When you’re a sultan and you need some time off from the rigors of life in the Palacio Nazaríes–you know, the daily grind of sitting around on Persian rugs smoking hookahs and munching on pomegranates–you’d retreat to Generalife, a three-room escape built a half mile or so up the hill from the Palacio. The main attraction here are the gardens and the pools. The fountains were added in the 19th century. The Moors preferred still pools to running water as a design element.

The extensive gardens, aside from being decorative, were used to feed the 1000+ inhabitants of the Alhambra complex.

It’s good to be the Sultan.