Competition
The Palacio de los Leones of Mohamed V is the jewel of the crown of the Alhambra! As you step across the threshold of the Patio de los Arrayanes, leaving the Palacio de Comares, you understand that you have crossed the frontier to another world, another period, another lifestyle.
Designed and conceived by Mohamed V, this place reminds us of peaceful times, where beauty, the calm, and serenity reigned over defence, the battles and the intimidation. The relation between the Sultan and King Pedro I of Castile was the starting point for this sumptuous building, it was an attempt at making a greater one than the beautiful Christian Alcazar palace in Seville, King Mohamed embarked on a "colossal battle" to get the palace of palaces. The battle was now taking place in the field of culture, art and architecture!
In every room you can notice the hand of Moorish and Christian craftsmen, smartly mixed with the Muslim precepts and imposing the geometry and beauty of the Greek canon of perfection. It is curious that the columns of the Patio de los Leones were built with the same canons as the Parthenon... or that the domes from the Hall of the Abencerrajes and Dos Hermanas are based on Pythagoras' theorem.
This palace was converted into the pinnacle of Nasrid architecture, but it does owe much to the Christian palace of Seville. The change of mentality and the tranquillity that breathed at that time in the kingdom of Granada can be felt in its mixed styles, the oriental touch, in the feeling of living on heaven on earth.
It is impossible not to feel like a sultan or a queen when you walk in each one of its corners. The Palacio de los Leones became the official residence leaving the Comares and the Mexuar for other purposes.
Water, fountains, gardens, dreamy bedrooms, legends and above of all an incredible commitment to beauty is what one finds here. Another corner to dream, enjoy, to never forget.
Sometimes, when I feel a little down, I look at pictures of these places and a smile immediately comes to my face and I feel good ;-)
In a visit to the Alhambra, when you think you have seen it all, you are suddenly immersed by its best preserved secret: the hall of the muqarnas, with the incredible stalactites giving way to the Patio de los Leones. A slightly evocative name, don’t be deceived, as the architecture is so stunning that it confuses the senses.
Suddenly, an ethereal sensation invades the place, the light plays with space and all references are lost. An exquisite space of incalculable beauty and architecture that has never been reproduced.
While you contemplate it, you feel like putting down some pillows and lying down to admire such beauty, feeling like a legendary Moorish princess ;)
In the oasis of stone palm trees, with the pale sound of water, the heat abruptly leaves. We are now in front of what perhaps is one of the most beautiful, famous and enigmatic fountains in the world.Without a doubt, one of my favourite spots ;)
