The Generalife Palace

«In the Generalife, everything is simple and intimate. There is nothing—neither architecture nor nature shaped by human hands—that seeks to astonish us with pretensions of magnificence or monumentality.»
Leopoldo Torres Balbás

The Generalife, Yannat al-Arif or "Architect's Garden," is believed to have been the most prominent estate among those surrounding the Alhambra. Ibn Zamrak, the great poet of Mohamed V’s Granada, referred to it as the "Throne of the Alhambra." Its first recorded mention appears in the Ihata by Ibn al-Khatib, who described it among the seventeen orchards of the Royal Heritage. He praised its lush trees, dense enough to block sunlight, as well as the charm and freshness of its waters and breezes.

Constructed by the second sultan of the Nasrid dynasty, Muhammad II (1273–1302), and renovated by Ismail I in 1319, it stands at the foot of a hill known as Cerro del Sol. Separated from the Alhambra by a ravine, it remains an independent complex, though its visit is now included in the Alhambra tour.

Designed as both a garden and orchard in the typical Muslim style, its location to the north of the Alhambra and overlooking the Vega of Granada reflects the harmonious blend with nature that defined Andalusian Granada's architecture. Situated on a hillside at the heart of the estate, the palace exemplifies the agricultural residence described in Ibn Luyun’s Treatise on Agriculture.

The four identified orchards—Colorada, Grande, Fuentepeña, and Mercería—still partially thrive, with at least one in operation today. Although they bear Christian names, these orchards roughly correspond to their medieval counterparts. Terraced on various levels below the palace, they were crowned by the magnificent Patio de la Acequia, the estate's most iconic feature. The orchards extend to the Cuesta de los Chinos, a hollow that separates them from the Alhambra’s foothills. They are bordered by retaining and partition walls, some of which remain visible to this day.