Visit the Alhambra lions as soon as possibleYou will never be able to see them like this ever again
"My lions are coming back to the Alhambra!" It was planned that they would be re-positioned last year but problems prevented this from happening. The twelve lions, made out of marble, are going to be put back into their original places in the Patio de los Leones (Court of the Lions) in the Alhambra after an absence of over four years.
 The Alhambra lions back home again looking from the restaurant (photo credit The Olive Press)
The Lions Had Their Own NamesThe lions had been taken away as part of a restoration project to clean off the algae, fungus and calcium carbonate that had built up on them during the past 700 plus years.It's true to say that the restoration team developed a fondness for the lions during their two years of scraping and cleaning. Names such as Félix, Melanie, Olivia, Rey Gudú and Calimero were given to the lions and brought personality to the job of cleaning. During the cleaning process it was discovered that the lions had initially been carved by different craftsmen between the years of 1362 and 1391. The evidence for this is the variations in the style and sizes of the lions. The restoration team was also "thrilled" to find evidence of graffiti on the lions, apparently carved by British author Richard Ford and dating back to 1831. The Lions Are Made From A Special MarbleThe marble used for the lions originally came from the village of Macael in Almeria and when they were first installed, water from the nearby river Darro was redirected to flow out through their jaws. Since that time, the way the water has been directed to the Lions has been altered almost two dozen times.At the moment the water passes throguh almost 5 kilometres of acequias (water channels) to get to the Palace in the Alhambra and as it does so, it picks up natural contamination which, if not cleaned up, will just continue to cause deterioration to these priceless Alhambra lions, which have often been referred to as the greatest Islamic sculpture of Al-Andalus. They Were Taken To The ExhibitionAt the moment the restored lions are on display in an exhibition near the courtyard of the Carlos V crypt. There is information to be seen there about the restoration work.If you have been waiting to visit the Alhambra because the lions have been taken away... now is the time to see the freshly restored lions. Their installation into their rightful home of the Patio de los Leones is planned to be completed between now and ealry 2012 when the final repairs to the water system are completed. But for now, the Alhambra lions are at their freshest and will never be seen in such a clean state again in our lifetimes. Maybe I will see you there? Related links
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The Granada Blog brings you the truth about the Alhambra lions. We have visited the Alhambra over 15 times now and see something new during each visit. Although visiting the Alhambra without the lions being there did disappoint many, they are back now and help maintain this as one of the top World Heritage Sites in Spain. If you're new here, why not subscribe to my RSS feed. Let us know what you think. click on your blog comments. Return to the bed breakfast Granada Blog Page. To go to the top of this page click on Alhambra lions To find out all about Granada go to Granada information |
