If you are planning on visiting The Alhambra Palace or have already been, this book brings the palace to life in a way that a guide book never could, by recounting stories or real people and events which took place during Washington Irving's stay there in 1829.

Long after the golden age of The Moors and the subsequent re-conquest by the catholic Kings, the then deserted palace became a ramshackle home to a welcoming bunch of eccentric characters who took it upon themselves to become caretakers, guides and historians of The Alhambra.

The writer recalls the tales that he was told, evoking images of the classic "Arabian Nights", of enchanted treasure tombs, ghostly Moors and incarcerated princesses.

Possibly it is best to read the book after you have been to The Alhambra so that at first you can be struck by the imposing style and elegance of the Nazrid palaces and the sacredness of the monument as one of Spain's most precious buildings and then enjoy the humble scenes created by Irving as he dines in a makeshift terrace next to the Patio of the Lions, and spends hours just sitting and watching the daily comings and goings of the inhabitants of the Albaicin, from a palace window that today is cordoned off by rope.

The book is written as a selection of short stories that can be picked up and put down whenever you feel, and as well as describing beautifully the palace and its people, it tells much of the history of the Moorish rulers of the Nazrid Dynasties and the local people of Granada in the 19th century and earlier.