Dar al-Horra

The palace is dated to the 15th century when Granada was the capital of the last Muslim Emirate on the Iberian Peninsula, under the leadership of the Nasrid dynasty.

[4] After the fall of Granada to Spain and the end of the Reconquista in 1492, the property was given to Hernando de Zafra, secretary of the Catholic Monarchs, who used it as his residence.

In 1493 the palace was the venue for several agreements signed between the Catholic Monarchs and the remaining Muslim nobility, whereby the latter left for Morocco.

This enclosed courtyard arrangement suited its later use as a cloister for nuns, which contributed to its subsequent good state of preservation.

On the southern side of the courtyard is a large chamber which was used as a chapel after the Reconquista until the later Church of Santa Isabel la Real was built nearby.