Ah, you have arrived, my dear benefactor. Let us talk a walk together.

They say that this is the oldest garden in the western world that is still in use today. What I can assure you is that, in my time, this was a little piece of paradise. Yes, a paradise. The running water stimulates the senses and invites you to feel happy. This was the place where the warrior came to rest.

This entire garden was enclosed on the left hand side by a high wall, which served to hide us from view from the citadel. It was replaced in Christian times by a gallery of whitewashed archways. If you go over to it, you will still be able to see on the arches the symbols of the Catholic King and Queen, the yoke and arrows.

Ah… and at the bottom of the hill are the orchards and vegetable gardens that separate us from the Alhambra. What a fertile land Granada is. Fig and almond trees, fresh watermelons, aromatic saffron, they all grow here. Much of the Nazrid Sultans’ court was fed by the orchards and vegetable gardens below.

Would you like to see what the original wall looked like? At the end of the gallery there is one remaining segment, on the corner with the main building.

The building opposite us was enlarged in the 16th century, when another floor was added. Over the centuries, this place has changed a great deal. Inside, you can still see the remains of the Catholic Monarchs’ coat of arms on one of the side walls of the ground floor. But you will have to look for it!



(c) (R) 2013, MUSMon com S.L.
Text (a) Carlos Madrid (2012)

Picture:
Source: Own work
Author: Julián Hernández Martínez (2013)