After the Reconquista of Granada in 1492, Queen Isabella I confiscated a mosque and the adjacent Palace of Dar al-Horra. In 1501, she founded the Monastery of Santa Isabel la Real for the Poor Clares. This is a Catholic order co-founded by Saints Clare and Francis of Assisi. In 1504, the queen commissioned her favorite royal architect Enrique Egas to design a convent and chapel for the nuns on the seized property. The church was finished in 1592. You are standing at the front gate. You will not see any of the cloistered sisters during your visit. But do not leave without tasting their mouth-watering pastries.
