Deviation Day 7: Granada

We were tired again and slept in kind of late this morning but our objective was clear. We were to conquer the Alhambra today and we would do it as completely as possible. The Alhambra is the last Moorish stronghold to have fallen during the reconquista and holds a huge historic significance. It was here that the terms of surrender were signed and handed to the Spanish monarchs and literally in the same throne room the final ok was given to Columbus to begin his journey to America. Ferdinand and Isabella are buried in Granada and because of its emblematic nature as the last nail in the coffin of the reconquista, it was actually made the capitol of Spain.

Anyhow, we took the 33 bus for a very reasonable 1.20 Euro up to the Alhambra and got in line for the ticket office. Apparently the Palacios Nazaries (Nasarid Palaces) receive over 8,000 per day so they handle this by only allowing you to get into them at a certain time by appointment. We purchased our general admission ticket, allowing us to get into the four main areas of the Alhambra, and had an appointment for 12:00PM entry. Our ticket only lasted for the morning session (so only until 2PM) so we made sure to see some things before we got to the palace. We got to see the Alhambra museum with Moorish artifacts from the 9th and 10th centuries, the palace of Charles V the Spanish-born Holy Roman Emperor, and even an exhibit dedicated to M.C. Escher, the famous American Artist. Why Escher, you may ask? In reality, Escher’s work was highly influenced by his visits to the Alhambra and he credits his tessellations to the mathematical genius of the Moorish artists who decorated the palace’s walls.

Anyhow, at noon our time had come and we anxiously awaited our chance to go into the palace. We had a very long line as you can see, but we finally made it past the two guards and were inside.




The whole palace is best known for its rich art on its walls and ceilings and I was not at all disappointed. Everything from tessellated patterns, to “stalactite” ceilings, to richly ornamented Arabic scripts from the qoran was splayed over the entire insides with sumptuous detail. Here are some photos which, as usual, speak better on the subject than I ever could.







I literally want all of this art in my future home (just in case anyone is in the marked for some gifts…) and I couldn’t believe that so many precious things had survived so many years of neglect and weather. I could easily see myself studying and contemplating within these walls but, alas, we had to leave and make it to the other attractions before the closing of our ticket at 2PM.

Next, we went to the Alcazaba which in Arabic means “fort” where the military strength of the Alhambra was exerted. Aside from the fortifications, we had a very clear view of the entire countryside which allowed us to imagine how the Moors must have felt as they presided over this center of their world. Ancient Moorish walls still flank the hillsides and the once-Muslim quarter, the Albayzín, lay like a tangled maze of narrow streets and white houses below.





We then hurried over to the main gardens of the facility, the Generalife (think heh-neh-rah-LEE-fay, not “general life”) gardens where we got to see some modern adaptations on the historical flower and vegetable gardens of the Moorish Rulers. The flowers were gorgeous and the modern take really did justice to the original intentions of the Moorish gardeners. Here are some of my favorite parts.






After a very satisfying visit we were ready to make our way back into town for some lunch and then a few more sights while we still had time.

Our first stop was the Cathedral of Granada. As you can guess, this Cathedral was built on top of a mosque despite not being the best building ground, yet shows another great symbol of the triumph of Spain and Catholicism in the Iberian Peninsula. Second only to Seville’s cathedral, this massive structure is build in a very interesting way and was completed in an astounding 15 years. Some sections are gothic, others baroque, but all was spellbindingly huge and beautiful. After seeing a lot of giant churches in Italy, I can say that I honestly like the Spanish churches just a bit more. They are closer to the people attending and create more of a connection rather than forced respect of the surroundings. Another small fact, Queen Isabella, King Ferdinand, King Phillip, and Queen Juana (the parents of Charles V) are all buried in the royal chapel attached to this very cathedral. Here is what it looked like from a few angles.





This cathedral was quite close to our hostel so after our visit we ran back to take a bit of a siesta. We had planned to head to the mirador de San Tomás to see the sunset over the Alhambra but we were awakened to loud noises outside. We packed up our day bags, walked out, and found a labor protest going on with demonstrations in the street. It was very loud but peaceful so it was more of just an interest for us than an actual danger!



We started our long climb to the top of the hill opposite the Alhambra and finally made it to the Church of St. Nicholas where we sat and enjoyed the red beams of the sun reflecting off of the yellow stone walls of the Alhambra. Rick Steves calls this one of the most romantic viewpoints in Europe, but you will have to decide if you agree.




Satisfied with our view but as hungry as ever, we left in search of some dinner before bed. We found an awesome middle eastern restaurant where we sat at low tables on stools, drank delicious cool and hot tea, and had some authentic rice and chicken dishes which filled us up and made us very happy to have decided to eat in the Muslim Quarter.





As we walked down the hill leisurely to our hostel, I couldn’t help but think that this is how life should be lived, beauty all around, great company, and great food. I know that I don’t want to live my life in Spain, but I did feel truly content that evening and had as great a time as I have had yet this trip. Hopefully more of the same will follow!