The Alhambra is a castle that was the last center of the Muslim kingdom on the Iberian peninsula, held from 1238-1492. The most striking aspects of the palaces and residences within the walled Alhambra are the amazing geometric designs that comprise the architecture, adorn the walls, and pattern the gardens. The spare, two-dimensional beauty of the art, based on the Muslim ban on idolatry of human and animal figures, contrasts strongly with the representational art that fills the churches in the rest of Spain and Portugal.