Probably the High Point of Our Trip

We got into a taxi. The taxi driver asked, "Alhambra?"

Yeah. If you're a tourist in Granada, you've almost certainly come to see the Alhambra.

In a recent post I asserted that "The Alcazar in Seville is surely one of the most beautiful buildings in the world."

And so it is. But the Alhambra tops it.

I'm going to give you one little taste right here; the rest will come after the jump.

Visiting the Alhambra is like eating one spun-sugar candy after another and never feeling that you've had enough. (For me, one would be more than enough. But never mind. The elaborate decorations of the Alhambra remind me of spun-sugar candy, OK?)

Some of what we saw at the Alhambra may have been mudéjar style -- Christian appropriation of Islamic architectural aesthetic -- but mostly it's the authentic article. Here's the story, told in telegraphese: Moors conquer, build; Reconquista takes back; Christians move in, make few changes.

The Alhambra is not a single edifice, but rather a large complex of buildings and gardens. It was erected on top of a hill, looking down upon the city of Granada; Granada's rulers lived there. (The root of the word Granada is Spanish for pomegranate.)

From the outside, the buildings of the Alhambra don't look like much. From the inside, though, whoo-ee! Most of the photos I'm sharing here are of the Nasrid Palaces, the fanciest part.

The most famous section is the Courtyard of the Lions:

Can you spot the fountain with its basin held up by lion caryatids? Unfortunately the tour doesn't let you near it.

Such textures, textures everywhere... I said to Karen, "This is very elaborate, but I like it much better than baroque-elaborate." She agreed and added that maybe the repetitiveness of it makes it easier for the eye to take in.

In parting, a brief video of a water feature running alongside a staircase: