Alhambra - Spain, Festival of Courtyards
A courtyard is an outdoor space in a house that provides lighting and ventilation to the other rooms. In addition, its accessible location makes it a communal area, the centre of family life.
Due to the hot, dry Cordoban climate, the city’s inhabitants, - first the Romans and later the Moslems - adapted the typical design of the popular house to their needs, making the home center around an inner courtyard (patio in Spanish), normally with a fountain in the middle and often a well to collect rainwater. The Moslems made further adjustments, giving the house an entrance from the street which passed through a porch, and filling the courtyard with plants to give the sensation of freshness.
Post cards from Alhambra
