Eight legends of the Alhambra, because there are many and varied versions about the name of this fortification, as there is historical evidence that “its walls rose white and shining”. The most accepted one corresponds to the writer Ibn Al-jabti, who attributes it to its hurried construction, since the workers had to work from sunrise to sunset. Thus, during the day their tools shone with a reddish tone due to the effect of the sun’s light, while at night the lighting of their torches produced the same tonal result.

The Alhambra, Andalusian palatine city, was declared a Cultural Heritage of Humanity, along with the Generalife, by the UNESCO committee, on November 2, 1984. Five years later, the Albaicín was added to this denomination, which constitutes one of the old neighborhoods of Granada. Recently, the Alhambra has been proposed to be named one of the 7 Wonders of the World, but it just missed out. However, due to its extraordinary beauty and its state of conservation, it could well be created for it, the category of eighth wonder.

Its fame is so widely recognized worldwide, so many travelers visit it each year, and so much has been said and written about it, its rooms, corners and gardens, that even its legends contribute to its grandeur.

The legend of the Moors’ Sigh
In the year 1492, the Catholic Monarchs conquered the kingdom of Granada. Legend has it that, after King Boabdil handed over the city keys to the kings of Castile and Aragon, when reaching the hill thus known, he finally turned back and, sighing, began to cry, at which point his mother told him: “Cry like a woman what you have not been able to defend like a man”

The legend of the Moor’s Chair
The supposedly dissolute life led by King Boabdil, apparently led to a mutiny in the city of Alhambra. For this reason, the king had to take refuge in a secluded hill from which, sitting on its top, he watched his rebellious city, which is still known as such today.

The legend of the Sundial
It is said that the Alhambra as a whole can be considered a huge sundial. This is so because, just as with a sundial we could follow the passage of all the hours of the day, in the Granada city we can do it through its rooms. This phenomenon is especially evident at noon, when the rooms are divided in half as an effect of the shadow.

The legend of the Gate of Justice
There are two particularly beautiful legends surrounding this gate. So great was its magnificence and so proud they felt of it, that they assured that if there was a knight on Earth who was capable, riding on his horse, of touching with the tip of his spear the hand carved at the top of its exterior arch, he would conquer the city’s throne.

Considered by the known world as an impregnable fortress, extremely sturdy in its construction, they claimed that it would not fall under the attack of a thousand armies. Thus, the day the hand of its exterior arch came to touch the key of the interior arch of this gate, it would be because the end of the world had arrived, for the Alhambra would be in ruins.

The legend of The enchanted Soldier
They say of a Salamanca student who, having arrived in Granada in order to raise funds to support his studies, noticed an anachronistic soldier, dressed in armor and carrying a spear. He approached to ask him and he replied that he had been suffering from a curse for 300 years, cast by a Muslim alfaquí, who had conjured him to guard Boabdil’s treasure for all eternity, granting him permission to leave the treasure room only once every hundred years. The student, interested in his problem, and warned of the riches he could find in the hiding place, offered him his help. He had to look for a Christian girl and a fasting priest to break the spell. The young man got the first one without effort, but the only priest who was willing to accompany him was plagued by relentless greed. In the midst of the spell, the clergyman pounced on the delicacies that were prepared for the end of the spell, breaking the spell’s truce, and leaving the enchanted soldier inside again and forever.

The legend of the Abencerrajes Hall
In this room, which was the Sultan’s bedroom and therefore lacked outside windows, thirty-seven knights from the Abencerrajes family were murdered during a party held there. Blinded by jealousy, instigated by the knights of a rival family, the Zenetes, who invented a love story between one of the Abencerrajes and the sultana, the Sultan ordered their decapitation. It is said that the reddish color still seen in the cup in this room, and the channel that carries its water to the Fountain of the Lions, is due to the blood shed on that date.

The legend of the Mexuar Tiles
This is the oldest room in the palace. The sultan was located in it, inside a raised chamber, hidden by lattice, in order to listen without being seen. From there he held court and dispensed justice. It is a historically proven fact that the sultan had judicial quality at the time, and his sentences were known for being fair and impartial. On its door, announcing its purpose, there was a tile with a sign that read: “Enter and ask. Do not fear to ask for justice, for you will find it.”

The city of Granada:
As early as the 13th century, Granada is described as a city of great beauty and a center of culture. As we contemplate it, the wind brings to our memory the memory of the words of Al-Saqundi, who said: “Granada is the feast of the eyes, the elevation of souls”, or of Ibn Yuzayy who spoke of it like this: “There is no sense in lavish talking about such a famous city”, or Al-Basit who described it this way: “It is a place of gathering for illustrious characters, poets, scientists, artists; they are the best men of our time”.

Its current name comes from the Arabic Medina Garmata, put in honor of the fruit of the same name that abounds there. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Granada, and currently it is the eighth city in population in Spain.

Among its oldest neighborhoods, it is worth mentioning the Albaicín, where the artisans and nobility lived, or the Realejo, the settlement of the Jewish population. The Sacromonte, Zaidín-Vergeles, la Chana, the Almanjávar, and the Cartuja are also of considerable interest.

Inhabited by Iberians, Romans, Visigoths, Berbers, Syrians, Arabs and finally Hispanics, it is a melting pot of cultures, which is undoubtedly reflected in its architecture and artistic heritage. This historical wealth makes it an essential tourist meeting point.

Source: Revista Ibérica