The huertas of the generalife in the Alhambra, an approach to the evolution of this landscape based on travelers' accounts

The Huertas of the Generalife1 form part of the historical city of the Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzı´n, Granada, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1984, and the origins of which go back to the Spanish Islamic period (concretely the Nasrid dynasty 1238–1492). The Generalife is the rural residence and gardens of the Sultans situated beside the fortified city of the Alhambra on a nearby hill and at a higher level. The cultivated area, the Huertas, is located between both architectural complexes so that the landscape generated by its vegetation largely determines the overall appearance of this historic monument (figures 1 and 2). This study aims to gain more knowledge about the evolution of this landscape throughout the ages, an important task not only for aesthetic reasons but also for the information obtained on the cultivation and management of the land throughout its history. As pointed out by Antrop, the landscapes ‘contain a lot of information concerning the still poorly known history of ordinary people and land management traditions’.2 Landscape is an expression of the cultural and social reality of each period, and, thus, in a place of such a great historical and cultural interest as the Alhambra and Generalife, it is indispensable to determine what changes have taken place in order to identify and evaluate the transformation of the original Andalusı´ agricultural systems, and to find out how it could affect any intervention in this area, the emblematic landscape of these historic monuments.This work was commissioned and funded by the Council of the Alhambra (Regional Cultural Ministry, Andalusian Autonomous Government, Spain)