The Alhambra comprises a diverse range of structures that collectively articulate the administrative, ceremonial, residential, and military functions of a medieval Islamic court. At its westernmost edge lies the Alcazaba, the original fortress core, while successive Nasrid rulers expanded the complex to include palatial units such as the Comares Palace and Palace of the Lions, organized around axial courtyards with water features, inscriptions, and ornamental programs. Gates like the Wine Gate and the Gate of Justice controlled access, while spaces such as the Court of Machuca, Partal Palace, and Square of the Cisterns served transitional, utilitarian, or aesthetic roles. Later Christian additions, most notably the Palace of Charles V, imposed Renaissance geometries onto the existing Islamic fabric. Collectively, these structures document the evolution of political authority, artistic expression, and architectural adaptation within the Alhambra over successive centuries.

circa 1050 CE

Alcazaba
The Alcazaba (from Arabic al-Qasbah) is the most westerly part of the Alhambra complex, a strongly fortified position built to protect the original post-Roman districts of Iliberri. The alcazaba or citadel, its oldest part, is built on the isolated and precipitous foreland which terminates the plateau on the northwest. Like the Alhambra, the Alcazaba was abandoned and not cared for during a long time and it was not until the late 19th century and beginning of the 20th century that the restoration, exploration and plumbing works were started.

circa 1232-1272 CE

Tower of Muhammad
The Tower of Muhammad (Torre de Muhammad), originally constructed in the thirteenth century CE—likely under the patronage of Muhammad I—is the westernmost tower of the Nasrid palace precincts and forms part of the northwest angle of the Alhambra’s fortified enclosure . Positioned strategically between the Alcazaba and the royal palaces, the tower was designed with both defensive and supervisory functions, controlling access along the ramparts and to the Nasrid court. Architecturally, it rises two storeys plus a terrace, and contains three internal doorways—two connecting to the mural walkways and one to the interior courtyard—facilitating efficient movement of guards while maintaining robust defensive posture. In later periods, the structure fell into disuse and was colloquially dubbed the “Tower of the Chickens” (Torre de las Gallinas), possibly due to its use as a chicken coop in the early modern era. It also became known as the Torre de Hontiveros after a soldier from the late sixteenth century resided within it. After centuries of deterioration, major restoration efforts—supported by European funds—were undertaken from the 1950s through the 1970s to stabilize its masonry, terraces, and parapets; most recently, comprehensive structural consolidations were completed in 2023 following seismic damage.

circa 1238 CE

Aqueduct of the Acequia Real
The Aqueduct of the Acequia Real is the principal artery through which water from the Acequia del Sultán (or Acequia Real) reaches the Alhambra complex. Originally constructed some time during the reign of Muhammad I, it was later reconstructed, repaired and expanded a number of times. Located adjacent to the Torre del Agua at the eastern extremity of the site, the aqueduct is a masonry structure that bridges a natural depression to carry water from the converging channels of the Generalife into the main citadel. Its construction combines practical hydraulic engineering with architectural discretion, integrating seamlessly into the fortification's defensive wall. The arched conduit allows continuous flow across uneven terrain and marks the transition from agricultural and garden zones into the elite palatial precinct. The aqueduct's role was not merely logistical—it enabled the cascading distribution of water throughout the Nasrid palaces, feeding ornamental pools, fountains, and reservoirs in a gravitationally controlled sequence. Despite its utilitarian purpose, the structure embodies the sophisticated water architecture that underpinned the sensory and ceremonial environments of the Alhambra.

circa 1250-1350 CE

Comares Palace
The Comares Palace is one of the most prominent and architecturally significant structures within the Medieval Islamic fortress of Alhambra, serving as the royal residence of the Nasrid sultans. Built during the 12th-15th century CE during the reign of Nasrid dynasty, it is renowned for its sophisticated design, featuring grand courtyards, intricate stucco work, and ornate arches. The palace is named after the Comares Tower, which is the central element of its layout, offering expansive views of the surrounding areas. The Comares Palace is also home to the Hall of the Ambassadors, a lavish throne room known for its exquisite decoration, including detailed mosaics and a remarkable wooden dome ceiling. The palace blends Islamic art, architecture, and the symbolic use of water, reflecting the splendor and power of the Nasrid dynasty.

circa 1290 CE

Wine Gate
Supposedly one of the largest structures in the Alhambra complex, the Wine Gate dates back to the reign of Muhammad III. The Wine Gate serves as a one of the main entrances to the Medina of the Alhambra and the Upper Alhambra which gates off the formerly residential and artisan district of the Medina. The exterior facade, made of primarily sandstone, was likely constructed during the beginning of the 14th century. The pointed horsearch with embossed voussoirs displays an engraving of a key, an important Islamic symbol.

circa 1250-1350 CE

Abencerrajes Palace
The Palace of the Abencerrajes (Palacio de los Abencerrajes) was a residential complex organized around a large rectangular courtyard that featured a central reflective pool flanked symmetrically by two landscaped flowerbeds. This axial arrangement was characteristic of Nasrid architectural planning, which emphasized balance, visual harmony, and the integration of water and vegetation into domestic space. The palace was likely constructed between the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, possibly under Muhammad II or his immediate successors, making it one of the earlier palatial residences within the Alhambra’s Medina district.

