Alhambra while the complex was being constructed. The westernmost tower, the high Torre de la Vela, acted as a watch tower. The flag of Ferdinand and Isabella was first raised above it as a symbol of the Spanish conquest of Granada on 2 January 1492. A bell was added on the tower soon afterward and for centuries it was rung at regular times every day and on special occasions. In 1843 the tower became part of the city's coat of arms. Inside the enclosure of the inner fortress was a residential district that housed the elite guards of the Alhambra. It contained urban amenities like a communal kitchen, a hammam, and a water supply cistern, as well as multiple subterranean chambers which served as dungeons and silos. Nasrid palaces The royal palace complex consists of three main parts, from west to east: the Mexuar, the Comares Palace, and the Palace of the Lions. Collectively, these palaces are also known as the Casa Real Vieja ('Old Royal Palace'), to distinguish them from the newer palaces erected next to them during the Christian Spanish period. Mexuar The Mexuar is the westernmost part of the palace complex. It was analogous to the mashwars (or mechouars) of royal palaces in North Africa. It was first built as part of the larger complex begun by Isma'il I which included the Comares Palace. It housed many of the administrative and more public functions of the palace, such as the chancery and the treasury. Its layout consisted of two consecutive courtyards followed by a main hall, all aligned along a central axis from west to east. Little remains of the two western courtyards of the Mexuar today, except for their foundations, a portico, and the water basin of a fountain. The main hall, known as the Sala del Mexuar or Council Hall, served as a throne hall where the sultan received and judged petitions. This area also granted access to the Comares Palace via the Cuarto Dorado section on the east side of the Council Hall. Multiple parts of the Mexuar were significantly modified in the post-Reconquista period; notably, the Sala del Mexuar was converted into a Christian chapel and additions were made to the Cuarto Dorado to convert it into a residence. Many of these additions were later removed during modern restorations in the 19th and 20th centuries. Comares Palace The Comares Palace was the core