The word Alhambra means "Red Castle". Its name is due to the color of its materials: "red bricks". The Alhambra is the greater Arabic construction of Spain and it is located in Granada. Built on a hillside, the castle Alhambra was where Queen Isabella gave Columbus the Crown Jewels to finance his trip to the new world. Actually four castles all interconnected, it was a very impressive place. It is now a national site and they get over 3 million visitors a year. The Alhambra is known as "The Palace of the Alhambra", but in reality, it is a set of Arabic palaces: each one representing a period of time of the Arabic history of the city.

An interesting side note here. In the movies you see Columbus walking from the docks to the castle and the room was magnificent, holding hundreds of people.

In reality Granada is about 60 kilometers from the nearest water and the room where they were presented was rather small.