Granada, is an enchanting city in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the south of Spain. Two hours or so inland from the Costa del Sol, you find Granada. Here you can swim in the heat of the day, or drive an hour and ski in the nearby snow-capped mountains. However, neither of these were our prime reason for visiting. We cam e to Granada from Seville primarily to see the Alhambra, a fortress and palace complex dating back to the 11th century. This was the place where the Moslems lost their hold on Spain after centuries of ruling it. These African-originated Moors lived in the hills of Granada, but were defeated by Christians seeking to regain control of the region. The defeated king at the time was soundly thrashed but managed to flee back to Africa. Now, if that weren't bad enough, as they fled the city, his mother lambasted him with the following words: "Now you can weep like a woman for the land you could not defend as a man." Talk about the ultimate putdown,and from your mother, no less! It was likely that he was in therapy for years after that.
The Alhambra itself is truly a work of art, a masterpiece of architecture and design, at once asthetically perfect yet functional as well. You have to reserve for a specific date and time well in advance due to the huge number of visitors daily. And they don't mess around--you miss the time, sorry Charlie. So, this was one time when the Liliens were on time. We started our day in the extensive gardens on this hilltop location, lush with rose bushes, 10 ft high sculpted hedges, intricately laid out pathways, and ingenious fountains and landscaping designed to keep it all hydrated with the cold waters originating high atop the mountains. You could visualize the sultan and his family or advisors finding peace in these gardens. It was a picture perfect day, and a great intro to the site. From there, we visited the fortress itself, extremely solid and a wonder tha tthis could be built at a time when there was no equipment, and all materials had to be carted up this very steep location. However, the piece de resistance was the palace itself. The intricate designs on each and every wall, floor and ceiling defy adequate description. Whether carved in wood, created by tile, or sculpted in stucco, it has a magical effect on the visitor. The Moslem faith is reiterated in endless gloriously visual patterns or in the words of the Koran written in highly stylized patterns. We walked through with our audioguides, recordings that described each room, its highlights, likely uses, and what inspired it. Truly, the home fit for a king. Everywhere, everyone snapped away like crazy in the desire to capture this visit for a lifetime of memories. And of course we did too. As usual, Bonnie maintained her good-humoured patience as I went nuts with my camera. The building, the grounds, and the feelings and imagination inspired were definitey a trip and life highlight.
But our day was not yet done. Afterwards, we took a bustrip through the the unbelievably narrow streets and neighborhoods of Granada, including Socremonte, where gypsies live today, in comfortable caves built into the hillsides. It was in such a cave that we came to end our very long day. We had heard of a cave where each night at 10 there is a performance of the flamenco unique to this region. Called Zambra, this combines the traditional dancing with spirited singing and handclapping. We sipped on the local sherry, and in a small intimate group of about 20 all huddled around the periphery of this brightly lit and colourfully decorated cave, we watched this high energy performance, a fitting conclusion to the Spanisn leg of this amazing trip. For tomorrow, we travel to Cairo via Madrid and Athens. Stay tuned for our next entry.
Granada, What a Day We Had There
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Granada, Andalusia, Spain and Canary Islands
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