The Alhambra in Granada could be selected on 7 July as one of the new 7 Wonders of the World. A committee of experts, headed by the multimillionaire filmmaker Bernard Weber, and supported by UNESCO, selected seven years ago a long list of monuments built by human hand before the year 2000. After an initial filtering process, which eliminated a further three Spanish candidates (the Giralda in Seville, the Mosque of Cordoba and the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona), the Alhambra ended up on the shortlist together with another 20 gems.

The Alhambra, so named because of its reddish walls (qa’lat al-Hamra’, or ‘Red Castle’), is positioned at top of the al-Sabika hill, on the left bank of the River Darro, in the east of the city, facing the districts of Albaicín and the Alcazaba. Its strategic position, dominating the entire city and the plains around Granada, suggests that the site was home to previous constructions before the arrival of the Arabs. The earliest records date back to the ninth century, when Sawwar ben Hamdun was forced to seek refuge in the fortress in 889, and to repair it as a result of the civil conflict then savaging the Caliphate of Cordoba, to which Granada belonged. Although the Castle of the Alhambra was included within the walled confines of the city in the 11th century, it was not until the 13th century, with the arrival of the first Nazari monarch, Mohamed ben Al-Hamar, that it became the royal residence, marking the start of its most glorious period. Yusuf I and Mohamed V are to be thanked for the great majority of the magnificent buildings of the Alhambra which survive to this day.

However, between the era of the Catholic Kings and the present time, other major events include the demolition by Carlos V of part of the architectural complex in order to erect the palace which bears his name, the construction of the Emperor’s rooms and the Queen’s Boudoir. During the French invasion, part of the fortress was blown up, and restoration and conservation work did not begin until the 19th century. The Nazari constructions represent the end of a glorious era which began and the present time, other major events include the demolition by Carlos V of part of the architectural complex in order to erect the palace which bears his name, the construction of the Emperor’s rooms and the Queen’s Boudoir. During the French invasion, part of the fortress was blown up, and restoration and conservation work did not begin until the 19th century. The Nazari constructions represent the end of a glorious era which began in the Cordoba of the Omeyas in the 8th century. The greatest concern of the Alhambra’s architects was to cover every space, however small it might be. Any decorative element could be seen as slight. Most of the inner arches are false and do not support any structure. They are there purely for decoration, the walls covered with beautiful ceramic or plasterwork filigrees, the ceilings featuring exquisitely carved wooden beams. Although Moslem art forbids the representation of natural figures, the Alhambra features a wide range of decorative motifs. The classical craft of calligraphy is heavily employed, specifically with cursive and kufic lettering, recording the poems of various court minstrels.

The gardens of paradise

Muslim life was closely tied to their concept of paradise, conceived as a garden, a place of delights and pleasures. And so the Hispano-Arabic garden is filled with everything which can give pleasure to the five senses: for sight, colour, light and shade; for smell, aromatic plants and the sweet scent of flowers; for hearing, the babble of water; for touch, the different textures of the materials, and for taste, the flavour of the fruits. The whole garden is immersed in an air
of sensuality. Cool water flows down from the summits of the Sierra Nevada, guaranteeing the exuberance of the vegetation and representing the single clearest feature, appearing in fountains, basins, spouts and ingenious devices to create ripples and reflections of the light. The extensive use of brightly coloured tiles is another of the distinctive aspects of Arab gardens. The gardens of the Alhambra symbolise the culmination of a long tradition of gardens and landscaped estates which began in Cordoba in the mid-7th century. The site as a whole was constructed as a complex of buildings and gardens, all knowingly arranged and admirably blended into one thrilling composition. Granada’s Alhambra is one of the most beautiful palaces on the planet, one of the great Wonders of the World, whatever the result announced on 7 July.

The other candidates

The Pyramids of Giza (Egypt) / Machu Picchu (Perú) / Petra (Jordan) / Castillo Neuschwanstein / Neuschwanstein Castle (Germany) / Kiyomizu-dera (Japan) / Timbuktu (Mali) / The Kremlin, Moscow (Russia) / Santa Sophia Church (Turkey) / Sydney Opera House (Australia) / Angkor (Cambodia) / Taj Mahal (India) / Stonehenge ( Great Britain) / The Great Wall (China) / Christ the Redeemer (Brazil) / The Easter Island Giants (Chile) / The Acropolis, Athens (Greece) / Chichén Itzá (México) / The Eiffel Tower (France) / The Coliseum, Rome (Italy) / The Statue of Liberty (USA).