Granada Beyond the Alhambra, Granada, Spain

For most visitors, Granada begins and ends with the Alhambra, where carved stones speak in calligraphic verses, and the water displays of the peaceful fountains reply-a quiet dialogue under the orange blossoms of its Garden of Eden.

But step beyond its adorned walls, enchanting gardens, and refreshing fountains, and you will find a city still whispering secrets. Here, water flows silently under your feet, you can bathe like the Nasrid nobility once did, and let each tapa tell its own story of mixed cultures, hardships, and unique flavors.

Granada’s foundation is not stone or mortar, but water. Water is what makes the Alhambra and the enchanting gardens of the Generalife possible, and it is omnipresent on the hill of the most famous monument of Islamic architecture in the West.

This has not always been the case. Prior to the arrival of the Muslims, the Sabica Hill where the Alhambra now proudly dominates Granada, just hosted the ruins of an old Roman fortress-where today’s Alcazaba stands-as there was no water, and the city had developed on the opposite hills.

Today, the Alhambra’s delicate fountains and mirrored ponds are just the visible face of a sophisticated hydraulic system developed by the Nasrids over 700 years ago. An ancient canal still brings water down from the Sierra Nevada to the Alhambra and its gardens: the Nasrids engineered an aqueduct from the Rio Darro, 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) upstream, to bring water to the Generalife gardens and the fortified city of the Alhambra. It is not only the length of the canal that impresses. The river flows more than 100 meters (328ft) below the Alhambra: a small dam feeds the canal that follows a gentle slope to the Generalife. A noria (waterwheel) was used to pump up the water 125 vertical meters (410ft). ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).