Court of the Myrtles

For instance, Diego de Guadix wrote a dictionary about Arabic words in which it is said that Comares originally comes from cun and ari.

[4] In the sixteenth century, a historian from Granada called Luis de Mármol Carvajal claimed that the term Comares derived from the word Comaraxía, which actually has a meaning related to a craftsmanship labor very appreciated by Muslims: a manufacturing technique of glass for exterior and ceilings.

[6] According to scholar James Dickie, another possibility is that Qumarish was the name of a region in the North of Africa where most craftsmen came from, in other words, the place might be called Comares in honour of the people who worked there.

[11] The Alhambra was a palace complex and citadel begun in 1238 by Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar, the founder of the Nasrid dynasty that ruled the Emirate of Granada.

The baths are probably the section that is best-preserved from Isma'il I's time, as the rest of the complex was significantly modified and refurbished by his successors.

[13] The Comares Façade on the south side of the Patio de Cuarto Dorado ('Courtyard of the Gilded Room') is dated to 1370 during his reign.

[19] Thus, the Comares Palace's current appearance and decoration was finalized by Muhammad V, whose name is mentioned in many surviving inscriptions inside.

[24][7] In 1890, a fire severely damaged the Sala de la Barca, resulting in the loss of its wooden ceiling.

[1][20] The Court of the Myrtles was entered from the west via a smaller courtyard, the Patio del Cuarto Dorado ('Courtyard of the Gilded Room'), at the east end of the Mexuar.

[19] The carved stucco includes an Arabic inscription featuring a poem by Ibn Zamrak (d. 1393) and the Throne Verse of the Qur'an (2:255), which may indicate that this area was sometimes used by the sultan to hold audiences or other ceremonies.

Above these is a muqarnas ("stalactite"-like) cornice that precedes a wide wooden eave, which in turn would have sheltered the seat of the sultan at the top of the courtyard steps.

[31] Elongated rectangular courtyards with a central water basin were already an established feature of Nasrid architecture that is evident in older palaces of the Alhambra, in particular the Palacio del Partal Alto.

[23] The gallery spaces behind the porticos are flanked at their east and west ends by decorative niches covered with muqarnas vaulting.

[21] Behind the northern portico of the courtyard is a muqarnas-decorated archway that leads to the Sala de la Barca, a wide rectangular hall with an ornate vaulted wood ceiling and alcoves at its east and west ends.

The alcoves at either end are separated from the rest of the hall by round arches embellished with muqarnas spandrels transitioning to the wooden vault.

[34] A doorway in the corner of the western alcove gives access to a small winding passage that leads to a preserved latrine chamber.

This hall is entered by passing through two consecutive ornate archways aligned with the entrance to the Sala de la Barca.

This type of niche was called a taqa in Arabic and was probably used to store either a decorative vase or a jug of water to drink.

[23] The central alcove in the back wall is more skillfully decorated than the rest and is where the sultan was seated, framed by the double-arched window behind him.

The latticework of both sets of windows above and below were probably originally filled with coloured glass, but this has been lost, probably due to the explosion of a nearby gunpowder magazine in 1590.

The original tiles bear the inscription "wa la ghaliba illa-llah" (Arabic: ولا غالب إلا الله, lit.

[2] The ceiling has a complex geometric pattern formed by 8017 interlinking pieces of wood nailed and stacked with each other, which has been interpreted as a representation of the seven heavens.

[45] Right below the base of the dome is an inscription featuring surah 67 (al-Mulk) of the Qur'an, which describes God as the "Lord of Heavens".

This is the most impressive room in the complex, preserving almost all of its original elements including its tile and stucco decoration, its flooring, and a fountain.

[52] An inscription on its upper level suggests that it may have been given its final form by Muhammad V, perhaps around the same time that the nearby Palace of the Lions was being built.

The hot steam was channeled through a hypocaust system: a network of clay pipes that runs under the floors to heat the rooms.