Correctly viewed, the Alhambra, like many other Islamic monuments, is as much a masterpiece of mathematics as it is of art. The mathematics is latent in the proportions of the building and its visual effect is all the more potent for its not being immediately obvious to the eye. It is not necessary to understand all of the mathematics of the Alhambra..., but what must strike the eye is that, at every level, the designers of the building worked with complexity. The complexity and detail of the design of the Alhambra defy easy reading. One is not expected to master that complexity and detail, but to drown in them. Like modern mathematicians, the medieval Arab architects were engaged in exploring infinity.
Robert Irwin, The Alhambra. 2004. p.112, 113
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