Wow--today was great! We got up early and "furiously hiked" up the mountain to La Alhambra where we walked quickly to the Palacio Nazaries for our entry time. We had a sketching assignment here (How could we not with so much inspiration in this city inside of a city?!). Bob Ben and Tom gave the lecture on Alhambra, then we were let loose to sketch, and explore the grounds of the Alhambra, starting with this, Palacio Nazaries.
Within the first three rooms (only defined by the change in levels of the floor and/or ceiling, as opposed to physical walls between them), we could already see damage that had been done between being occupied and re-done by different rulers. After each ruler died, the next ruler either built additions, re-did parts, or just plain destroyed the old palace and started over. This caused some serious issues when it came to restoration because who is to decide which part(s) of which palace(s) and from which time period(s) should be considered most important and worthy of rebuilding and restoration?!
In any case, this room was the 4th in the entry sequence, and the most well lit and well-restored. It looks out over the old islamic part of the city. You can see some of the amazing detail that represents islamic architecture. I couldn't begin to imagine how long these carvings must have taken.
A few rooms later, after crossing from the early public spaces into the transition courtyard, we find ourselves in a more private space called the Ambassador's courtyard and Ambassador's chamber. This is where I spent the majority of my time sketching. The above window is just one of about 8 in the Ambassador's chamber of the palace. You can see it in the sketch below.
I spent nearly 2 hours standing and holding my sketchbook working on just that one drawing--but I am really proud of it now that it is done. The hardest part was trying to get the proportions correct for the drawing, and after that, the detailing was ok except for the Islamic script. I was afraid that if I missed the tiniest curve in a line that it wouldn't read correctly. Luckily, as I was sketching the courtyard, a woman came to up to me and asked me if I spoke arabic because she saw my sketch. I told her I didn't and asked her if it was correct. She said yes and continued to tell me that it is the repeated phrase, "En el nombre de Dios"-in the name of God.
This is probably one of the two most well-known views of La Alhambra in the Ambassador's Courtyard. Water is a huge part of Islamic architecture. I sat underneath the arcade on the other end of the pool to sketch the facade above me in the picture because it was raining for most of the morning and I was tired from standing for those 2 hours! It was strange to have people walking by and looking at me like a real artist. I remember being so in awe of people drawing when I was younger, and today that was me...weird. I even had an Arab family come over to me and ask to take their picture with me! It was pretty funny, really. Everyone joked later that it was not because of my sketches, but probably because I'm blonde-haha.
While I would love to show you the OTHER most well-known view of The Alhambra, I'm afraid that I can't because of the construction that it was undergoing. The space, however is Patio de los Leones. This dome is adjacent to the court. Once again...THE DETAIL! I can't even explain. I won't try. Hopefully you can even get SOME concept of how incredible this place is.
This is a shot taken after passing through el Patio de los Leones, back toward it. The sun had just come out when I walked through the court and it seemed like a perfect moment and a perfect way to show the uniqueness of every square inch of this place...it's like fingerprints: no two are the same.
After walking through the private sections of the palace, I came to the gardens (I'm not sure if these were private or public). This is near the end of my walk through Palacio Nazaries, but once again shows the way that water and the movement and longevity represent our path in life and whatnot...it's quite moving.
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