Court of the Lions and the Fabulous Fountain, Granada

The Court of the Lions is arguably the most famous courtyard in the Alhambra. Created during the second reign of Muhammad V in the second half of the 14th century, it represents a high point of Nasrid architecture. The style developed under Muhammad V blended Moorish traditions with Christian influences, including ideas associated with his friend, Pedro I of Castile. The courtyard is strongly influenced by Pedro’s Doncellas Courtyard in Seville, while its underlying concept draws on the early Islamic vision of the garden as paradise.

The courtyard is divided symbolically into four sections, representing the quarters of the world and watered by four channels associated with the four rivers of Paradise. Slender white-marble columns create the impression of a grove in an oasis, while water, gardens, and architecture combine to evoke paradise.

At the center stands the famous Fountain of the Lions, a marble basin supported by twelve sculpted lions facing outward. Water flows from their mouths into four channels that run toward the sides of the courtyard. An inscription by the Muslim poet Ibn Zamrak praises the fountain and the Sultan’s generosity.

The colonnades gather around small fountains at each end of the courtyard, while delicate muqarnas arches create honeycomb-like canopies above them, resembling palm trees in a desert oasis.

Move around the courtyard and notice how the relationship between columns, arches, water, and light continually changes.