Jardín de Daraxa

Courtyard in Granada

Fountain Of Jardin De Daraxa, Alhambra — CC BY-SA 2.0 / Michal Osmenda

Fountain Of Jardin De Daraxa, Alhambra 2 — CC BY-SA 3.0 / Tuxyso

Jardin De Daraxa, Alhambra 2 — CC BY-SA 4.0 / Kolforn

Jardin De Daraxa, Alhambra 3 — CC BY-SA 1.0 / MarkusMark

Jardin De Daraxa, Alhambra 4 — CC BY-SA 4.0 / Kolforn

The Jardín de Daraxa or Daraxa’s Garden is a courtyard or garden in the Palacio de los Leones. The Palacio de los Leones is one of the palaces that make up the Palacio Nazaríes in the Alhambra Complex, in Granada, Spain.

What does the Jardín de Daraxa look like?

Though structurally similar to the Patio de la Reja, it is more cloister-like.

In the garden there are cypresses, acacias, orange trees and box bushes surrounding the big central marble fountain. The fountain’s border is decorated with a poem, like the fountain of the Patio de los Leones, and it was made in 1626 with the big basin that was in the
Patio del Cuarto Dorado.

What then would seem to be an open air garden below is in fact enclosed by the three rooms of the Emperor’s Chambers, with arcaded galleries on the ground floor making use of columns removed from other sites in the Alhambra. The affect is cloister-like, which is further enhanced by the design of the garden with its fountain in the middle.

Made of stone from the Elvira Mountains, the base, ridge and pilaster of the fountain are Baroque. From around 1626 to 1995 the fountain had an adorned marble Nasrid basin with epigraph inscriptions, probably meant for the Court of the Lions, but which is currently kept in the Museum of the Alhambra.

Jardín de Daraxa and the Hall of Secrets

To the south of the gardens you can access the basement of the of the Hall of the Two Sisters, which form a series of 12 rooms surrounding the Sala de los Secretos or Hall of the Secrets. If you stand in one corner and speak into the pillar the sound is carried over to the opposite corner.

When was the Jardín de Daraxa created

The Jardín de Daraxa was constructed between 1526 and 1538, as the same time as the Habitaciones de Carlos V or Emperor’s Chambers, in the garden that already existed between the fortress and the ramparts.

The Names of Jardín de Daraxa

The Jardines de Daraxa are named after the viewpoint to its south, the Mirador de Daraxa. The Mirador is also called the Mirador de Lindaraja and consequently this courtyard is also called Jardines de Lindaraja. The name Lindaraja, comes from Ayun Dar Aisa, “the eyes of Aisa’s house.”

The Jardines de Daraxa or Daraxa’s Garden was also called Jardín de los Naranjos or Garden of the Orange Trees and Jardín de los Mármoles or Garden of the Marbles.

Where is the Jardín de Daraxa located?

The patio is surrounded by the Mirador de Darax and the Sala de Dos Hermanas to the south, by the Habitaciones de Carlos V to the north and by the galleries built by the Emperor to the east and the west.

The Jardín de Daraxa appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Granada!

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