The Alhambra Palace complex; an expression of power?
i'm currently doing an undergrad essay on on how the main of the Alhambra was to express power and dominion over the landscape; this also alludes to the relationship between power, religion, politics and architecture...if anyone has a particular view or disagrees with the statement i would love to hear them.
Nudcha Chayapumh
Responses
The Alhambra Palace complex; an expression of power?
Nudcha, I visited Granada in southern Spain in the eary 1980s specifically to see the (Moorish) Alhambra. The site itself is built on a sheer hill overlooking the town of Granada, so I would imagine that the site was a fortified place from before Roman times and well before the Moors arrived, but its high physical position does give a wonderful view of the town below.
I would imagine that the functional reason for rulers to built high in ancient times were for safety and hygiene. But in addition what the builders of the Alhambra did was to build a beautiful palace within the walls and on a nearby hillside, they built the "Generalife" which is a mini-palace /villa with beautiful gardens.
