Romantic Legends of the Alhambra -- Granada, Spain

"It absolutely appears to me like a dream; or as if I am spellbound in some fairy palace," wrote Washington Irving in his Tales of the Alhambra.  The Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain, about which Irving was writing, is a Moorish Palace that sits atop a hill, just above the Alhambra Woods -- a dreamy expanse of horse chestnuts, elms and poplar trees.

This palace, the last outpost of the Moors in Spain, consists of three main areas:  The Alcazaba, a military fortress built for the internal security of the sultan, the Nasrid Palaces, where legends of treasure, princesses and sultanas dwell like the ghosts of the Alhambra's Moorish past, and the Generalife, a magnificent summer palace and royal garden where many have sought refuge over the years.

Learn more about this palace of legends and dreams on upcoming posts to Journeys Near and Far.  And if you can, read Washington Irving's Tales of the Alhambra, which has wonderful descriptions interspersed with the folk tales that Irving collected from the people of Granada.