1 00:00:00,410 --> 00:00:04,129 The story of Granada is all about the Islamic Moors. 2 00:00:04,129 --> 00:00:08,810 In the year 711, these North African Muslims crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and quickly 3 00:00:08,810 --> 00:00:13,810 conquered the entire Iberian Peninsula, eventually converting most of its inhabitants. 4 00:00:13,810 --> 00:00:19,829 Throughout the Middle Ages, for over 700 years, Spain was a predominantly Muslim society living 5 00:00:19,829 --> 00:00:22,530 under Muslim rule. 6 00:00:22,530 --> 00:00:25,489 And that age shapes today's sightseeing agenda. 7 00:00:25,489 --> 00:00:27,769 dominant site is the Alhambra, 8 00:00:28,089 --> 00:00:29,850 the last and greatest Moorish palace. 9 00:00:30,289 --> 00:00:31,730 Nowhere else does the splendor 10 00:00:31,730 --> 00:00:33,750 of that civilization, Al-Andalus, 11 00:00:33,969 --> 00:00:34,890 shine so brightly. 12 00:00:36,149 --> 00:00:38,350 For two centuries, until 1492, 13 00:00:38,570 --> 00:00:39,950 Granada reigned as the capital 14 00:00:39,950 --> 00:00:41,549 of a dwindling Moorish empire. 15 00:00:42,729 --> 00:00:43,869 As Christian forces 16 00:00:43,869 --> 00:00:46,070 pushed the Moors further and further south, 17 00:00:46,509 --> 00:00:48,270 this palace was the last hurrah 18 00:00:48,270 --> 00:00:50,310 of a sophisticated civilization. 19 00:00:51,270 --> 00:00:52,549 While the rest of Europe 20 00:00:52,549 --> 00:00:54,329 slumbered through much of the Middle Ages, 21 00:00:54,329 --> 00:00:57,329 the Moorish civilization was wide awake. 22 00:00:57,329 --> 00:00:59,329 The math necessary to construct this palace 23 00:00:59,329 --> 00:01:07,540 would have dazzled Europeans of that age. 24 00:01:07,540 --> 00:01:10,540 The Moors made great gains in engineering, medicine, 25 00:01:10,540 --> 00:01:12,540 even classical Greek studies. 26 00:01:12,540 --> 00:01:14,540 In fact, some of the great thinking of ancient Greece 27 00:01:14,540 --> 00:01:17,540 had been forgotten by Europe but was absorbed into Islam 28 00:01:17,540 --> 00:01:19,540 and actually given back to Europe 29 00:01:19,540 --> 00:01:22,540 via scholars here in Spain. 30 00:01:22,540 --> 00:01:25,540 The culture of the Moors was exquisite, 31 00:01:25,540 --> 00:01:28,540 artfully combining both design and aesthetics. 32 00:01:28,540 --> 00:01:31,549 Facing a reflecting pond, 33 00:01:31,549 --> 00:01:34,549 the hall of the ambassadors was the throne room. 34 00:01:34,549 --> 00:01:37,549 It was here that the sultan, seated Oz-like, 35 00:01:37,549 --> 00:01:39,549 received foreign emissaries. 36 00:01:39,549 --> 00:01:42,549 Its wooden ceiling illustrates a command of geometry. 37 00:01:42,549 --> 00:01:46,549 With 8,000 pieces inlaid like a giant jigsaw puzzle, 38 00:01:46,549 --> 00:01:51,549 it symbolizes the complexity of Allah's infinite universe. 39 00:01:51,549 --> 00:01:54,549 Arabic calligraphy, mostly poems and verses of praise 40 00:01:54,549 --> 00:01:57,549 from the Koran, is everywhere. 41 00:01:57,549 --> 00:02:00,549 Muslims avoid making images of living creatures. 42 00:02:00,549 --> 00:02:01,549 That's God's work, 43 00:02:01,549 --> 00:02:05,549 but decorating with religious messages is fine. 44 00:02:05,549 --> 00:02:06,549 One phrase, 45 00:02:06,549 --> 00:02:08,550 only God is victorious, 46 00:02:08,550 --> 00:02:12,550 is repeated 9,000 times throughout the Alhambra. 47 00:02:12,550 --> 00:02:14,550 Like the sultan, we can escape from the palace 48 00:02:14,550 --> 00:02:19,550 into what was the most perfect Arabian garden in Andalusia. 49 00:02:19,550 --> 00:02:21,550 This royal summer retreat, 50 00:02:21,550 --> 00:02:23,550 lush and bursting with water, 51 00:02:23,550 --> 00:02:25,550 was the closest thing on earth 52 00:02:25,550 --> 00:02:27,550 to the Koran's description of heaven. 53 00:02:27,550 --> 00:02:29,550 In fact, its name, the Heneralife, 54 00:02:29,550 --> 00:02:34,550 meant essentially that, the Garden of Paradise. 55 00:02:34,550 --> 00:02:37,550 Water, so rare and precious in most of the Islamic world, 56 00:02:37,550 --> 00:02:39,550 was the purest symbol of life. 57 00:02:39,550 --> 00:02:43,550 Whether providing for its 2,000 thirsty residents, 58 00:02:43,550 --> 00:02:46,550 masking secret conversations, 59 00:02:46,550 --> 00:02:48,550 or just flowing playfully, 60 00:02:48,550 --> 00:02:52,550 water was integral to the space the Alhambra created. 61 00:02:52,550 --> 00:02:57,009 For centuries, Europe struggled to push the Moors 62 00:02:57,009 --> 00:02:58,610 to push the Moors back into Africa. 63 00:02:58,969 --> 00:03:01,409 This campaign was called the Reconquista. 64 00:03:02,009 --> 00:03:04,610 Finally, in 1492, the Moors were defeated. 65 00:03:05,169 --> 00:03:06,469 The victorious Christian forces 66 00:03:06,469 --> 00:03:08,490 established their rule with gusto 67 00:03:08,490 --> 00:03:10,830 here in this last Muslim stronghold. 68 00:03:11,550 --> 00:03:17,159 This victory helped provide the foundation 69 00:03:17,159 --> 00:03:18,900 for Spain's Golden Age. 70 00:03:19,340 --> 00:03:22,219 Within a generation, Spain's king, Charles V, 71 00:03:22,219 --> 00:03:24,639 was the most powerful man in the world. 72 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:26,340 After the reconquest, 73 00:03:26,580 --> 00:03:28,500 Charles built this Renaissance palace 74 00:03:28,500 --> 00:03:31,500 right in the middle of the Alhambra grounds. 75 00:03:31,500 --> 00:03:34,500 It's what conquering civilizations do, 76 00:03:34,500 --> 00:03:37,500 build their palace atop their foes' palace. 77 00:03:37,500 --> 00:03:39,500 This circle-in-a-square structure 78 00:03:39,500 --> 00:03:43,180 was the finest Renaissance palace in all of Spain.