The Albaycin is the old Arab Quarter. It comprises approximately the area between the hill of the Alhambra, the hill of San Cristobal, the Sacromonte and Elvira.
The Albaycin is like a different world within Granada. This is due to the strong Muslim influence in this area. It was the place where the first Siri court was built in the eleventh century.
At the height of splendour the Albaycin enjoyed in the last years of Nazarid dominance, the quarter comprised a population of more than forty thousand inhabitants and thirty mosques. The streets were very narrow and small with clean houses, plus numerous wells, some of which are still in the Albaycin.