POSTCARD N.251 - SPAIN

Postcard dated the 18th, postmark of the 23rd September; received on the 1st October 2026

Postcard image: Nazari Stucco work detail: Vegetable motifs, 14th century, Alhambra, Granada

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Serependity, some would say.... truth is it couldn't have arrived at a better moment.

Moltes graciès, Eva. Absolutely perfect timing, considering that this week's Thursday Postcard Hunt is dedicated to UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The Alhambra of Granada, Spain, is without shadow of a doubt the most famous Islamic palace located outside of today's countries of Islamic religion professing majority.

Located at the top of the La Sabika hill, at the base of the  Serra Nevada range, the construction of the magnificent palace was ordered "in 1238 CE by Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar, the first Nasrid emir and founder of the Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim state of al-Andalus". (source: wikipedia).

Over the following centuries, the Palace would be subject to continuous modifications and enlargements, first by Muslim rulers and later by their Catholic counterparts after the Reconsquita, which ended with the conquest of Granada and the fall of Al-Andaluz in 1492.

The physical grandeur and richness of the history of the Alhambra cannot be potted in the few lines of a post in a Mail and Stamp collecting blog. Concurrently, it is quite easy to find information on the internet about this exceptional landmark, systematised  in a much better way than I would ever be capable of, so I invite any occasional reader of these lines to spend a few minutes at the Alhambra's official website and then progress to other obvious reference resources like Wikipedia of Britannica.

Better yet, consider a visit to the actual site on a forthcoming trip to Spain (but book admission tickets well in advance, because this can be a tricky matter....)

Acknowledging the relevance and singularity of the Alhambra as signs of  outstanding universal value, UNESCO inscribed it in the list of World Heritage List in 1984, considering that it fully met three of the ten criteria of which at least one must be met, in order for any landmark to be potentially eligible to integrate the list.

As such it was considered that The Alhambra fully met criteria:

1 - to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius;

3- to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared;

4 - to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history;

Eva's Postcard is illustrated with a  detail of probably the thing that I was most bewildered with when I visited the Alhambra. That is the incredible stucco work that covers columns walls and most of all domes and ceilings, so full of detail that it seemed to have come out of the hands not of masons but  of the most delicate embroiderers that ever lived. Absolutely stunning work.

On the card Eva used two stamps also illustrated with another of the great decorative elements of the palace. This time the Fountain of the Lions, that stands at the centre of the Lions Patio, ordered to be built by  Muhammad V, around 1380.

The 1 Euro stamp, issued on 05MAY2014 is part of a set of  7 (1 x 0, 92 + 6 x 1 €), issued as individual stamps throughout 2014, highlighting "The Brand Spain".

With the exception of ther 0,92 € stamp illustrated with the flag of Spain, all the other stamps carry a letter superimposed on the illustration, so that when seen all together the word ESPAÑA is formed.

As usual with Eva's mail, the stamps wer cancelled with the mechanical postmark of the Automated Treatment Centre of Valencia (CTA Valencia).