brings the forces of nature into play

The Alhambra brings the forces of nature into play at every turn: water in movement - trickling, running, cascading, spurting - or still, in tranquil expanses: carefully barbered trees and bushes; sunken flower beds; sudden glimpses of mountains or gardens framed in a casement, or, more ambitiously, miradors and belvederes cunningly placed to exploit sight lines over an entire landscape; and above all light. The Alhambra studiously manipulates contrasts of light and dark, with bent entrances, shafts of sunlight angled into shadowy interiors, dim passageways suddenly opening into a courtyard open to the blazing sun, and light reflected from placid ponds or walls clad in glistening tiles.


Robert Hillenbrand, Islamic Art and Architecture. 1998 as found in Robert Irwin, The Alhambra. 2004. p.56