Alcazaba Fortress, Granada

The Alcazaba Fortress is the oldest major surviving section of the Alhambra and its military heart. Its elevated position on Sabika Hill was chosen for defense, allowing soldiers to watch Granada, the surrounding plain, and approaching enemies from afar. Earlier fortifications existed here, and in the 9th century Sawwar ben Hamdun found it necessary to build a fort, reflecting tensions between Muslims and mulwalladins, converts to Islam.

The fortress was greatly strengthened by the Nasrid ruler Muhammad I, who built a rampart around Hamdun’s works, improved the defenses, and erected three principal towers: the Broken Tower, the Keep, and the Watch Tower. The latter is a favorite with visitors for its spectacular views. Find it by walking across the foundation outlines of the central military quarter toward the western tip. Later, the Catholic Monarchs installed its great bell, which rings on significant state occasions and each January 2 for the Day of Conquest.

The Alcazaba was austere by design, with thick walls, barracks, cisterns, ramparts, and defensive walkways. From its towers, you can look toward the River Darro, ancient bridges, the Chancellery, New Square, and The Promenade of the Sad. Other defenses included the Arms Tower, Justice Tower, and Vermillion Towers. Considering you are still atop the Watch Tower, make use of its broad stone viewing platform to take in the 360-degree panorama of Granada and the Sierra Nevada peak line.

An inscription by the Mexican poet Francisco A. de Icaza on the wall in the garden of the Ramparts of Alcazaba captures Granada’s spell: “there is nothing in this life like the grief of being blind in Granada.”