1. MATHEMATICS IN THE ALHAMBRA

2. PERFECT ORIENTATION
Mexuar oratory

3. HOW DOES ONE DETERMINE THE CORRECT DIRECTION?
TWO BOOKS ARE PARTICULARY RELEVANT:
The Almagest, written by Ptolomeo
The Elements, written by Euclid.
Oratory in the Mexuar

4. PERFECT PROPORTIONS
Comares Palace Facade

5. GEOMETRIC DECORATIONS
Mosaics
Stuccos
Muquarnas

6. Mosaic in the Comares Palace Baths
MOSAICS: BEAUTY AND COMPLEXITY
Mosaic in the Comares Palace
Mosaic in the Meshwar
Mosaic in the Comares Palace Baths

7. Why did the Nasrids use Geometry?
15th-Century Miniature

8. HOW WILL THEY SYMBOLIZE THEIR GOD?
ONE GOD ALONE, ‘ALLAH’
Allah had to be present in all of the Nasrid Palaces
Islamic religion, prohibit the depiction of their god.
HOW WILL THEY SYMBOLIZE THEIR GOD?

9. MATHEMATICS RESOLVED THIS PROBLEM
The Koran is the sacred book of the Islamic religion. In the Koran you can read:
‘Turn and face the Sacred Mosque, wherever you may find yourself, look towards the Sacred Mosque’.
Here the Koran indicates the position in which the followers of Islam were to pray: facing Mecca.

10. THUS MATHEMATICS WAS ESSENTIAL TO THIS CIVILIZATION.
THEY TRANSFORMED GEOMETRY INTO A GRAPHIC LANGUAGE TO BE USED IN DEPICTING ALLAH, IN ABSTRACCION USING GEOMETRICAL SHAPES
Decoration of a vase

11. THE UNIQUENESS OF ANY DECORATIVE COMPOSITION
The use of one sole pattern ( basic module )

12. Let’s look at an example to clarify what I’m saying
Simple pattern found inside a triangle
A rombhus, is a product of the first, by the symmetry of its vertical side.
Using three rhombi we produced a hexagon

13. ACTIVITY:
Continue the pattern found inside the hexagon, repeating it over and over until you fill the page.

14. Look for this pattern on the inside of the Wine Gate
Where is the unit and where is its multiplicity?

15. M.C. ESCHER, A NASRID OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY?
The Alhambra has been a source of inspiration for numerous artists. Moris Cornelius Escher, visited to the Alhambra in 1936, included these mosaics in his work.
Here is a fantastic example of this modern version in a reproduction of one of his lithographs.

16. Thank you for your attention!
The Alhambra belongs to you, to everyone, and here it remains year after year, century after century, always alive for us to enjoy.
Thank you for your attention!