Granada

  Granada, Spain
Monday, January 22, 2007

This past weekend a few friends from my program and I made a small trip out to Granada, a city nestled next to the Sierra Nevada mountain range about 2 1/2 hours east of Sevilla (by bus). The city was first occupied by the Moors in the 8th century, with it's golden age during the rule of the Nasrid dynasty from 1238 to 1492 when merchants, scholars, and scientists all contributed to the cities reputation as a center of culture.

El Mirador de San Nicholas

Following the cities fall to Catholic monarchs in 1492, the city blossomed into Renaissance splendor. After a brief decline in the 19th century, Granada has recently been the subject of renewed interest as efforts are being made to restore parts of the city.

In contrast to American cities which for the most part are laid out in grids, these Spanish cities are literally mazes, with streets ending, curving and intersecting without any consistency. After a few weeks, I've begun to figure out Sevilla, but Granada seemed much harder to get around. This could be because of us having less time there, but I would swear that the streets there are even more labyrinthine than a typical Spanish city. Also, because of it's proximity to the mountains, the terrain is very hilly - and with a majority of the streets being pedestrian only this gives quite a workout to the weekend traveler! Anyways, in the small, winding streets we found plenty to keep us amused for a few days.

We stayed in a hostel called "The funky backpacker" that was an absolute delight.

In front of the Funky Backpacker

In 3 days I managed to spend time going out on the town with a group of Spanish girls from Alicante, some hitchhikers from Holland, and some very nice sisters backpacking around Spain from Austrailia. This melting pot of nationalities was amazing, and lead to some very interesting conversations about US politics, world happenings, and different perspectives. It's interesting now to see just how everyone looks at us Americans... The view from the top of the hostel was intoxicating, with a clear shot at the Sierra Nevada (which pale in comparison to the Rockies..) and a good view of all of Granada.

An interesting observation of the city was the plethora of amazing graffiti - there were of course some annoying "taggings" but some of the spray art was nothing but impressive.

We ventured to the Monasterio de la Cartuja, a monastery founded by a Christian warrior named El Gran Capitan in 1516. The monastery has a collection of masterpieces depicting the final days of the life of Christ, some dizzying optical illusions due to the geometric tiling and detailed plaster-work, and two breathtaking basilicas decorated in intricate granite/marble tiling and gilding.

Main altar in the sanctuary - La Cartuja

The main chambers were absolutely astonishing, we spent a few hours just in these 3 rooms. The level of detail was incredible, and you could stare at a single wall for 5-10 minutes without seeing everything there. At one end of the main chamber was a small sanctuary with a basilica adorned in black, twisted marble columns. The square room had detailed statues of Jesus and other Christian icons in all corners, walls adorned with absolute masterpieces, and a spectacular cupola painted by Antonio Palomino.

The cupola in the sanctuary - by Antonio Palomino

The night life in Granada was fun, but not quite up to par with Sevilla. One of the best things were that the tapas there were free - and that whenever you went to a tapas bar and ordered drinks you were served croquettes (fried potato dumplings), jamon, or little bocadillos (small sandwiches) for free! This, however, is misleading, as compared to Sevilla the drinks in Granada were a little more expensive. Tapas actually began as free appetizers that Spanish bar owners gave to patrons when they came to their establishments, so it was nice to see that this tradition was still being practiced somewhere.. The food paled in comparison to Sevilliano cuisine, but I did have some Rabo de Torro (bull tail ) that was pretty tasty. On day two we discovered a wonderful advent of hostels - many (including ours) have kitchens, so for the remainder of the trip we went cheap, bought food at the supermercado (supermarket) and prepared meals in the hostel.

The other sight that we beheld was the Alhambra - arguably the greatest sight in Spain and probably one of the best in all of Europe. A magical use of space, light, water and decoration accurately describes this incredible piece of architecture.

More reflecting Pools - La Alhambra

The Alhambra is actually a complex of the Alcazaba (the oldest part of the complex, a military citadel that of which all that remains today are it's walls, ramparts and towers), the Palace of Charles V, the Casas Reales, and the Generalife (royal gardens). My favorite part of the Alhambra was the Generalife, where we got lost for a few hours among the breathtaking beauty of carefully landscaped hedges, amazing reflecting pools, and the gentle sound of running water from the numerous fountains. For the Islamic population that enjoyed these gardens water was an integral part of life, fulfilling hygienic, spiritual, and practical needs. Unfortunately we had rotten luck with weather, and the one day in 2 months that it rains in Spain was when we were at the Alhambra. Regardless, we had an amazing, humbling experience and I was able to take away some lasting memories and beautiful photos.

Sundown from the hostel