Alcázar Genil

About

The Alcázar Genil is a Muslim-era palace in the city of Granada, Spain. It was originally called al-Qasr al-Sayyid ("the palace of the lord") and is located beside the River Genil outside the city walls. Today, only a pavilion of the palace is preserved. It currently houses the Francisco Ayala Foundation.

History: It was first built in 1218 or 1219 by Sayyid Ishaq ibn Yusuf, a member of the Almohad dynasty. The palace, built along the south shore of the Genil River, was located outside the city walls. It served as an almunia (from Arabic al-munya, meaning "farm"), a country villa that was used both as a private retreat for its elite owners as well as a farming estate with agricultural functions. A small ribat (religious retreat for Sufis) was also built nearby at the same time, consisting of a simple square hall covered by a sixteen-sided cupola with groin-vault squinches, with a sloped roof on the outside. This was later converted into a Christian hermitage and is now known as the Ermita de San Sebastián ("Hermitage of Saint Sebastian") or the rábita ("ribat"). In 1237, Muhammad I of the Nasrid dynasty took over Granada and the palace came under the new dynasty's possession. Muhammad...