Although much of the superstructure has not survived, eighteenth-century architectural plans confirm the original layout, and archaeological investigations conducted in 1957 and again between 1990 and 1991 have revealed portions of the flooring, walls, and garden features. The remains indicate a spatial program geared toward both seclusion and leisure, with evidence of private chambers, decorative fountains, and controlled sightlines. The use of tilework, carved stucco, and geometric planting beds would have created a multisensory experience typical of Nasrid elite residences.

The palace suffered significant destruction during the French occupation of Granada. In the early nineteenth century, retreating Napoleonic forces detonated explosives that damaged multiple structures within the Alhambra, including the Palace of the Abencerrajes. Only the lower foundations, fragments of ornamentation, and traces of its hydraulic infrastructure have survived. Nevertheless, the ruins convey a clear impression of its former scale and sophistication, and the palace remains an important, if underappreciated, component of the Alhambra’s residential urban fabric.

circa 1305 CE

Partal Palace
The Partal Palace (Palacio del Partal) was built in the early fourteenth century CE during the reign of Muhammad III (circa 1302-1309 CE). Few architectural elements of the original Nasrid period palace are extant: including the main Portico Palace, the Tower of the Ladies (Torre de las Damas) with its tower overlooking the surrounding landscape and arcade opening onto a wide pool; the adjacent mosque-oratory (Torre del Mihrab), most likely built by Yusuf I as a small garden oratory with a mihrab and windows overlooking the landscape; and some houses to the west of the main "Portico Palace". Other than the houses all the structures are ornamented with delicately carved stucco.

circa 1350 CE

Gate of Justice
The Gate of Justice (Puerta la Justica) Of the four gates in the Alhambra walls, the largest and most impressive is the Gate of Justice, built in 1348. Adjacent to the Gate of Justice is a circular artillery bastion from where a cut stone wall descends, in front of which a Grenadian Renaissance sculptural masterpiece of stone stands: Charles V’s Pillar. In the centre of the Esplanade is another more modest pillar in honour of the writer Washington Irving, built to commemorate the centenary of his death. The Gate of Justice (Puerta de la Justicia) is also known as the Gate of the Esplanade (Puerta de la Explanada) because of the large esplanade that extended before it. Its magnificent silhouette stands out, making it one of the symbols of the Alhambra. In addition to its structural function, the Gate features one of the most significant symbolic icons of the Alhambra: the hand carved in the keystone of the arch and a key in the centre of the inner archway (Islamic symbols). These contrast with the Gothic figure of the Virgin and the Child, by Roberto Alemán, placed over the original Arab inscription of the Gate by order of the Catholic Monarchs. Four engaged columns with the representation of the Muslim Faith carved on the capitals, frames the door, which has preserved its iron-plated door leaves and other original iron work, recently restored. The interior of the Gate, with its defensive two turns to climb the steep ascent, contains three kinds of vaults: an elongated cross-vault, a cupola and three traditional cross vaults, all painted with red brick-like decoration, a common feature of the Nasrid architecture. Outside the gate, and by request of the inhabitants of the Alhambra in 1588, an altarpiece painted by Diego de Navas el Joven, was hung in the place where the first Mass was celebrated after the Christian conquest. The inner side of the Gate preserves part of the rich original decoration of rhombus tile patterns in the spandrels of the horseshoe arch. Opposite the gate is a wide outer-road at the wall foot, reinforced after the Christian conquest with sepulchre marble slabs. Further up the road we reach the starting point of the official guided tour, the Façade of the Gate of Wine, in front of the the Cisterns Square.

circa 1350 CE

Court of the Princes' Madrasa
The courtyard of the Princes' Madrasa, also known as the Courtyard of the Mosque (Patio de la Mezquita). It once formed part of the Comares Palace (Palacio Comares), in addition to the Mexuar.

circa 1350 CE

Daraxa Mirador
The Daraxa Mirador (Mirador de Daraxa) is a projecting chamber situated on the northern side of the Palace of the Lions, opening out above the Jardín de Daraxa (Daraxa Garden). The current name in Spanish of the Nasrid period lookout towe is derived from "Ayn Dar Aisa", which is Arabic for "the eyes of Aisa's home". During the Nasrid reign it served as a watchtower overlooking the countryside, with a garden extending from its base. This finely proportioned viewing room exemplifies the Nasrid mastery of integrating architecture with landscape through calibrated sightlines, elevation, and light. The mirador originally served as a private lookout chamber for the Nasrid elite, offering controlled vistas over the inner garden while remaining sequestered from the public and ceremonial parts of the palace.

