This was a palace and a place of leisure that was separate from the Alhambra, used by the Nasrid rulers as a place of rest and retreat particularly in the summer months. It is found on the Cerro del Sol hill and its construction is attributed to Ismail I, who reigned between 1314 and 1325. In 1931 it grew in size and importance with the magnificent gardens and cypress mazes that today mark the way to the palace.
The Generalife is surrounded by vegetable gardens that in their day guaranteed the supply to the kitchens of the Alhambra. The Palace had all the amenities. Access was through the Courtyard of Dismounting, where the riders got off their horses, and from which you reach the Courtyard of the Water Channel. This channel divides the gardens lengthways and has a cistern of water and fountain spouts, which were added centuries later.
The South Pavilion was possibly meant for the harem and the North Pavilion housed the living quarters of the Queen. The Courtyard of the Sultana is so named because, according to legend, the hundred-year old cypress tree of which the trunk survives today, was the witness to the infidelities of the King’s favourite with a knight of the Abencerraje family. There is a little pond with a fountain in the centre of the courtyard, surrounded by oleander, ivy and bougainvillea.
| Previous | List | Next |
© Patronato Provincial de Turismo de Granada I Diputación de Granada
