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Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos

A fortress beside the Guadalquivir, next to the Mosque-Cathedral, which reused remains of a late antique castellum, an Umayyad alcázar and an Almohad citadel. After the Castilian conquest of 1236 it was remodelled until about 1328, under Alfonso XI. The Catholic Monarchs lived here and directed the campaign against Granada from Córdoba; Boabdil was held prisoner in the building. It later served as the seat of the Inquisition and, afterwards, as a civil prison, until the mid-20th century. The compound has four towers: the Tower of the Lions, the Keep, the Tower of the Inquisition and the Tower of the Doves. On the ground floor are the Moorish Courtyard, with marble paving and water channels, and the Courtyard of the Women. The upper floor preserves the Hall of Mosaics, a Baroque chapel with Roman mosaics from the Corredera, and in an access gallery there is a pagan sarcophagus from the 3rd century. Beneath the hall are Arab-inspired baths. The gardens form three terraces with ponds and fountains and the Avenue of the Kings, with sculptures of monarchs.

Things to do at Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos: 3 missions

• Find the four towers of the AlcázarWalk around the compound and find the Tower of the Lions, the Keep, the Tower of the Inquisition and the Tower of the Doves; photograph at least two from the outside or the gardens.
• Walk the Avenue of the Kings in the gardensGo down the three garden terraces to the Avenue of the Kings and find the sculptures of monarchs that line it.
• Watch the water in the Moorish CourtyardEnter the Moorish Courtyard and follow the water channels across the marble paving until you see how they spread through the courtyard.

Near Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos

Source: Web oficial - Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos