From yesterday’s post, you would think the Alhambra is all pale stone and gleaming serenity. But in reality, it’s full of two of my favorite things: color and pattern!
The most eye-catching surfaces are tiled with rich colors, and the Nasrid Palaces are full of them.
I’m loving these many-pointed stars; I’ve been obsessed with stars lately and this is an unusual way to do them.
Color and pattern are everywhere: on the walls, ceiling, floors, doors, windows. I can’t be sure, but it almost seems like no two patterned surfaces are alike.
Even without much color, the carved surfaces compete for attention. Including inscriptions in praise of Allah, repeated over and over, the level of detail is just mind-boggling.
To think that these were carved by hand, before there was a way to light spaces sufficiently—more than one master carver must have gone blind creating these works of art.
Of course, why do just tiles or patterns when you can combine both?
I mean, if you have an empire, more is certainly more.
And heck, if that that’s not enough, just throw in a few kickass doors with an awesome nail-head pattern. Just because you can.
Graceful serenity on the one hand, an explosion of color and pattern on the other. Can you see why the Alhambra is one of my favorite places in the whole world?
