Why does Nasrid decoration favor geometry and calligraphy?

Islamic religious art generally avoids depicting people in mosques and palaces

What stands at the center of the Court of the Lions?

A fountain supported by twelve stone lions

Alhambra Tiles Quiz: Geometry in the Nasrid Palaces

Nasrid craftsmen covered palace walls with interlocking stars and polygons, and this Alhambra tiles quiz explores the geometry behind them. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on alicatado tilework, symmetry groups, Escher's visits, muqarnas ceilings, the Nasrid motto, the Court of the Lions and the Hall of the Ambassadors.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

City
In which Spanish city is the Alhambra?
Dynasty
Which dynasty built most of the palaces?
Tiles
What is alicatado?
Escher
Which artist was inspired by the Alhambra's tilings?
Symmetry
What do mathematicians study in the Alhambra's patterns?
Figures
Why does Nasrid decoration favor geometry and calligraphy?
Motto
Which Nasrid motto is repeated across the walls?
Muqarnas
What are muqarnas?
Lions
What stands at the center of the Court of the Lions?
Throne
Which hall served as the sultan's throne room?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: In which Spanish city is the Alhambra?
Answer: Granada
It overlooks the city from a hill.
Q2: Which dynasty built most of the palaces?
Answer: The Nasrids
They ruled Granada in the 13th to 15th centuries.
Q3: What is alicatado?
Answer: Mosaic made from cut glazed tiles
Pieces are cut and fitted into geometric patterns.
Q4: Which artist was inspired by the Alhambra's tilings?
Answer: M. C. Escher
He visited in 1922 and 1936.
Q5: What do mathematicians study in the Alhambra's patterns?
Answer: Many types of plane symmetry
Researchers have identified many of the 17 wallpaper groups there.
Q6: Why does Nasrid decoration favor geometry and calligraphy?
Answer: Islamic religious art generally avoids depicting people in mosques and palaces
Patterns and inscriptions dominate.
Q7: Which Nasrid motto is repeated across the walls?
Answer: There is no victor but God
It appears in Arabic thousands of times.
Q8: What are muqarnas?
Answer: Honeycomb-like ceiling vaults
The Hall of the Two Sisters has a spectacular one.
Q9: What stands at the center of the Court of the Lions?
Answer: A fountain supported by twelve stone lions
Channels carry water to surrounding halls.
Q10: Which hall served as the sultan's throne room?
Answer: Hall of the Ambassadors
Its wooden ceiling represents the seven heavens.

Alhambra Tiles Quiz – Geometry in the Nasrid Palaces

The Alhambra in Granada was built mainly by the Nasrid dynasty, which ruled the last Muslim kingdom in Spain until 1492. Its palaces are covered in alicatado, mosaic made from cut glazed tiles, along with carved plaster and wood.

The tile patterns use interlocking stars and polygons that show many kinds of plane symmetry. M. C. Escher visited in 1922 and 1936 and was inspired to create his tessellations. Arabic inscriptions repeat the Nasrid motto, There is no victor but God.

Highlights include the Court of the Lions, with its fountain on twelve lions, the muqarnas vault of the Hall of the Two Sisters and the Hall of the Ambassadors. The Alhambra became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

What This Quiz Teaches

Art and math fans will enjoy these questions.

Who built the Alhambra
How the tiles are made
What geometry they show
Who they inspired
Which halls are famous

Did You Know?

Tickets to the Nasrid Palaces are timed.
The Generalife gardens lie nearby.
Muqarnas can contain thousands of pieces.
Washington Irving wrote Tales of the Alhambra.
Colors include blue, green, black and ochre.