Name/Title
StereographEntry/Object ID
2023.055.3.0296Description
A black and white stereograph. Image is of a castle overlooking a village. Above the image "T459 (Star)" is printed, below the image "28760T The Alhambra, for Centuries the Seat of Moorish Power - Looking toward the Snowy Sierras." is printed, to the left of the image "Keystone View Company COPYRIGHTED Manufacturers MADE IN U.S.A. Publishers" is printed, to the right of the image "Meadville, Pa., New York, N. Y., Chicago, Ill., London, England." is printed. On the reverse the following is printed:
W25337
THE ALHAMBRA, LOOKING TOWARD THE SNWOY SIERRAS, GRANADA
When the Moors of Northern Africa had annexed sufficient territory on their native continent, they crossed over into Europe and began to overrun Spain. Defeated by Charles Martel in the north, they remained for several centuries in possession of the southern part of the Spanish peninsula. Their last stronghold was Granada.
That irregular chain of buildings and massive walls on the long ridge is the famed Alhambra, fortress and palace of the Moorish rulers of Granada. It was once one of the most splendid palaces in the world. Within its massive walls there are still lovely gardens with "fountains that gush forth i' the midst of roses" and great halls where the stonework is so beautifully carved that the walls seem "woven like a cloth, rich as brocade, transparent as lace and veined like a leaf."
Here in the year 1491 were encamped the armies of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, besieging Granada; and hither came Columbus to ask for ships and men to voyage to the west. Here, on January 2, 1492, he watched the city surrender. He saw Boabdil give up the keys of the Alhambra and sadly take his departure. He saw Ferdinand and Isabella enter the city, and here it was that he made his appeal to them and won their consent to his expedition which resulted in the discovery of America. At Granada, which became their favorite residence, the kind and queen, on April 17, 1492, both signed a contract with Columbus by which it was agreed that he should be made an admiral, that he should be a viceroy in all the islands and mainlands discovered or acquired during his life, and that he should have one tenth of all the gold, or anything else he might discover
Copyright by The Keystone View CompanyCollection
Photograph Collection