This fabulous palacio was originally built by Emir Yusuf I, and thereafter served as the private residence for the ruler. It's built around the Patio de los Arrayanes (Patio of the Myrtles), and named after the hedges surrounding its rectangular pool and fountains. The rooms along the sides may have been quarters for the emir's many wives. Finely carved arches atop marble pillars form porticos at both ends of the patio.
Through the northern portico, inside the Torre de Comares (Comares Tower), is the Sala de la Barca (Hall of the Blessing) from the Arabic al-baraka for blessing, a word endlessly carved on the walls. This room leads into the square Salón de Comares (Comares Hall), also called the Salón de los Embajadores (Hall of the Ambassadors), where the emirs would have conducted their negotiations with Christian emissaries. The stuccowork on the walls again contains repeated inscriptions in praise of God, and the marvellous domed marquetry ceiling contains more than 8000 cedar pieces in a pattern of stars representing the seven heavens of Islamic paradise, through which the soul ascends before reaching the top, where Allah resides. The southern end of the patio is overshadowed by the walls of the Palacio de Carlos V.
