Now the most popular tourist attraction in Spain, the Alhambra's Lions' Court has been the subject of a million postcards. Built in the second half of the 14th century by Mohammed V, this spectacular courtyard, restrained in its beauty, opens on to three beautiful rooms. In the centre is an unusual fountain in the form of an alabaster basin supported by 12 lions, which used to function as a clock, with the different hours spouting water from a different lion. When the palace was captured, its conquerors took apart the mechanism to see what ingenuity could possibly make it work. The clock has not worked since! Idris Tawfiq
The only Muslim palace to survive in the West. The Alhambra is a beautiful collection of buildings and gardens set against the mountain backdrop of the often snowy peaked Sierra Nevada a mountain range which is home to an Olympic ski resort. Today the Alhambra is a place of legend and lies. A place of vandalism and religious politics. It's leafy tree-lined walkways provide pleasant shade, enhanced by streams and spectacular water features that pervade every corner.
The Alhambra means in Arabic 'the red one' it was the largest political and aristocratic centre of the Muslim west. There are Moorish gardens and fine detailed tiles and arabesques that make this one of the most important destinations in Spain to visit.
