In 1832, Washington Irving, a talented American writer to whom we owe Sleepy Hollow: The Legend headless horseman, publish The Tales of the Alhambra. The novelist, essayist and biographer depicts the features of Granada, its romantic atmosphere, its traditions, but also its legends around the Alhambra where he himself lived for a few years.
The Tales of the Alhambra
A commemorative plaque and a statue pay homage to Irving. "This strong mixture of Buckwheat and Gothic, which dates from the time of the Moors, and with the particular character of certain street scenes which reminded us of passages from the Thousand and One Nights", he writes about this architectural masterpiece. But let's take a closer look at these myths mentioned by the author.
Legend of the Abencerrajes room
A family of the Muslim nobility who once lived in the Alhambra, the Abencerrajes (or Abencerrages) would have suffered the wrath of the Zenetes, their political rivals. The story goes that the latter invented a romantic relationship between their Sultana and one of the Abencerrajes, which had the effect of enraged Sultan Boabdil, the last Nasrid emir of Granada.
According to legend, he then organized a party during which he made decapitate 36 riders and members of the Abencerrajes family in the hall south of the Court of the Lions which today bears their name. The reddish color of the stone of the fountain would come from this bloody massacre. But according to Washington Irving these facts would not be real and would emanate from a historical confusion with former Nasrid emirs.
Legend of the Gate of Justice
On the door of the Tower of Justice, one of the main entrances to the Alhambra, is represented on the inner arch a key. The outer arch is adorned with a hand whose fingers symbolize the five pillars of Islam (belief in one God, the five daily prayers, almsgiving, fasting and pilgrimage to La Mecca). The legend says that the day when this key and this hand will come together, that is to say when the Alhambra will collapse, will coincide with the end of the world.
Legend of the Moor's Chair
Further up the hill of the Sabika where the Alhambra stands is a very special chair. It was sitting at this exact spot that Boabdil the Moor watched helplessly during his reign as the revolt grew in his city of Granada. From up there, he was able to contemplate the extent of the damage caused by this insurrection within the Nasrid palaces and the entire Andalusian city.
