Courtyard of the Golden Room

Brief description of the monument

It takes its name from the grottoes of the repainted Arab roof of this color in the time of the Catholic Monarchs. It opens to the patio by a portico with three arches with columns that have beautiful ear capitals of Almoravid tradition. In the center of the courtyard there is a low marble fountain with gallons, and to one side a fence gives way to the vaulted guard road that connects this courtyard with the Courtyard. Long Description of the Monument.

This courtyard can be seen in nineteenth-century engravings converted into homes with new balconies, in a shabby state of conservation. This aspect is caused by the abandonment of the 18th century and the first part of the 19th century. Rafael Contreras takes part in this area in the 19th century, Modesto Cendoya in 1906-1907 and Don Leopoldo 1926-1930.

The most important facade of the palace stands in front of the portico of the Golden Room: the imposing facade of Comares. It was erected by Muhamed V to commemorate the capture of Algeciras in 1369. This facade was the entrance to the private residential area of the palace. The door on the right served as access to the service area and the one on the left to the strictly private one, as the inscription on its wooden arrocabe says. In the upper part are the private rooms of the women, whose windows were closed with lattices to keep their privacy.

In this courtyard the sultan received the subjects who managed to get a special audience. These were located in the room of the Golden Room, separated from the sultan by the guard that formed a safety cord in front of the porch. In the central part of the facade, between the two doors, the sultan sat in a jamuga under the great eave that was his canopy as a crown, as the inscription says, eaves that is one of the top works of the Nasrid carpentry . This was how the theatrical effect that was pursued before the arrival of the monarch was prepared: above the heads of the soldiers, the sultan could be spoken and made the appropriate requests. While the women discreetly watched the entire ceremony behind the lattice windows of the upper floors.

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