After buying the very reasonable tickets this tunnel led us to a lift that took us up to the heart of Malaga's magnificent 11th century Alcazaba, which was the residence of the Amirs of Malaga during its brief period of independece.
The royal palace is sumptuous with its beautiful tree (oranges, in particular) lined terraces and courtyards with ornamental pools. A few years ago I imagined building a house in Bangladesh. I had this in mind.
As with most Islamic architecture of the past the palace is not overbearing. It doesn't feel out of place but just seems to blend in with the surrounding. At with its environment you might say. Even the fortess surrounding the palace seems gentle and non-imposing from the inside.
Contrast that with the current trend in 'Islamic' architecture which seems to be to always to build ever bigger (and monstrous) structures, without a care about the visual environment - Burj Khalifa and the Makkah Clock Tower come to mind...
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