Located along the south shore of River Genil outside the city walls, is the Alcazar Genil Palace which was used as a recreational house and country villa by the Nasrid kings. It was first built in 1218 by Sayyid Ishaq of Almohad dynasty and was later renovated in the 14th century. After the conquest of Granada by Christian Catholic monarchs, the palace was handed over to them by the last Moorish king Boabdil in the 15th century. Alcazar Genil flaunts a wonderful and authentic Moorish architecture that was dominant in the Islamic Age of Spain.
The palace has a central square chamber like a ‘qubba’ in the front which is a pretty and decorated room with lace interiors, lattice windows and horse-shoe arches. It also has a small ribat which is a religious retreat for Sufis built like a simple square hall covered by a sixteen-sided cupola. The interiors of the palace are embellished with carved stuccos on the walls, a square wooden cupola with paintings of geometric motifs on the ceiling and floorings made of stone and glazed ceramic. Today only the pavilion of the palace remains which is now home to the Francisco Ayala Foundation that portrays the life of this great writer from Granada.
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