Madrid - Spanish scientists have used modern technology to
translate and classify a third of the 10,000 Arabic inscriptions
covering the walls of the 14th-century Moorish palace-fortress of the
Alhambra in Granada, press reports said Friday.
The classified inscriptions were inside the Comares Palace at the
reddish citadel which is counted among Spain's most popular tourist
attractions.
Contrary to popular belief, most of the inscriptions were not
poems or verses of the Koran, said Juan Castillo, director of the
project.
The inscriptions contained numerous references to the Nasrid
dynasty which ruled Granada, the last of Spain's Moorish kingdoms to
fall to what is known as the Christian reconquest of the country, in
1492.
Few tourists visiting the Alhambra understand the meaning of the
decorative inscriptions covering walls, arches and pillars in the
buildings making up the monument.
The ones inside the Comares Palace include praises to Allah,
proverbs, poetic verses and more than 1,000 repetitions of the motto
of the Nasrid dynasty: 'There is no other winner than Allah.'
'Be frugal with words and you will go in peace,' another
inscription advises.
The Alhambra inscriptions were carved to proclaim the Islamic
faith, but also as a 'publicity tool to spread the philosophy of the
dynasty,' the daily El Mundo quoted Castillo as saying.
The inscriptions were photographed, translated, classified and
stored on a DVD.
All of the Alhambra inscriptions, a part of which had already been
translated before the current project, are due to become available in
Spanish by 2010.
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