"Hall of Ambassadors
The floor was glazed with white and blue ceramic tiles, where the coat of arms of the sultans of Granada could be seen as an ornament. It was slightly elevated, as it was customary to sit on the floor on cushions and look out the window from that position. The entire perimeter is covered with a tiled plinth. The ceiling is a masterpiece of Granadan carpentry. It is a vault that rises to 18 meters and represents the firmament. It is built with cedar wood and inlaid with other woods of different colors, a total of 8,017 pieces. The central part represents the Seventh Heaven or Islamic Paradise where Allah resides. This center can be reached by ascending the other six circles that surround it. The four diagonals symbolize the four rivers of Paradise.

In the Patio de los Arrayanes, the imposing Comares Tower stands out at one end; it is accessed through the Sala de la Barca (Barge Room). The Hall of Ambassadors, also called the Comares Hall, is the largest and highest room in the entire palace. It occupies the interior of the Comares Tower, overlooking the Darro Valley. Its construction dates back to the second third of the 14th century, during the reign of Yusuf I, the Nasrid Sultan of Granada. He probably did not see the work completed, ordering its construction and lavish decoration, as various inscriptions attribute its authorship to his son, Mohammed V. Its main function was to hold the sultan's private audiences.

In the center of the room, you can see a square with the name of Allah written on tiles. The walls are stuccoed (an exquisite work originating from Persia and Iraq) and feature repeated panels of praise to God, the legend "Only Allah is victorious," as well as the Emir and some fragments of the Quran, resulting in a rich poetic content. Every inch of the wall is covered with some decorative element.

On the sides of the hall are nine alcoves, three on each side, narrow and elongated (about two and a half meters deep). The central alcove on the north side belongs to the sultan, directly opposite the entrance door. The sultan sat there with his back to the exterior light, which, moreover, was directly facing the visiting ambassador, thus being at a disadvantage. In this space, verse inscriptions can be read describing the purpose of the space:
Although my companions [the other alcoves] are constellations of stars, to me alone, and not to them, belongs the glory of housing the Sun. My master Sultan Yusuf clothed me in a garment of splendor and excellence.
There are also a series of windows, formerly closed by wooden lattices and colored glass called cumarias (hence the name comares). The hall is polychrome: gold in the relief, light colors in the depths. The plinth is decorated with tiles. The original floor was made of white and blue glazed ceramic with coats of arms as ornamental motifs.

One of the most striking aspects of the Hall of Ambassadors is its cubic ceiling. It represents the seven heavens of Muslim culture, placed one above the other. The Quran states that the throne of God is above them; the entire ceiling is filled with stars, a total of one hundred and five.

The ceiling is a representation of the Universe, perhaps one of the finest representations from the Middle Ages. Made of cedar wood with inlaid woods of different colors, it depicts superimposed stars that form different levels. In the center, at the highest point, is the Footstool (عرش), on which God-Allah is established according to Quranic accounts. From this, the geometric figures that divide the ceiling into seven spaces are repeated, representing the seven heavens that descend consecutively to this world: 7 is one of the symbolic numbers par excellence. Between them all they form the Throne (كرس), which is the symbol of the entire creation."

Set Contreras

"This is the most majestic room in the Comares Palace, where the throne was located and official receptions were held.
It is square, originally with a marble floor, and is now made of clay tiles with the Alhamares coat of arms, executed in 16th-century tiles, in its center.
The walls of the room each feature three arches leading to three dressing rooms with twin balconies and windows above.
The room is filled with decorative inscriptions replete with poems.
I remember from my visits a feeling of majesty."

ANTONIO ORELLANA MARTIN

"The Comares Tower also houses the largest room in the complex: the Ambassadors' Hall, also known as the Throne Room.
Nine small alcoves, each identical in pairs, open into its walls, except for the central one opposite the entrance, reserved for the Sultan and more richly decorated.
The floor of this room, replaced on several occasions, retains most of its original gilded ceramic pieces in the center, to which similar ones were added later. It may have also had marble slabs. The vertical walls of the Hall are entirely covered with decoration. Its lower section retains various original tiled baseboards, upon which the rich plasterwork decoration alternates geometric shapes with ataurique and epigraphy. Originally, it was polychrome with vivid colors, reminiscent of a tapestry.

The ceiling, with its symbolic program, served to legitimize the Sultan, seated on his throne, presiding over the entire space of the Hall. The epigraphy of the entire Hall is full of court texts with a clear political-religious intention, emphasizing above all things the Divine supremacy."

C. Antonio González