Court of the Lions and the Fabulous Fountain, Granada

All the changes to the Alhambra wrought by Muhammed V indicate the origin of a novel style called Nasrid, which mixed elements of Moorish and Christian influences. Muhammed V borrowed ideas from his friend, Pedro I of Castile. These influences are demonstrated in the structure of the Court of the Lions.

The courtyard is strongly influenced by Pedro I's Patio de las Doncellas in Seville. Despite this, the theme of the court is based on early Islamic gardening. The court is divided into four sections, representing the quarters of the world. Each quarter is irrigated by one of the four rivers of Paradise.

The courtyard is imagined to be paradise itself. White marble columns form a grove in an oasis. Water, columns and gardens create paradise. On the basin of the lion fountain is a quote by the Muslim poet, Ibn Zamrak: "The fountain of the Sultan, which smothers with his graces all his subjects and lands, as the water wets the gardens."

The Lion Fountain of the courtyard is a bowl shaped basin supported by twelve lions facing outward, squirting water from their mouths. The sparkling water falls from the lions into four streams that run through channels to the sides.

The pillars of the colonnades are gathered at each end of the patio around small fountains. The arches support filigreed muqarna (honeycombed) arches that hover over the fountains like palm trees in a desert oasis.