The charming little garden or patio of Lindaraja or Daraja, which intervenes between this regal boudoir and the Moorish mirador, appears to have been originally called Jin Dar Aja, or garden of the palace of Ayesha. The old Moorish garden that used to extend as far as the Tower of Comares is now confined by the walls of the Sala de las Ajimeces and three arcades of modern construction. The fountain in the centre dates from the seventeenth century. An enchanting spot is this, with its cypress, orange, and citron-trees rising from trim hedges of myrtle and rose.
Between this garden and the court of the Alberca lie the baths—those indispensable adjuncts to the Muslim household—most skilfully and artistically restored by Contreras. The plan is that usually followed throughout the East. Passing through the Sala de las Cámas or Unrobing Room, where, from a high gallery the songs of the odalisques were wafted down to the sultan reclining in one of the alcoves, we enter the Sala de Baños, with its white marble bath and pavement of glazed tiles. This corresponds with the apartment called by the Arabs, the hararah, or vapour-bath, and described in Lane’s “Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians”; and it was under the graceful arcades which support the dome that the bathers underwent the kneading and rubbing processes lately introduced among us. The chamber is lighted from above through star-shaped apertures. The inscriptions refer to the felicity awaiting men in this palace of delight. The bathing-apartments consist of three halls and two smaller chambers, vulgarly called the Infantas’ Baths.
The Towers and Gates of the Alhambra
“The wall of the Nasrites,” writes Señor Fernández Jiménez, “of which scarcely a patch remains unimpaired, measured about 1400 metres from one extremity to the other, and was defended by twenty-six towers, counting as one the two buttresses that defended the gate of the Siete Suelos. To this number should properly be added the Torre de las Armas, which is pierced by a gate common to the Alcazaba and Alhambra, and is therefore also a Nasrite work. The citadel was fortified, moreover, by five bastions, corresponding to as many gates, and by various external defences, of which traces remain in the modern alamedas. The thickness of the towers varies according to their situation and purpose, the distance between them ranging from 34 to 64 metres approximately.” At the present day we can count only fifteen towers, the names of which are: las Aguas, los Siete Suelos, las Cabezas, la Justicia, la Polvora, los Hidalgos, la Vela, las Armas, las Gallinas, los Puñales, las Damas, los Picos, del Candil, de la Cautiva, and las Infantas.
The Puerta de la Justicia is the principal entrance to the Alhambra. It was built, as the inscription over the arch relates, by the Sultan Yusuf Abu-l-Hejaj, in 1348. Here justice was administered in Moorish days after the old patriarchal fashion. Above the arch is carved an open hand, the signification of which is a matter of controversy. The most probable explanation is that it is a religious symbol, the five fingers typifying Faith in God and the Prophet, and the commandments, to pray, to fast, to give alms, and to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. The inner arch is beautifully decorated with arabesques, and with the symbol of the key. The entrance is continued through another gate, with winding passages contrived so as to embarrass an enemy. The arch which gives egress from the tower shows some fine enamelling and festoons.
Just outside this gate is the Pilar de Carlos V., a fountain in the Greco-Roman style, erected by the Alcaide Mendoza in 1545. It is ornamented with the Imperial arms, and sculptured heads of the river gods, Genil, Darro, and Beiro.
The double Torre de los Siete Suelos flanks a gateway, now walled up, which was formerly the principal entrance to the fortress. Through it the unfortunate Boabdil is said to have passed on his way to exile and obscurity. The tower is so called because it is believed to descend seven storeys underground. Four subterranean chambers have been investigated. Here tradition places the site of much buried treasure, and fables are told of phantom guards and enchanted sentries.
At the south-eastern angle of the enceinte is the ruinous Torre del Agua, which derives its name from the aqueduct that at this point spans the ravine. On the north-eastern side we reach the Torre de las Infantas, the interior of which is a perfect model of the smaller Oriental dwelling-house. Through a small vestibule we reach a covered-in patio with a fountain in the centre, and alcoves opening out on three sides. The ornamentation is graceful and original. The tower is one of the most interesting parts of the fortress. Somewhat less complete and regular in its plan, but even more elegantly decorated with rose-coloured tiles, is the adjoining Torre de la Cautiva (Captive’s Tower). Here the inscriptions resound the praises of Abu-l-Hejaj and refer to the Lion residing within these walls—a very different occupant from a captive!
The Torre de los Picos seems to have been so styled from the peaked battlements which crown it. It evidently underwent extensive remodelling about the time of the Spanish Reconquest, but some relics of the Nasrite rule remain in the shape of some beautifully moulded twin windows.
The Torre de Ismaïl, or de las Damas (Ladies’ Tower), was given by Mohammed V. to his son Ismaïl, and has a richly decorated belvedere and a hall very tastefully ornamented. The ruined tower of Puñales has some curious stucco decorations, differing from those found in other parts of the palace.