Читать книгу The Alhambra. The Arabian conquest of the Peninsula with a particular account of the Mohammedan architecture and decoration онлайн

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One of the earliest extant references to Granada is contained in the MS. of Ibnu Battúttah, the Moslem traveller, who wrote in the fourteenth century. About the year 1360 Ibnu Battúttah journeyed from Morocco to Andalus, and visited Granada, which he thus describes: “Granada is the capital of Andalus, and the husband of its cities; its environs are a delightful garden, covering a space of forty miles, and have not their equal in the world. It is intersected by the well-known river Sheníl[3] (Xenil) and other considerable streams, and surrounded on every side by orchards, gardens, groves, palaces, and vineyards. One of the most pleasant spots in its neighbourhood is that known by the name of ’Aynu-l-adamar—the fountain of tears—which is a spring of cold and limpid water placed in the midst of delightful groves and gardens.” The suburb of Granada here referred to, preserves to this day its Arabic name corrupted into Dinamar, or Adinamar. It is a pleasant and much-frequented spot, close to Granada.