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| The newly refurbished Patio of the Lions |
Sunday, November 3, 2019 Granada
My favorite area of the Alhambra is the Courtyard of the Lions. Mohammed V built the Patio de los Leones, which comprised the private chambers of the royal family. It is said that this section is where Nasrid art achieved its greatest degree of magnificence. Per the Alhambra web site: “The beauty of this palace shows incomparable sensibility and harmony. Light, water, colors and exquisite decoration turn this palace into a marvelous pleasure for the senses. The abstract and geometric decoration steps back in this palace for a more naturalistic style to dominate, as the result of the Christian influence, which was even stronger due to the friendship between Mohammed V and the Christian king Pedro I."
The Patio of the Lions comprises a central patio surrounded by several galleries with columns in the way a Christian cloister would be. From the central patio you may access the different halls: the Hall of the Mocarabes (Sala de los Mocárabes) to the west, the Hall of the Kings (Sala de los Reyes) to the east, the Hall of the Two Sisters (Sala de Dos Hermanas), and Daraxa’s Mirador (Mirador de Daraxa) to the north and the Harem to the south. The ceilings, arches and some of the column capitals are covered with mocarabes – pyramidal plaster shapes that reflect light and are colored with pigments. The Hall of the Kings has a series of painted leather ceilings – in the middle, the first 10 kings of the Nasrid dynasty and on either side, hunting and romantic scenes.
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| The Hall of Kings with painted leather ceilings |
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| This painting depicts the 10 Nasrid rulers of the Alhambra |
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| Plaster decorations of mocarabes - pyramidal shapes - on the ceiling |
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| The hanging mocarabes make the arches seem to resemble fringed tents or carpets |
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