<P> The decoration consists for the upper part of the walls , as a rule , of Arabic inscriptions -- mostly poems by Ibn Zamrak and others praising the palace -- that are manipulated into geometrical patterns with vegetal background set onto an arabesque setting ( `` Ataurique '' ) . Much of this ornament is carved stucco ( plaster ) rather than stone . Tile mosaics ( `` alicatado '' ) , with complicated mathematical patterns ( `` tracería '' , most precisely `` lacería '' ) , are largely used as panelling for the lower part . Similar designs are displayed on wooden ceilings ( Alfarje ) . Muqarnas are the main elements for vaulting with stucco , and some of the most accomplished dome examples of this kind are in the Court of the Lions halls . The palace complex is designed in the Nasrid style , the last blooming of Islamic Art in the Iberian Peninsula , that had a great influence on the Maghreb to the present day , and on contemporary Mudejar Art , which is characteristic of western elements reinterpreted into Islamic forms and widely popular during the Reconquista in Spain . </P>
the builders of the alhambra used muqarnas to
Muqarnas are the main elements for vaulting with stucco