The view from the eastern window, looking up the valley of the Darro, embraces several objects of much interest; on the right, projecting boldly into the valley, is the tower surmounted by the Sultana’s Tocador, which, seen almost to its base, gives a good idea of the height of the Alhambra’s walls above the crouching city. Beyond, but situated on the same bank of the river as the fortress, is seen the Palace of the Generalife, and, above it, the Silla de los Moros,[140] a scarped rock, whereon the Moslems were in the habit of watching the setting sun, as he cast his gorgeous rays upon their beloved Vega. On the opposite side of the valley is the Sacro Monte convent, an immense pile, now crumbling to the dust.
The bassi relievi of the stuccoed compartment round this window are very curious, and I should say they represented groups of fishes intermixed with arabesques, but that several great authorities have declared, that in all the decorations of the Alhambra there are no traces of animal or vegetable life.
There are many other objects well worthy of notice within the Royal Palace. Amongst others, the cicerone does not forget to point out the apartments wherein the Sultana Ayxa and her unfortunate son Mohammed Abi Abdilehi, or Boabdil, were confined by the licentious Muley Hassan,and the window in the tower of Comares, whence the young prince,—who thus early, even in a father, deserved the surname of El Zogoybi,[141] afterwards bestowed upon him,—was lowered down and escaped from Granada.
The palace contains also a very handsome porcelain vase, said to be of Moorish manufacture. Another, which was discovered at the same time in the vaults under the royal apartments, was taken away by Count Sebastiani. The Granadinos abuse the French general in most unmeasured terms, for what they term this theft; but, if he carried off nothing else from the city, it must be admitted he charged them moderately enough for his guardianship of what he left behind—treasures on which, at that time, they seemed to set no value.
Independent of the interest with which the traveller explores the abode of Granada’s Moslem sovereigns, his attention is called, in no slight degree, to the examination of the crumbling ruins of the fortress enclosing it; over every nook of which a fresh charm has been thrown by the delightful tales of Washington Irving, whose fidus Achates, “Mateo,” stoutly maintains that the accomplished writer has drawn but slightly on the stores of his imagination.
The views from the walls and lofty towers of the fortress are most extensive and varied. The most comprehensive is from the Torre de la Vela,[142] situated at the western extremity of the Alhambra, whence, besides the view over the city and plain, the eye embraces the whole range of the magnificent Sierra Nevada, the peaks of which are several hundred feet higher than the loftiest points of the Pyrenees; and though not, as is usually supposed, covered with perpetual snow, are generally capped with it during nine months of the year. The highest points of the range are the Cerros de Mulahacen and de la Veleta, bearing S. E. from Granada, and both computed to be upwards of 11,000 feet above the level of the Mediterranean.
On my last visit to Granada, in the month of October, the mountains were perfectly free from snow, and “Mateo” had succeeded in persuading me to mount to their summit under his guidance; a journey of twenty-four hours from the city. The day was fixed accordingly, but, during the night preceding our intended scramble, the whole ridge put on its winter covering, and rendered the undertaking impracticable.
Leaving the fortress by a low sally-port on its north side, we will proceed to visit the Generalife, or summer palace of the Moorish kings, situated rather above, but on the slope of the same ridge as the Alhambra, and separated from it by a deep ravine. The path is perfumed with groves of myrtle, orange, and other odoriferous trees; and is shaded with eglantine, woodbine, and wild vines, whose red autumnal leaves, entwined in the evergreen boughs of the overhanging carobs and ilexes, offer an impenetrable shield against the mid-day sun.
The chief attraction of the Generalife, (House of Love) are the refreshing coolness of its courts and apartments, the sweetness and abundance of its crystal waters, the luxuriance of its flowers and fruits, and the beauty of the views that its impending balconies command.
The stucco fretwork and porcelain mosaics, with which the apartments are ornamented, are in the same style as those of the Alhambra; but with the highly finished and gorgeous decorations of the Royal Palace yet fresh in the recollection, those of the Generalife appear far inferior. In the opinion of Mr. Murphy, however, the mosaic work in the portico of the Generalife not only surpasses any other specimen of Moorish workmanship, but “for variety of execution and delicacy of taste is fully equal, if not superior, to any Roman mosaics which have come down to our times.”