Here, an inscription records, the Christian flag was first hoisted by the Cardinal Mendoza and his brother. The panorama from the roof of this Tower is glorious. Below, lies Granada, belted with plantations; beyond, expands the Vega, guarded like an Eden by a wall of mountains. It is a scene for painters to sketch and for poets to describe.
The Torre de la Vela is so called, because on this watch-tower hangs a silver-tongued bell, which is heard on a still night even at Loja, thirty miles away. The bell is rung on 2nd January, the anniversary of the surrender of Granada. Maidens come on this day to strike the bell, which act ensures a
THE INFANTAS TOWER.
husband, and of excellence in proportion to the noise made, which, it need not be said, is considerable and continuous.
TORRE DE LAS INFANTAS—TOWER OF THE INFANTAS.
TORRE DEL CAUTIVO—CAPTIVE’S TOWER.
On the north-east wall of the fortress are several towers partly in ruin, which retain traces of beautiful decorations in the interior. The Torre del Cautivo and the Torre de las Infantas are the best preserved. They appear to have formed detached habitations complete in themselves; and from their position in this retired part of the fortress, and the extreme beauty of the internal decorations, there can be little doubt that they were isolated residences of favourite Sultanás.
TORRE DEL HOMENAGE—HOMAGE TOWER.
The Homage Tower rises at the end of the Pelota, or Fives, Court, the wall of which much disfigures the Place of the Cisterns. In this Homage Tower is a Roman votive altar, embedded by the Moors in the masonry, inscribed by “the grateful Valerius to his most indulgent wife, Cornelia.”