Granada- On the walls of Alhambra

The view from Alhambra is half of its power. The walls give an amazing perspective on the city and a sense of admiration for its designers ability to factor the mountain perch into the design. 










The different walls and towers all share common traits of being on the edge of percariously sharp ledges which drop to the city below.

 No where is that more evident than in the Alhambra's azcalar or fortress portion of the grounds. 

 The tallest tower of the Alhambra shows where the fortress is located. During your stay at the Alhambra your only allowed one visit to this portion, but its necessary. Seeing its geographic location makes it quite obvious why the main defensive position is located here. The sheer mountain cliffs end, leaving open air as the ultimate deterrent to besieging forces. Who would want to climb a hill, then a cliff, and finally a huge castle wall?

 Inside these walls the remains of the garrison can be seen. Even though the foundation is all that remains one can see that it would have taken a lot of soliders to man the walls.

 The very top tower can be seen throughout Granada and reaching its top finally gave me a look at the flag I had seen flapping in the wind all day long. However the view was better, especially since the cloud cover broke for the first time all day giving the first glimpse of the sun I had seen since I arrived.

Combined with the rain clouds coming down from the mountains it made for some great photos. 

Later on in the day I spotted these cannons. No doubt at some point later in Granada's history these were used to defend the Alhambra. My guess is it never came to a serious battle since the Alhambra was not destroyed, and I'm glad for that.

 Next time: The Alhambra's Palaces and Gardens