A panorama of the Alhambra as seen from Mirador de San Nicolás. From left to right: Generalife, Pico del Veleta, Palacios Nazaríes, Palace of Charles V, and Alcazaba.
The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. Originally constructed as a small fortress in AD 889, it was largely ignored until the ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the Moorish emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar. Over the years it has served as the royal palace of Yusuf I of Granada and the royal court of Isabella I of Castile. The Alhambra is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions, exhibiting the country's most significant and well-known Islamic architecture, together with 16th-century and later Christian building and garden interventions.Photograph: Kim Hansen