English and the World · Spain · 2 · Granada · A1–C2 · A1–A2 free
A red fortress on a hill, palaces whose walls are covered in poetry, twelve stone lions, a summer garden of water, and the American writer who made the world fall in love with it all. Choose your level.
The Alhambra, Granada
The Alhambra is a fortress and a group of palaces on a hill above Granada. Its name means “the red one”: its walls are a warm red colour, especially at sunset.
The Nasrid kings built it in the 13th and 14th centuries. At the west end of the hill is the oldest part, the Alcazaba, a fortress with high towers. In the middle are the Nasrid Palaces, the homes of the kings. Next to them is a big square palace from the 16th century, the Palace of Charles V.
Opposite the Alhambra, across the river Darro, is the old quarter of the Albaicín. Behind the Alhambra are the snowy mountains of the Sierra Nevada.
A visit
The palaces are full of light, water and patterns. In the Court of the Myrtles there is a long pool between two rows of green bushes. The tower at the end is reflected in the water.
In the Court of the Lions there is a famous fountain. Twelve stone lions stand under a big stone bowl, and water comes out of their mouths. Around the court there are 124 thin white columns.
Look up! Above your head, the ceilings look like honeycombs. And look closely at the walls: they are covered with Arabic writing, and some of it is poetry.
Behind the palaces, a path goes up to the Generalife, the kings’ summer palace, with its gardens and fountains.
🦉 Want more? Sophia explains prepositions of place, movement and time in The Space Between Things (Philo & Sophia, Lesson 12).
Language: prepositions of place
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| in / on / at | inside / on a surface or a hill / at a point | in the court, on a hill, at the end |
| above / under | higher than / lower than | above Granada, under a stone bowl |
| next to / between | at the side of / in the middle of two things | next to the palaces, between two rows |
| opposite / across | facing / on the other side of | opposite the Alhambra, across the river |
| behind / in front of | at the back of / at the front of | behind the Alhambra, in front of the tower |
Read the texts first. Press “Check my answers” at the end.
Choose the best answer.
1. What does the name “Alhambra” mean?
2. Which is the oldest part of the Alhambra?
3. What is in the Court of the Lions?
4. What is the Generalife?
Write the missing preposition.
5. The Alhambra is a hill above Granada.
6. The Sierra Nevada is the Alhambra.
7. The pool is two rows of green bushes.
8. The lions stand a big stone bowl.
Choose the best answer.
9. The Albaicín is ___ the Alhambra, across the river.
10. The Palace of Charles V is ___ the Nasrid Palaces.
11. The ceilings are ___ your head.
12. The tower is reflected ___ the water.
Go there!
Tickets: buy them online weeks before you go: they often sell out. Your ticket has a time for the Nasrid Palaces, and you must arrive on time! Walk up the hill from the Plaza Nueva, or take the small Alhambra bus. Allow at least three hours.
Your task: draw a simple plan of your home or school and write six sentences with next to, opposite, between, behind, in front of and above.
It walks you through the Nasrid Palaces room by room: the Comares Palace and its ceiling of the seven heavens, the Court of the Lions and Ibn Zamrak’s poems, the legend of the Abencerrajes, Napoleon’s explosions and Washington Irving’s Tales of the Alhambra, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.
It walks you through the Nasrid Palaces room by room: the Comares Palace and its ceiling of the seven heavens, the Court of the Lions and Ibn Zamrak’s poems, the legend of the Abencerrajes, Napoleon’s explosions and Washington Irving’s Tales of the Alhambra, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.