Architecturally, the Daraxa Mirador follows a typical Nasrid spatial model: a rectangular room opening through triple arches supported by slender columns, usually made of white marble, onto a small balcony or elevated portico. The arches are framed with intricately carved stucco featuring vegetal arabesques, epigraphic bands, and geometric motifs, contributing to the room’s visual delicacy and formal elegance. Above the arches, a wooden ceiling—either coffered or richly painted—completes the vertical composition, while carefully placed windows and lattice screens regulate light and temperature.

Functionally, the mirador was not merely a scenic viewpoint. It also embodied symbolic authority by overseeing an enclosed, cultivated space—the garden below representing paradise, order, and royal control over nature. The axial alignment of the mirador with the garden's central fountain reinforces this dynamic. Today, the Daraxa Mirador continues to represent the Nasrid commitment to architectural intimacy and cosmological harmony, linking interior perception with the ordered rhythms of the palatial landscape.

circa 1362 CE

Palace of the Lions' Court
The Palace of the Lions' Court (Palacio de Patio de los Leones), constructed during the reign of Muhammad V in the second half of the 14th century CE, represents the aesthetic and architectural climax of Nasrid design within the Alhambra complex. It centers around a rectangular courtyard flanked by arcaded galleries supported by clusters of slender marble columns, at the center of which stands the celebrated Fountain of the Lions—a dodecagonal basin supported by twelve carved marble lions symbolizing strength and sovereignty. The surrounding halls—including the Sala de los Mocárabes, Sala de los Abencerrajes, Sala de los Reyes, and Sala de las Dos Hermanas—exemplify the fusion of mathematical planning, hydraulic engineering, and poetic ornamentation. These spaces are unified through axial symmetry, elaborate muqarnas vaulting, and epigraphic programs that reinforce the court’s symbolic role as both a celestial garden and a dynastic proclamation of paradise on earth.

circa 1362 CE

Courtyard of the Harem
The so-called Harem Courtyard (Patio del Harén), although a post-hoc designation influenced by Orientalist interpretations, refers to a secluded residential unit adjacent to the Palace of the Lions, likely intended for the private quarters of the emirs and their close household. This compact patio is organized around a small rectangular courtyard with a central water feature, flanked by modestly proportioned rooms that contrast with the more public and ceremonial scale of surrounding palatial spaces. Its spatial intimacy, controlled access, and subdued ornamentation suggest a highly private domestic function, rather than the exoticized notions of a “harem” popularized in later European literature. The architectural articulation here maintains the Nasrid emphasis on symmetry, axiality, and environmental modulation, with restrained decorative schemes that privilege stucco epigraphy and subtle tilework. As with other parts of the Alhambra, the so-called Harem Courtyard exemplifies a sophisticated layering of spatial function, privacy, and symbolic decorum within the broader palatial ensemble.

circa 1362 CE

Court of the Lions
The Court of the Lions (Patio de los Leones), known in Arabic as the Bahw-an (بهو السباع‎), is the main courtyard in the heart of the Alhambra. It was the innermost and most private courtyard of the Nasrid Palace, was reserved for the ruler and his household. In the centre of the courtyard water sparkles from a fountain basin to fall through the mouths of twelve stylised lions (inspect) into four streams that run towards the colonnaded sides. The pillars –light, slender trunks– gather together in a pavilion at each end of the patio around tiny fountains. Here they support, like a canopy, filigreed, muqarna (honeycomb) arches that echo the protective role of the palm leaves around oasis pools in the desert.

circa 1362–1391 CE

Court of the Golden Room and the Entrance to the Comares Palace
The Court of the Golden Room (Patio del Cuarto Dorado) is an Andalusian patio (courtyard), with an elegant fountain (inspect) in the middle, at ground level so as not to disturb conversation. Here in this patio, official audiences would be held. The two columns make up three archways, covered with delicate relief carvings. In the center of the courtyard there is a low marble fountain.

From here the Comares palace could be entered through the so-called gilded facade.

circa 1410 CE

Palacio del Partal Alto
The Palacio del Partal Alto, also known as the Upper Partal Palace, occupies an elevated position within the eastern section of the Alhambra, overlooking the slopes that descend toward the Generalife. It formed part of the extended residential and administrative zone known as the Medina, where several aristocratic and official residences were clustered. Likely constructed in the fourteenth century, the palace followed the classical Nasrid layout of a central courtyard flanked by reception halls and private chambers, organized around a water feature that served both aesthetic and environmental functions.

