The marvelous Alhambra fortress lies on top of Granada's hill, Sabikah. This hilltop in Spain was initially settled by Moors in 711 BC as a refuge. Yet, hundreds of years later, it was the Muslim dynasty of the Nasrids that started the most glorious period in the history of the Alhambra. Their ruler Muhammad Ibn al-Ahmar was a true architectural and cultural pioneer. The Palace of the Lions, with its 500 square metre patio, is considered one of the greatest examples Arabic design. The Nasrids ruled over the Alhambra for over 250 years, protected by 40.000 soldiers. Their reign ended in 1492, when Isabella I of Castile and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon succeeded in taking back the Alhambra from the Muslims - the "Reconquista". Dragonflies and toads take advantage of the gardens and water features to mate. Scorpions give birth to their young, and sometimes feed on them, and snakes hunt lizards. The buildings house exquisite artwork, drawn from the patterns and colours of the natural world. Water was fed to the castle by aqueducts drawing from the resources in the mountains. Vultures, crows, foxes and ibex thrive around the castle. The Muslims mastered cartography and expanded the science of optics, using the astrolabe to chart accurate ocean maps, which Columbus later used when he sailed west from here. They used trigonometry and algebra, both invented by Arabs, to revolutionize land surveying. They created new varieties of fruit trees for their complex agricultural system. Their garden of Eden became a sanctuary for nature as well as a masterpiece of human creation.

pt. 1. Alhambra: Wild Castles Series -- pt. 2. Muslim Math and Science in Spain.