To the east is Generalife, a hillside royal villa outside the Alhambra walls, but connected by various access points. The Alhambra site has been historically rehabilitated, preserved, and accurately reconstructed for the tourist trade. The Museum of the Alhambra is housed in the Palace of Charles V or Palacio de Carlos V, a very large, dominating rectangular building constructed in the Renaissance style within the walled city. The Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), the Christian ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, is said to have torn down part of the Moorish palaces in order to build his own, larger residence.

The Christian ruling class during the Renaissance modified, renovated, and expanded Alhambra. Alhambra was expanded into a royal residential palaces or alcazars beginning in 1238 and the rule of the Nasrites, a Muslim domination that ended in 1492. The Alcazaba of Alhambra is one of the oldest parts of today's complex to be reconstructed after years of neglect. No doubt Alhambra we see today was built upon the ruins of other ancient fortifications on this same site - an irregularly shaped strategic hilltop. Michael Reeve/Getty ImagesĪlhambra was first built by the Zirites as a fortress or alcazaba in the 9th century. ISBN: 9788471690203 SKU: 1446895 Note: Any image shown is from a stock photo and is not the actual book.The Alhambra at Dusk in Granada, Spain. This 1994 Marques de Mondejar Softcover is in very good condition. He arrived in London by late September 1829. He wrote, 'How unworthy is my scribbling of the place.' Irving continued to travel through Spain until he was appointed as secretary of legation at the United States Embassy in London, serving under the incoming minister Louis McLane. Throughout his trip, he filled his notebooks and journals with descriptions and observations though he did not believe his writing would ever do it justice. Aided by a 17-year old guide named Mateo Ximenes, Irving was inspired by his experience to write Tales of the Alhambra. He immediately asked the then-governor of the historic Alhambra Palace as well as the archbishop of Granada for access to the palace, which was granted because of Irving's celebrity status.

At first sight, he described it as 'a most picturesque and beautiful city, situated in one of the loveliest landscapes that I have ever seen.' Irving was preparing a book called A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada, a history of the years 1478–1492, and was continuing his research on the topic.

Shortly after completing a biography of Christopher Columbus in 1828, Washington Irving traveled from Madrid, where he had been staying, to Granada, Spain. Tales of the Alhambra is a collection of essays, verbal sketches, and stories by Washington Irving.

Washington irving and the alhambra