The Alhambra, Granada
A pavilion of the Court of the Lions in the Alhambra, the fortress-palace of the Nasrid sultans in 14th-century Granada.
The Nasrid dynasty, the last independent Muslim rulers of Iberia, built the Alhambra as both citadel and palace on a hilltop overlooking Granada, filling it with the carved stucco, muqarnas vaulting, and reflecting pools that define its architecture. The Court of the Lions, with its famous marble fountain resting on twelve carved lions, formed the private heart of the palace, reserved for the sultan and his household. Granada fell to the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella in January 1492, ending nearly eight centuries of Muslim rule in Spain, and the Alhambra passed into Christian hands largely intact. Read more in our piece on the Alhambra Palace.
CC0 — source (Wikimedia Commons). Free to reuse under the stated licence.
