Puerta de las Pesas - Granada

The Puerta de las Pesas, Puerta Nueva, or Arco de las Pesas , located next to today's Plaza Larga , was also known as the Puerta del Ensanche (Bab Al Ziyada). It is one of the earliest gates in Hispanic Islamic architecture and was one of the entry points of the Zirid Wall, which separated the Albaicín from the Alcazaba Qadima (Old) Quarter.

The Alcazaba Vieja ( Old Alcazaba ) was built by the Arabs of Damascus in the 8th century. It was defended by a wall that surrounded the whole and covered the area formed by the ancient Romano-Visigothic city centered on the present-day Plaza de San Nicolás, and whose perimeter was defined by the hermitage of San Cecilio to the north , the cistern of Trillo to the south, the convent of Las Tomasas to the east and the square and house of the Almirante and Calle Gumiel to the west.

Later, in the 11th century, the Zirids began rebuilding and expanding the primitive enclosure, restoring and fortifying the old wall with twelve towers, including the Monaita Gate and the Arch of Weights (de las pesas) . Like the other gates in Granada at the time, the Arco de las Pesas was closed at night for security reasons, leaving the citadel protected and unguarded.

The Arco de las Pesas, in Almoravid style , consists of an exterior facade with an overlap of horseshoe and round arches, a single elbow passageway with a vault in the corner, and an inner semicircular opening. The horseshoe arch of the doorway has stone voussoirs and brick lintels.

The inner door leading to the Alcazaba has a semi-circular arch, the keystone of which is formed by bricks with exposed edges.

The name "de las Pesas" (of the weights), as this door is better known, is due to the fact that, since the end of the 16th century, the truncated weights confiscated from the merchants of the establishments in the vicinity of the Plaza Larga.

Willem Vandenameele