View through windows of the Torre de las Damas or Ladies' Tower of the Alhambra Palace, Granada, Andalusia, Spain, over the Sacromonte District
City of Granada, Andalusia, Spain: The Sacromonte District, home to Granada’s thriving Roma community, viewed from the south through Moorish windows in the Torre de las Damas or Ladies' Tower of the Alhambra Palace. The Torre de las Damas is located in the Palacio del Partal or Partal Palace, the oldest preserved palace of the Alhambra, and dates from the reign of Nasrid ruler Muhamman III (1302 - 1309). The Torre consists of an inward-facing ground level 'Partal' or portico formed by five arches, together with a square hall and a staircase leading to a later viewing platform. The tower gained its present name in the late 1700s. It was previously known as the Torre de Ismail or Ismail's Tower and Torre del Principe or Prince's Tower because King Mohammed V reserved use of the tower and palace for his half-brother Ismail. The name Alhambra has its origins in an Arabic word meaning "red castle" and the Alhambra Palace is amongst the finest Islamic buildings in Europe. Construction probably began in the 9th century, but the buildings standing today were built chiefly between 1238 and 1358 in the reigns of Ibn al-Ahmar, founder of the Nasrid dynasty, the last Islamic kingdom in Western Europe, and his successors. The Alhambra became a Christian court in 1492 when Catholic monarchs, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile, conquered Granada and expelled the Moors. Habsburg Emperor Charles V, who ruled Spain as Charles I (1516 - 56), destroyed part of the Alhambra to build an Italianate palace.
Size: 4163px × 2784px
Location: Sacromonte District, City of Granada, Andalusia, Spain, viewed from Alhambra Palace
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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