Gardens of the Alhambra

The garden is a human aspiration that we can find throughout all eras and all civilizations. The Arab garden reflects the longing for the Mohammedan Paradise. The life of a Muslim is tied to their vision of paradise, imagined as a garden—a place of delights and pleasures where they can achieve complete fulfillment of their desires. The Prophet declares:

«God has promised believers, both men and women, gardens beneath which rivers flow. They will dwell therein eternally: they will have beautiful mansions in the garden of Eden.»

Therefore, the Hispano-Arab garden is designed to provide pleasure to all five human senses: for sight, the play of color, light, and shadow; for smell, aromatic plants and the sweet fragrance of flowers; for hearing, the gentle murmur of water; for touch, the varied textures of materials; and for taste, the flavor of fruits. The entire garden is enveloped in an atmosphere of sensuality.

Water ensures the lush exuberance of vegetation and serves as the most striking decorative element, appearing in fountains, basins, jets, and ingenious devices that create ripples and reflections of light. As Professor Prieto Moreno explains:

«In every garden, water is the vitalizing element, but in Granada, it becomes the living, dynamic essence of its gardens, introduced by the Muslims (...). None of this would have been possible without the skill with which the Arabs brought water from the foothills of the Sierra to irrigate their orchards, enabling the profusion of fountains and jets in the Generalife and the Alhambra.»

In the words of Professor Chueca Goitia:

«The more one contemplates the Alhambra, the stronger the sense that the Arab ideal was to live over a garden.»

On the walls, verses are sculpted to extol the beauty of the garden, adorned with abstract floral designs and colored to enhance the light streaming in from outside. The extensive use of vividly colored tiles is another hallmark of Arab gardens.