The Alcazaba is the oldest surviving part of the Alhambra complex, and the part most visitors rush past to reach the Nasrid Palaces. That's a mistake. Built after 1238 by Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar, founder of Granada's Nasrid dynasty, the Alcazaba was raised on the site of an earlier Zirid fortress from the 11th century. The rammed-earth walls reinforced with lime concrete have lasted seven centuries. Walk the perimeter rampart and you feel the weight of the place: narrow stairways, thick walls, the wind coming off the Sierra Nevada.
Inside the walls, the Barrio Castrense (Military Quarter) preserves the foundations of ten to seventeen houses where elite guards lived with their families. Excavations have uncovered a hammam, a cistern, and a communal kitchen. The layout is domestic in scale, which makes it strange and interesting: this was a working neighbourhood inside a fortress, not just a parade ground. The Jardin de los Adarves, a long garden on the southern rampart added in the 17th century, is one of the quieter spots in the entire Alhambra.
The two main towers reward the climb. The Torre del Homenaje at 26 metres was the military keep and command post. The Torre de la Vela, the taller of the two, has four vaulted levels and a rooftop terrace with an unobstructed view across Granada's old city, the Albaicin hillside, and the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada. On clear winter mornings the mountains look close enough to touch. Each 2 January, four flags go up from this tower to mark the day the Catholic Monarchs took the city in 1492 — a ceremony that draws Granadinos rather than tourists.
Entry to the Alcazaba is included with the general Alhambra ticket, which must be booked in advance. Most visitors allocate all their time to the Nasrid Palaces and treat the Alcazaba as an afterthought. Go the other way around: arrive when the gates open, spend an hour in the fortress, then walk to your timed Nasrid entry. The light in the early morning, when the towers cast long shadows across the ramparts, is worth the early start.
