Foundations of the rooms in the Abencerrajes Palace
Rooms of the Abencerrajes Palace
The image shows the foundations of the rooms of the Abencerrajes Palace in the archaeological site of the Abencerrajes Palace, which is located in the upper area of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.
Napoleon, who occupied the Alhambra from 1808 to 1812, was responsible for the destruction of buildings in this site. Upon his defeat, he ordered his retreating troops blew up the palace, including the Abencerrajes Tower.
The site was left abandoned after the destruction. However, this changed in the 1930s when the restoration of the Alhambra started. After the discovery of artifacts of the Nasrid era around this area, the archaeologists took a keen interest in this site and started excavating different parts of the palace. The significant excavations took place in 1957, 1990, and 1991. The foundations you see now are the results of that excavations and some restoration.
Before the destruction, the palace was known as the Palacio de la Contaduría (Accounting Palace) because the Christian kings who took over the Alhambra gave this area to the senior accountant of the Royal Council in 1501.
The floor plan conforms to the Moorish architecture of a house. As you can see from the image, there are several rooms with a court in the center. Behind the palace is part of the thick defensive wall that surrounds the Alhambra. The adarve (the path on the top of the wall) connects the watchtowers built along the wall.
Related Images
– Abencerrajes Palace – Archaeological Site
– Torre de los Abencerrajes – Abencerrajes Tower
– Patio de la Sultana – Sultana’s Court in the Generalife
– Plaque describing the Abencerrajes Legend in the Patio de la Sultana
– Cypress Tree of the Abencerrajes Legend Fame in the Patio de la Sultana
– Sala de los Abencerrajes (Hall of the Abencerrajes) – A hall belonging to the Nasrid Palaces
Related Pages
– Alhambra
— Palacios Nazaríes – Nasrid Palaces – A Shining Example of Moorish Art and Architecture
— Los Jardines del Partal – The Gardens of the Partal
— Alcazaba – A Formidable Fortress of the Nasrids
— Medina, the Bustling City
— Alhambra – Christian-Era Monuments
— Alhambra – Outer Monuments
– Generalife – Heavenly Gardens of the Nasrids
Copyright © 2020 by Lawrence Rodrigues. All rights reserved.