The Royal Convent of Saint Isabel

The Royal Convent of Saint Isabel sits in the highest part of the Albaicín, occupying land that was once the site of the Dar al-Horra Palace, the residence of the mother of the last Nasrid sultan. Queen Isabella of Castile founded the convent in fifteen oh four, intending to establish Christian religious control over this former center of the Muslim city. Its architecture reflects this history of transition, combining a late Gothic portal with a tower whose form and decoration suggest it was built using the remains of a minaret.