breath taking! hope to visit some day

One of the beautiful architectures of heydays of Islamic world. Thank God it is still there for everybody to see. But today's Muslims must stop saying ." my great great grand father was a sultan.." kind of thing and ask the question 'what went wrong'.and why the Islamic world today is in the dumps' ? Then it would be better for all.

A marvelous piece of art and architecture.It was great to visit Granada and Qurtuba last year with a friend.

I visited Undlus (Al Andalusia) last March and visited Qurtaba (Cordoba), Malaga and Gharnata (Granada). To me it was like visiting a part of paradise. I think all Lahoris should visit Gharnata and then say 'jinne Gharnata nai wekhiya... Oo jammea ai nae...'

really interesting , I am really proud to be Muslim

A nicely photographed and well written piece of work

brought me memories of my visit to this heavenly place. Muslims are the greatest artists.

I was there in March. Truly exquisite place.

Brilliant !! just amazing !

alhamra always in the hearts of all muslims specially iqbal always remember it in his poetry and write a lenthy poem .wish to see all on own eyè

In islamic khelafah the resources belong to the public & leaders get elected on the base of honesty but when they started turning into dynasties & undemocratic way of electing leaders like today in most of the Islamic world,especially in pakistan, they started disappearing & have only luxurious & architectural monuments left but they are no where near to be found,like Muslim Spanish & mugals in India.

I was there last week for the 3rd time from UK. These photos are definitely brilliant but are in no way a substitute to the mesmerizing beauty of al-Hambra when seen in person. The experience can only be described as magical. The interesting thing is that the Nasrids built these palaces at the time when the muslim rule in Spain was very much in decline politically, however they considered themselves to be at the peak of their cultural zenith. It is hence a great example of "shamsheer-o-sanaa awwal, ta'ous-o-rubab akhir" as Allama Iqbal said. Nevertheless, this monument is to be celebrated as a great example of Islamic art in europe. What the moors achieved in gathering and establishing in terms of scientific knowledge in Toledo (Spain) became the basis of foundation of many of a modern great seats of learning in the western world e.g. Oxford university being a prime example. We need a renaissance of our own now. The only way has to be up !

Alhamra's architectural beauty is unique. when you see the palace and the its gardens, it gives you a preview of what haven and its gardens will look like.

A real Jewel however i fully endorse what Kamath has said.

The beautiful carvings on the walls.doors,ceilings,pillars and windows are one of the most captivating and alluring architectures of our islamic heritage .....simply mind blowing MashAllah

It is awesome! Muslims are blessed with innundated talents, but have not learnt management ever.....leading to fall always....but then every rise has a fall.........

Look at te contrast here, even after the Catholic Invasion of Granada, they have retained the Islamic character. Compare this with the barbaric Moghul Invasions, where Hindu, Buddhist temples and Monastaries were destroyed, and the Turkish invasion of Constantinople, where beautiful ancient Orthodox churches were destroyed

This article brought back my memeories. While there, I was sad that it is not part of Muslim world anymore. However, I was happy that it is not, else this beautiful place would not have been properly maintained and would most probably have been in ruins by now.

the story and the pictures have created the desire to visit this place in order to pay tribute to great work by Muslims

It is a marvelous piece of architecture mainly built by the "Moores", who were the migrants from today's Morocco. After the fall of Gharnata, they were persecuted and the few survivors returned to Morocco. In recognition to the central role played by the North Africans in building of Alhamra, a masjid was recently built in the Moroccon port city of Casablanca. It is named " Masjid Hasan II" and the interiors are a true copy of Alhamra. Moreover, half of the masjid is on land and the other half is above Atlantic Ocean. If you can not go to Spain, visit Casablanca to imagine what Alhamra could be. Also a copy of "fountain of lions" is constructed in "Ibne Batuta Mall" of Dubai. It is in the Al-Maghrib section.

Maha Malik, Our guide explained to us that these were not carved but "printed", i.e. a paste of marble and other ingredients was applied to the wall and the designs were "stamped" with pre-made dies. They were then smoothed out by hand for a polished look. I would imagine the dies, most probably made out of wood, were themselves carved.

thnxxxxxx alot........for information :-)