Generalife 4.99

The Palacio de Generalife was the summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid rulers of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus, now beside the city of Granada in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain.HistoryThe palace and gardens were built during the reign of Muhammad III (1302–1309) and redecorated shortly after by Abu I-Walid Isma'il (1313–1324). Much of the garden is a recent reconstruction of dubious authenticity. Théophile Gautier, a mid-19th century visitor, complained that:DesignThe complex consists of the Patio de la Acequia, which has a long pool framed by flowerbeds, fountains, colonnades and pavilions, and the Jardím de la Sultana . The former is thought to best preserve the style of the medieval Persian garden in Al-Andalus.Originally the palace was linked to the Alhambra by a covered walkway across the ravine that now divides them. The Generalife is one of the oldest surviving Moorish gardens.20th centuryThe present-day gardens were started in 1931 and completed by Francisco Prieto Moreno in 1951. The walkways are paved in traditional Granadian style with a mosaic of pebbles: white ones from the River Darro and black ones from the River Genil.