If you haven’t been to the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. Than get your ass to Expedia and book that shit today!

 

This place blew me dafuq away like nothing else I’ve seen in Europe. This place is magical. And what struck me the most about this fortress is the amount of fountains throughout the entire property. Many of these are naturally fed water features at the top of a hill fortress build in the late medieval period….And many of them are still up and running, with some minor tweaks.

And its not just a few fountains here and there either. We didn’t take a count, but easily in the high double digits. And they’re all freaking amazing. So I thought I’d share some of the beauties we came across along with some of the beautiful sights from the fortress.

 

Quick history lesson, and back to the fountains: The construction of what became the Alhambra began in in 1238, with the restoration of the old fortress which are dated back to the 9th century. It was build in several sections as each king restored and added to the project. The palaces were constructed in the 14th century, and these house some of the most beautiful examples of medieval Moorish architecture, including some of the most beautiful and unique fountains of the age. 

And the freaking variety of designs and styles you’ll find here is amazing. Waterfalls, reflective pools, ponds, multi-tier systems, bird baths. You name it, the Alhambra freaking has it.

 

This place is truly inspiring. I couldn’t wait to get back home and see how we could incorporate some of the same elements I saw here into our clients systems. Things that are generally frowned upon, even by us, (like still water ponds where the only source of filtration seems to be copious amounts of lilies and other aquatic plants).  And although we dont build or recommend systems like this, the fact that they not only are possible, they actually look pretty dope. And honestly, I’m kinda thinking of setting one up the same way, and see how well it works under the California sun.

Water represents life. And like life, it flows. And in Alhambra, you can find some of the most beautiful examples both. Walking through the entire place makes u feel a bit more alive.  The palaces inside the Alhambra are covered in intrigue carvings and painted motifs. These accent the  large reflective ponds and smaller bubbler fountains that feed the poo;s throughout the property. You can really get lost a bit in this place.

 

And so now I wanna share some of the beautiful systems that took our breath away.   The most famous of the Alhambra fountains, is most definitely the lion sculpture inside the palace. Unfortunately, it had been damaged in the past, and now only the lower basin remains. But here’ s a dope ass picture to reference to the fountain in its original glory .

 

My next most favorite fountains here were the reflective ponds. Most of them are stocked with goldfish, and some smaller darting fish that I couldn’t ID on site, but are they amazing! Even in the middle of summer, with very little water flow,they look beautiful. I’m honestly in mid plan to recreate something like this on a smaller scale in my own back yard.

These systems sit right outside of the 14th palace and are surrounded by lush green gardens. I coulda sat and chilled here for hours if they’d allow it.  Well, they do, and we did. PS; grabbing some ice cream from one of the shops here and chilling till they tell ya to leave is a legit pretty cool time. I honestly wish I coulda see these puppies back when they were first built 😉

Well, hope you’ve enjoyed the views. And if you’re ever in Spain, do pay this place a visit. You wont regret it 😀