The building is commonly known as “the White Carmen”. But what is a Carmen? It is a type of urban Villa, which was quite common during the Arab period of Granada. Reflecting the style of traditional Arab architecture, the bare white exterior hides inside an oasis of beauty. The most distinctive feature of the building is its stellar location on the hills. Thus, it is arranged in terraces, evoking the feel of irrigated rural expanses. In fact, the word Carmen derives from the Hispano-Arabic karm, which means "vineyard". In the Nasrid period, the term was used to designate rural estates dedicated to the cultivation of the vine. Carmen appears in this context as a residence featuring secret gardens. They are sometimes visible from outside, with their lush vegetation overflowing from the walls but, for their most part, they remain hidden from passers-by.