These Alhambra quotes tell the incredible story behind the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Granada. And they illuminate today’s myths about beauty, brutality and motherhood.
See also the best road trip itinerary through southern Spain here.
“Do not weep like a woman for what you could not defend as a man.”
~ ALHAMBRA QUOTES ~
In the scorching cauldron of Andalusia, the Sierra Nevada mountains rise up to tickle the skies and gather snow to whiten their peaks. Beneath them, amidst rolling countryside of rust-coloured paths, cypress trees and white-washed towns, the city of Granada gets on with life.
On its steepest slope sits the Alhambra.
The Alhambra: The “Red One” in Arabic
The name comes from the Arabic “al hamra,” the red one. Its stocky outside walls wear the standard European fortress look, albeit with an unexpected glimpse of charisma at sunset, when they glow a soft copper-red against the lilac night sky.
Inside, however, reveals a completely different world.
History of the Alhambra
Like many castles in Europe, work on the Alhambra began seven or so centuries ago. Unlike most of the others, this work took place at the request of the Moorish Sultans, kings who used Arabic instead of Latin and who practised Islam instead of Christianity.
Islamic Influence Across Southern Spain
Their work and influence live on across the Iberian peninsula, from the architecture of the haunting Mezquita in Cordoba to the expressions of everyday Spanish.
Ojalá in Castilian derives from In šāʾ Allāh in Arabic. Both translate to a form of “god be willing” that has taken on more of a “fingers crossed” meaning in more secular times.
Yet, it’s within the vast grounds of the Alhambra that the majesty of the Moorish heritage becomes clear. While French and English kings sheltered in draughty, damp castles subsisting on turnips and porridge, the Nasrid kings floated through elaborate engravings, elegant courtyards and olive groves in their Generalife summer palace.
Instead of howling wind and dripping rain, the lyrical chatter of fountains filled the air. Instead of wall to wall mildew, ivory carvings decorated the space.
The real story behind those Alhambra quotes and instagram captions
Yet for all the delicate beauty of the building, the history of the Alhambra issues another deeper message about today’s myths that link beauty with doing good, and motherhood with kindness.
When the Moors lost this paradise to the reconquest of the Catholic monarchs, the last sultan of the Alhambra sobbed as he watched them enter.
In an era devoid of political correctness, his mother turned to him and uttered the phrase that became immortal:
“Do not weep like a woman for what you could not defend as a man.”
Ouch.
Not that the incoming mother, Queen Isabella, offered up a much better alternative. She sent her baby daughter off to marry the King of England, who turned out to be the murderous and maniacal King Henry VIII.
Did you know? American author Washington Irving lived in the Alhambra itself while he wrote his book The Tales of the Alhambra in 1828.
So it was with some trepidation that I walked around the rose-scented gardens of the Alhambra with my own mother, an inspirational woman who has also shown great courage, strength and guidance over the years.
She also tells me the truth.
“I’ve looked at your twitter feed. It’s boring. I don’t see the point.”
Ouch. Fair enough. Back to the drawing board.
And, hey, getting things into perspective, at least I don’t have to marry a tyrant.
Visiting the Alhambra
Unlike most tourist attractions, to get inside the Nasrid Palaces you MUST, MUST, MUST, MUST book in advance. If you turn up on the day, you are likely to gain admission to the rest of the (stunning) grounds but you may miss out on the intricate Nasrid Palaces.
Guided tours are available but you can happily spend a day wandering around this beautiful complex on your own.
MORE ALHAMBRA QUOTES
The Sultan’s mother wasn’t the only person to have been moved by events here, although happily, these other Alhambra quotes are somewhat lighter. Many of these are perfect for an Alhambra instagram caption.
Lope de Vega, poet and playwright at the time of Shakespeare and Don Quixote’s Cervantes, wrote this about Granada.
- “I do not know what to call this land upon which I stand. If what is beneath my feet is paradise, then what is the Alhambra? Heaven?”
Mexican poet and historian Francisco de Icaza returns to the bittersweet with a remark made about giving alms to the blind:
- “Give him alms, woman, as there is nothing in life as the sadness of being blind in Granada.”
Nobel prize winning Federico García Lorca, somewhat unsurprisingly, put into words the beauty of the Alhambra better than me:
- “ In the waters of Granada, only the sighs row.”
Dutch mastermind M. C. Escher fell in love with the Alhambra and incorporated many of its ornamental motifs into his later work:
- “The Alhambra in Granada is the most fertile source of inspiration of all those from which I have drunk.”
And another Nobel prize winner, the one famed for simplicity, Hemingway himself said this:
- “If you were to visit just one city in Spain, it should be Granada.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
More on Travel in Andalusia
The sun-scorched region of Andalusia that stretches across southern Spain couldn’t be richer in history, culture and great landscapes if it doused itself in gold and swam in an oil slick.
Having lived in the intriguing city of Seville for many years, let me move beyond sharing Alhambra quotes and share more about the region itself.
Seville
- What are the best things to do in Seville?
- Where to stay in Seville
- What to do in Triana, Seville
- What to buy in Seville
- What is Semana Santa in Seville?
- What does No8Do mean in Seville?
- The best tapas bars in Seville
- Five ways to live like a local in Seville
FURTHER IN SPAIN
Check out these unusual things to do in Spain.
Another great place I would love to visit. Very well written, Abi!c
Hmmm…reading your tale makes me want to visit the Alhambra. Riding upon it …on a distant camel…hungover, from it’s intake of Hashish. Compliments of ‘an American’ Romanticist…resplendent in his ‘borrowed’ Arabian Shiek robes of blinding white, stained with resinous droplets of Hashish, haphazardly spilled from a ‘borrowed’ pidgeons-blood red rubies and South African diamond encrusted ‘hookah’. Compliments of a passing Dubai oil Prince…and his kaliedoscope entourage…of harem girls, psychopaths of a political persuasion, Jugglers, Acrobats, Rock stars, Belly Dancers, fugitive Hells Angel, and a writer…that suffered the continuous ‘attentions’ of the frightening, though eloquent, fugitive Hells Angel. A status, for which he felt ‘a need’ to publicly extoll, in some drug-induced hopes of seducing the writer.
Your post is wonderfully written Abi (as always! ;-)), and I fell in love with the Alhambra or let’s say with the view towards Granada from the Alhambra when I travelled through Andalucia last summer. I definitely decided right from the spot that this was a kind of beauty I had rarely seen in the world before and can only highly recommend to visit the Alhambra when traveling through the region.
It’s a magnificent view at the best of times, but when you can see the snow on the mountains in the distance…Ah…