Granada, Spain

The second city we visited was Granada. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of four rivers, the Darro, the Genil, the Monachil and the Beiro. It was the last Muslim stronghold in Spain before its 1492 fall to Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II.

In Spanish granada means pomegranate.

We caught a 7:45 am train, it was a 2.5 hour journey so we tried tried to catch some zzz's on the way there. 

We took a quick taxi to The Alhambra Palace. The Alhambra palace is stunning palace and fortress complex built chiefly between 1238 and 1358 under Muhammad I, founder of the Nasrid Dynasty.

The complex is free to enter but to enter the palace you must have a timed ticket and carry your passport for identification. Tickets sell out during high season. We entered through the justice gate bringing us close to the The Alcazaba: The oldest part of the complex, built primarily for military defense.

Next we visited the Palace of Charles V.

Emperor Charles V commissioned the palace in 1527 during his honeymoon visit to Granada, wanting a grand residence that met the comforts of a contemporary royal court. It was to symbolize the triumph of Christianity over the Nasrid kingdom and a stark architectural contrast to the surrounding Moorish palaces. The palace's construction was plagued by financial issues and was never inhabited by any monarch.

Behind the Palace was The Church of Santa María de la Alhambra, built on the site of the Royal Mosque of the Alhambra. After the Christian conquest in 1492, the mosque was initially consecrated as a church before the current structure was eventually built to fully replace it.

Finally it was time to visit the Nasrid Palace.

Like I can not even explain to you how stunning everything was. The amount of time and energy that must have gone into its creation. In fact everything back then was so beautiful, so much care went into it. No college degrees, no machines, no design softwares yet such awe inspiring skill and beauty.

 

Inscribed repeatedly is the Nasrid motto: "Wa la ghaliba illa-llah" (There is no victor except God)

Hall of the Two Sisters features a dome made of over 5,000 muqarnas (honeycomb-like cells). My brain and eyes could not even process the layers and layers of honeycomb cells. 

 

Court of the Lions, which features a fountain supported by 12 marble lions. The palace is known for its ancient yet advanced hydraulic system which brought water from the mountains, fueling a "natural air conditioning" system where water features cooled the palace air during hot summers.

Washington Irving was one of the most influential visitors, he lived in the palace in 1829 and wrote Tales of the Alhambra (1832).

After exiting the Palace we headed to Generalife, the summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid rulers, located just east and uphill from the main Alhambra fortress. Built in the 13th and 14th centuries, it served as a private retreat where sultans could escape the official business of the court.

Afterwards we were famished. We walked down to main town and grabbed some pizza.

Afterwards we toured the markets until it was time to catch the train back. 

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