Tag Archives: King Ferdinand Spain

alhambra

It evokes a setting for the Arabian Nights… The Moors disapproved of representational art, and the Alhambra is chiefly adorned with geometric designs in a wealth of variation. Inscriptions in Arabic or Kufic characters are integral with the stucco decoration. … Continue reading

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Alhambra: languid but not tranquil

Despite its languid and sensuous atmosphere, the palace was anything but tranquil. Twenty-one rulers in 254 years means an average of about one every twelve years. Since both al-Ahmar and Yusef I had comfortably long reigns of forty-one and twenty-one … Continue reading

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tiny bubbles

A Cluster of Soap Bubbles is how Theophile Gautier described the decoration of the Alhambra. Yet in spite of its fragility, it has survived many a more substantial palace, and lastingly evokes a setting for The Arabian Nights. Of a … Continue reading

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