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Rang

The red fortress of the Alhambra

Granada

A palace-fortress of reddish earth walls on a hill, facing a white quarter and snowy mountains.

The Alhambra, detail. Granada, Spain.
Photo: Jebulon, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Why Granada is alhambra red

The Alhambra stands on a ridge above Granada in southern Spain. Its name comes from the Arabic for the red one. The outer walls and towers are built of rammed earth made from the reddish clay and gravel of the hill, and they glow orange-red in the evening sun. The complex was built mainly in the 13th and 14th centuries by the Nasrid rulers, the last Muslim dynasty in Spain. Inside, the plain red walls give way to courtyards with carved plaster, once brightly painted, and tile patterns in blue, green, black and honey. Across the valley is the Albaicín, the old Muslim quarter, all white. Behind rises the Sierra Nevada, snow-capped for much of the year.

Alhambra red#B5623FAlbaicín white#F5F3ECTile green#2F7F5ATile blue#2F5FA8Sierra snow#F2F4F5

Values are fair approximations of what the eye sees there, not measurements.

Colours tied to Granada

RedA primary colour seen in light, pigment, and tradition worldwide
About this page

Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Alhambra" on Wikipedia. If you know Granada and we have it wrong, tell us.

More colour cities

All colour cities
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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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