This stairway, sheltered by a vault of laurels, was designed to suit the customs of the medieval sultan.
The Water Stairway leads to the highest part of the Generalife. It survives from the original enclosure, although much altered, and is famous for the water of the Sultan's Canal sliding down the channels along its walls.
It has three landings, each with a circular basin on its axis from which a small channel, now lost, originally ran; but along the parapets that line the stairs, channels made of inverted roof tiles still carry the water of the Royal Canal down the stairway at all times.
