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The Peaks Tower Alhambra can point to a very enjoyable experience
The Peaks Tower Alhambra is but one of the twenty two Torres (towers) in the Alhambra. And it could lead you to having a very enjoyable experience at this World Heritage site in Granada. I think it is very special for the following reasons.
The tower gets its name from the brick pyramid-shaped "peaks" which you can see on top of each battlement. Normally battlements are square shaped but these are pointed. The tower has three floors and the vaulted ceilings are certainly worth looking at. The second floor of the tower contains a cloistered area and the third floor has an interesting design of having four supporting ribs.
The Peaks Tower itself, also known as the Torre de los Picos, is next to the Tower of Comares. It overlooks the road Cuesta de Los Chinos (the Hill of Pebbles) in the
Alhambra and was built in the 14th century in the time of Yusuf I, who lived from the year 1333 to 1354.
It is an excellent example of how a "Tower House", as opposed to a tower "for the military", would look. This Tower House still retains original plasterwork and paintings which show how that it had been used as a space for living in. Visitors to the tower will see that it was built to defend the Arrabal Gate (Puerta del Arrabal) which is at its base.
When the tower was built, it was most likely one of the most important towers of the Alhmabra because through it, was the only way to get to and from the Generalife. People using this entrance were also able to get to the Sacromonte area without having to go through the city. The gate leads on to the Cuesta de Los Chinos and into the Generalife gardens.
The tower was also an inspiration to Washington Irving in his "Tales of the Alhambra" where he wrote about an affluent Jew, who hid there as he sought revenge against the man who had seduced his daughter.
The Alhambra covers over 142,000 square metres and even though we are frequent visitors there, I still get amazed at the various facts and figures that relate to each building and section of this, the most visited monument in Spain.
If you would like to visit the Peaks Tower, go during this month, July 2010. Come August, it will be closed again to the public to help preserve its condition.
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