Torre de Machuca

Tower in Granada

View Of Alhambra 4 — Pixabay / helenmlittle0

View Of Alhambra 2 — Pixabay / Pablo Valerio

Alhambra 967024 — https://pixabay.com/photos/alhambra-granada-andalusia-spain-967024/ / Pablo Valerio

Patio De Machuca, Palace Of Mexuar, Palacio Nazaries, Alhambra 2 — CC BY-SA 4.0 / Rumomo

Patio De Machuca, Palace Of Mexuar, Palacio Nazaries, Alhambra — CC BY-SA 4.0 / Rumomo

The Torre de Machuca or Tower of Manchuca is a defensive Lookout Tower in the Mexuar Palace in the Alhambra Complex, in Granada, Spain. The tower is small, approximately 4 meters square, and protrudes outside the wall slightly. It was built in the time of Yusuf I. The rest of the gallery and the building were later added by his son Muhammad V.

Where is the Torre de Machuca located?

It is located to the east of the Torre de Mohamed and to the north of the Patio de Machuca.

Where does the Torre de Machuca get its name from?

Pedro Machuca, who the architect of Carlos V, and designed both the Palacio de Carlos V and the Puerta de las Granadas lived in this tower. He was born in Toledo and trained in Italy. He returned to Spain in 1520 and worked in the Royal Chapel of Granada.

This tower was known as the Torre de la Victoria or Tower of Victory in the Nasrid period or Bahw al-Nasr, and more recently as the Torre de los Puñales or Tower of the Daggers for having found a dagger within its walls during a restoration in 1854.

The History of the Torre de Machuca

The tower was ordered to be built by Yusuf I, It said Ibn el-Khatib “overlooks the city, and who is inside can see the guard posts and borders, and hear the sound of water running down pools of strength and even coughs people at home, and other things.”

Until the reign of Mohammed V was separated by the moat from the path, which was filled in by the Muslim workers to widen the courtyard and incorporate this pavilion-tower into the new Mexuar.