Patio de los Arrayanes - Court of the Myrtles

The Court of the Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes) is part of the palace and fortress complex of the Alhambra. Its current name is due to the myrtle bushes that surround the central pond and the bright green colour of which contrasts with the white marble of the patio.

The following text is by Albert Frederick Calvert

It is one of the most beautiful parts of the palace, and gives a foretaste of the glories that lie beyond. One feels immediately transported to the East. The originality of the architecture [says Don Francisco Pi Margall], the airy galleries, its rich alcoves, the splendid apartments of which glimpses are obtained through its arches, the fountains and foliage, the reflection of its stuccoed walls in the waters of the pond, the murmur of the breezes that agitate the dense myrtles, the transparency of the sky, the Silence that reigns all about —all oppress the soul at the same time, and leave us for some moments submerged in a sea of sensations which reveal to us little more than the harmony of the whole scene. The court forms an oblong, bounded at the north and south by two galleries supported on eight columns of white marble, and to the east and west by walls pierced with doors and twin windows covered with arabesques, but  differing in degree of ornamentation. At each angle we find an alhami or alcove, where the Moors were accustomed to laze away the day, extended on rich carpets and divans. The walls of these little places are encrusted with reliefs in stucco, their roofs are of the stalactite pattern. Along the middle of the court extends the alberca or fish -pond, its margins hidden by orange trees and myrtles. The clear water gushes up into two round basins at either end.