The Secret Realm of Granada: The Water and Light of the Alhambra Palace

In Granada, Spain, known as the "City of Pomegranates," there is a story about a blind man begging in front of the famous Alhambra Palace, sorrowfully crying, "Please have mercy, there is nothing more tragic than living in Granada and being blind." — Missing this medieval palace would indeed be a huge regret. Visiting the World Heritage sites on the Iberian Peninsula requires online reservations, but the Alhambra Palace alone demands booking a month or more in advance; it is truly an encounter worth waiting for. I first headed to the Albayzín district, also a World Heritage site: narrow alleys barely wide enough for one person, cobblestone streets lined with white walls and red-tiled Moorish houses, the medieval atmosphere steeped in history. Looking across, the Alhambra Palace, one of the world's eight great palaces, sits at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains. This masterpiece, hailed as the pinnacle of Islamic architecture, is the final masterpiece left by Muslims in the Catholic kingdom. Originally pure white palace walls, after eight centuries of sun and wind erosion, have faded into a brilliant rose color. This "flowing palace" is woven from gardens and courtyards, where even ordinary small courtyards come alive with a carved wall. The ochre palace walls cast diamond-shaped light spots, and at the end of the winding, mysterious corridors, legends become the scenery before your eyes. Although Andalusia bakes under a blazing sun, the stone channels flowing throughout the palace bring coolness. The palace’s drainage system remains a mystery to this day, so precise that water droplets create music, and the patterns on the walls have even amazed American scientists as "alien technology." Walking through it, everyone marvels at the Moors' wisdom and aesthetics — those carvings as delicate as lace, as if stepping into the dreamlike world of One Thousand and One Nights. The pool in the Court of the Myrtles looks ordinary at first glance, but it perfectly reflects the Comares Tower on its surface. Under the bright blue sky and afternoon sun, the water looks like polished jade, imprinting the arches, spires, and drifting clouds into a symmetrical painting. This interplay of reality and reflection not only makes the space more transparent but seems to hide the subtle struggles of dynastic changes. The gentle breeze ripples the pool and disturbs the waves of rise and fall of dynasties — those ripples that once stirred here eventually settle into still water calmness. Following the water channel to the Court of the Lions, 124 marble columns weave an openwork corridor, with twelve stone lions supporting a fountain that breathes clear water. Sunlight filters through the dome, embroidering star-like light spots on the ground; the carved patterns on the walls and arches are the romantic secret messages the Moors etched into stone. In the Summer Palace, water channels twist like silver silk, and fountains dance with lively steps. Pomegranates hang from branches, glowing like sun-warmed carnelian. Looking up, an arched window frames the Albayzín district like a painting: white walls and red tiles stacked upward, dark green cypress trees outlining the scene like brushstrokes, even the distant bustling life of Granada becomes a carefully designed distant view within the palace walls. Gazing long at this mirage-like beautiful palace, two musicians play the famous Spanish classical guitar piece "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" fittingly. The flowing fingerpicking mimics the sound of the continuously flowing water, and the joyful melody is the ethereal charm of blooming flowers in the quiet courtyard. At that moment, a couple beside me gestured for me to take a photo of them with my large lens camera. When the shutter clicked softly, their smiles intertwined with seven hundred years of flowing light — the Alhambra Palace is never a solitary scene: flowing water meets warm sunlight, embracing scattered light, and guitar sounds drift over the folded palace walls. The best encounters in the world are exactly this: you wait for me in time, and I catch the light you let fall in the fireworks.