Archaeological remains—largely recovered during campaigns in the late twentieth century—reveal traces of stucco decoration, painted plaster, tiled flooring, and a sophisticated water distribution system. The palace’s slightly elevated position afforded it both privacy and strategic oversight of the adjacent terrain, including direct visual access to the Generalife and its irrigated gardens. While less famous than the Palaces of Comares or the Lions, Partal Alto may have served as a residence for high-ranking officials or members of the Nasrid court, possibly even functioning as a transitional space between public and private domains of palace life.

Although only foundational elements and fragments survive today, the layout suggests a structure designed for both refined domesticity and ceremonial function. The palace's proximity to the Torre de las Damas and the rest of the Partal ensemble underlines the interconnectedness of the Alhambra’s upper precincts, where layered uses of space—residential, administrative, leisure—intermingled within a carefully planned architectural and hydraulic environment.

circa 1494 CE

Square of the Cisterns
The Square of the Cisterns (Plaza de los Aljibes) received this name because of the cisterns that were built by Count of Tendilla in 1494 in the gully between the Alcazaba and the palaces. These cisterns, 34 meters long, 6 meters wide and 8 meters high, later became the current square, when they were buried as well as the surrounding streets and squares. The square forms a vast esplanade between the towers and the defences of the Alhambra on one side and the Wine Gate (Puerta del Vino), the Arabic palaces and the Charles V Palace (Palacio de Carlos V) on the other side.

circa 1530 CE

Court of Machuca
The Courtyard of the Machuca (Patio de Machuca) is situated west of the Nasrid period palace complex, below the northern façade of the Palace of Charles V. Its namesake is Pedro Machuca, this first architect of the king Charles' palace lived and had his studio in the Mexuar Room seen in the background. This was the council chamber and courthouse of the Nasrid palace, when finished in 1365 CE. During Nasrid period this area was part of the outer courtyards of the Mexuar, where the attendants would assemble before the audience with the emir/sultan.

circa 1533 CE

Palace of Charles V
Palacio de Carlos V, the Palace of Charles V was designed by the Spanish architect Pedro Machuca in 1528 and was begun in 1533, but was never completed. Located within the Alhambra complex, the palace's northeast corner abuts the Court of the Lions and the Court of the Myrtles. The palace, whose construction necessitated some destruction to the Nasrid palaces and cemeteries, has a strict geometric plan, with a circular courtyard inscribed within the square block containing the various rooms.

circa 1545 CE

Pillar of Carlos V
The Pillar of Carlos V (Pilar de Carlos V), constructed in 1554 CE during the early phase of Habsburg intervention at the Alhambra, is a monumental Renaissance-era fountain situated at the confluence of the Calle Real and the access path to the Generalife. Designed by Pedro Machuca or possibly by one of his disciples, the fountain is composed of a high ashlar plinth surmounted by three superimposed basins of diminishing diameter, culminating in a lion finial—an overt allusion to royal power. It integrates both decorative classicism and hydraulic sophistication, serving as a public water source while symbolizing imperial authority within the formerly Islamic precinct.

As one of the earliest post-Reconquista insertions into the Nasrid complex, the pillar illustrates the ideological re-inscription of space through material means. The use of classical motifs, Latin inscriptions, and heraldic emblems marked an aesthetic and political rupture with the Andalusi past. Strategically placed along the principal axis of the Alhambra, the fountain functions as a spatial pivot between the Nasrid palatial zone and the Christian-era Palace of Charles V, signaling both appropriation and transformation of the site’s architectural narrative.

circa 1550 CE

Lindaraja Courtyard
The Lindaraja Courtyard (Patio de Lindaraja) is a secluded garden courtyard located on the eastern side of the Palacio de los Leones complex, adjacent to the Daraxa Mirador and later incorporated into the Christian-era Cuarto Dorado and the Emperor's Chambers. Unlike the expansive ceremonial courts such as the Court of the Myrtles or Court of the Lions, Lindaraja is more intimate in scale and atmosphere, reflecting a spatial transition from Nasrid privacy to Renaissance domestic adaptation.

Originally part of the private quarters of the Nasrid sultans, the courtyard underwent significant transformation following the Christian conquest of Granada in 1492. By the mid-16th century, it had been reshaped into a formal Renaissance-style cloistered garden under the orders of Emperor Charles V. The reconfigured design introduced symmetrical flowerbeds, a central fountain, and arcaded galleries that replaced or reinterpreted the original Nasrid spatial language. Despite these modifications, elements of the original Islamic structure remain discernible in its foundational layout and residual ornamental fragments.