The Alhambra is located on a ridge above Granada, with the snow-capped Sierra Nevada of southern Spain in the background. An outstanding example of world heritage, it is the best preserved Muslim palace in the world, and is, amazingly, located in Europe. Here I outline how my book on the Alhambra came about and how an unexpected centuries-old Irish connection came to light.
My interest in the Islamic period on the Iberian peninsula was sparked when walking in the mountains near Estepona in Andalucía more than 15 years ago. I came upon a small hill which dominated the ridge and the valleys around. On this hill were the remains of a fortification, little more than rubble. A local map indicated that these were “Moorish ruins”. I was curious: “Who were these people? What were they doing here? How did they live?” I searched on Amazon. There were lots of books of an academic bent, but I could not find one that told me simply the story of these people and their era. Having written several books, I resolved to write an accessible book on the Islamic era on the Iberian Peninsula. I set off on my quest around Spain. It was indeed a labour of love, had the benefit of seeing wonderful parts of the country, not generally visited by tourists. Eventually, my book Homage to al-Andalus emerged. It was very well received, and is now into its second printing.
Several years ago, I decided to focus on the Alhambra and the Kingdom of Granada: the result is my new book, The Alhambra Revealed.
The Alhambra was the seat of the Nasrid dynasty, the last vestige of Muslim presence on the Iberian peninsula. In 1238, the founder of the Nasrids commenced construction on the Sabika Hill, a foothill of the Sierra Nevada. In time this palace city expanded, and it developed to be quite distinctive from the city of Granada down below. There were administrative offices, military quarters, mosques, workshops and baths, as well as being the palaces of the Amirs. Over the 250 years of Nasrid history, successive Amirs expanded the fortifications, and importantly, constructed magnificent buildings. Multitudes of craftsmen laboured on sumptuous decoration. Poets of the court composed verses, in honour of God and the Amir, which were inscribed on walls and other surfaces. The Amirs lived here up to the surrender of the Alhambra and the Kingdom of Granada, by the last of their line, Boabdil, to the Catholic Monarchs in January 1492.
I quote from my introduction in the book: “Visiting the Alhambra is an astonishing experience. From outside looking up, the view of the rather plain honey-covered walls and towers does not prepare you for the shock when you enter.
As you enter the Nasrid palaces, there is near sensory overload. You will be overwhelmed by the magnificence of the patios, fountains and pools, combined with the sound of gently trickling water. All around is the beauty of the inscribed stucco, the multi-coloured azulejos, and the exquisite stalactite-type mocárabe ceilings.”
It was hugely enjoyable to prepare and write this book. It has been a pleasure to spend time in Granada and indeed the whole region. I spent much time in the Alhambra. One memorable morning I was privileged to be allowed in before eight o’clock, to wander around, before the tourists arrived. All of this is reflected in the wide range of my photographs that I used in the book. I also travelled around the former Kingdom of Granada (in essence most of Andalucía). This was with the intention of telling the story of the Kingdom of Granada, which was intertwined with (and gives full context to) the story of the Alhambra.
I had been alerted that there was a significant Irish connection in the later history of the Alhambra, one that is little known. James Cavanagh Murphy (1760-1814) was an architect from Cork. He had attended the Drawing School of the Royal Dublin Society around 1775. Later, he worked on executing James Gandon’s additions to the Irish House of Commons. He made an initial trip to the Iberian peninsula in 1788, where he had been commissioned by William Burton Conyngham (a landed son of an earl, remembered for having presented a harp to Trinity College, that is now symbol of the Irish State) to prepare drawings of the Batalha Monastery in Portugal. This was followed by a stay in 1802 in Cadiz from where he spent years travelling through Andalucía and exploring Islamic architecture.
Cavanagh Murphy’s book, Arabian Antiquities of Spain, was published posthumously in London in 1816 (he had died two years previously). It included over 100 sumptuous engravings from the Alhambra. At that time the Alhambra was a forgotten place and scarcely known in Europe. Cavanagh Murphy’s book thus played an important part in disseminating the concept of what was called Moorish architecture in Europe. One eminent Spanish book recognised that his book was the first romantic vision of the “arquitectura hispanoárabe”. Many buildings in the Moorish style were erected around Europe. As the nineteenth century progressed, an increasing wave of well-heeled visitors made their way to the Alhambra.
I am indebted to the architect and painter Jeremy Williams, who brought Cavanagh Murphy’s work to my attention. Jeremy, who sadly died last year, had intended to mount an exhibition on the theme of Cavanagh Murphy, linked with the buildings of the nineteenth century influenced by Moorish architecture in Europe (including Ballyfin House in Co Laois).
Cavanagh Murphy's engravings are wonderful and present views and details of many parts of the Alhambra. The 19th-century engraving style is particularly suited to crisply showing the wonderful decoration of the Alhambra, particularly the stucco, the tiles and the stalactite ceilings. I have included several of these engravings in my book. Insofar as I can determine, this is the first time they have been published in Ireland.
The Alhambra Revealed, the Remarkable Story of the Kingdom of Granada by Michael B Barry is published by Andalus Press, €17.90. ISBN: 978-0-9933554-2-4 Barry's books include Homage to al-Andalus, Victorian Dublin Revealed, The Green Divide, an Illustrated History of the Irish Civil War and recently Courage Boys, We are Winning, an Illustrated History of the 1916 Rising
