employing decagonal and quasi-crystalline patterns of a kind not formally described in Western mathematics until the twentieth century. 3 Location
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor directly: "including the Renaissance Palace of Charles V."
Belongs to Tradition
Contained In
Its own text: "a fortified palace and citadel complex above Granada, Spain."
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