Day 25: October 19,
2018
Granada, Spain
We
woke up early had a quick breakfast and headed to Granada. We
arrived around noon to the Eurostar Hotel, located right across
from the Alhambra Citadel. Our room was not ready yet, so we
left our luggage there, gave them the keys to our car and headed straight to
Alhambra to see what we could do about tickets.
The
line to get tickets was very long and I found out that they are just waiting
for any cancellations as the park was sold out until the end of the
month! Instead of wasting time in the queue, I used Google to see what
else can be done. In one website (LoveGranada.com), I found out that the
city’s department of tourism sells tickets to the attraction when you purchase
a package that includes other attractions and a train ride. We decided to
try our luck there. We walked for about 30 minutes to realize walking
around this city, means up and down hills every place we turned.
We
arrived to Town’s Hall in Plaza del Carmen and
found the Tourism Office on the first floor, and they did have
a desk for buying the tickets that included the Alhambra. We were
pleasantly surprise for the number of people in front of us: just one lady!
However, when we reached the extremely nice representative, she was sorry to
tell us that all tickets were gone for today but urged us (and the lady that
was in front of us) to wait for any cancellations or return tomorrow morning
and "maybe you will get lucky".
We
decided to wait. I used the time to read about the plaza and the city and
I will write about it soon!
About
30 minutes passed by, when the representative came to us with a huge
smile. There were 4 tickets available (2 for tomorrow and two for Sunday)
and that we don’t need to purchase the entire package but pay only for the face
value of the tickets. Since the other person was in front of us,
she got to chose first and we ended up with the Sunday’s tickets. There
are no words to describe the relief we had and we were so happy. The only
changes we had to do in our itinerary was to leave the hotel Sunday afternoon
(after touring Alhambra), instead of leaving in the morning.
So
now it is time to write about the city:
Granada
is the soul of Andalusia, a place of breathtaking beauty at the foot of
the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
The
city has been continuously inhabited by humans for at least 2500 years, prior
to the establishment of a Greek colony in the area. Under Ancient Roman rule
Granada developed as an economic center of Roman Hispania, with the
construction of aqueducts, roads, and other infrastructure. With the fall of
the Roman Empire the city was ruled by the Visigoths before
being re-conquered by the Byzantine Empire, all the time being
maintained as a strategic military and economic hub for the region.
The Moorish conquest
of 711 brought Islamic rule to the Iberian Peninsula and
Granada was quickly established as one of the main cities of Al-Andalusia,
the Muslim name for the region. New agricultural practices were introduced as
the old Roman infrastructure was put to use for irrigation, leading to a major
expansion of the city as it grew from the river valley up to the hills
currently occupied by the Alhambra and the Albayzín, with a major Jewish settlement, The
Realejo, existing within the town. In 1236 the city became the capital of
the Emirate of Granada, and for the next 250 years Granada stood as the heart
of a powerful and self-sufficient kingdom with the construction of the royal
palace and fortress, the Alhambra.
Fights
continued between the Emirate of Granada and the Crown
of Castile, and in the late XV century the Christians set foot in the city.
Following a military campaign led by King Ferdinand II of
Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, which included a
siege of the walled town, King Boabdil of Granada was
ultimately forced to surrender the town in 1492, bringing an end to Moorish
rule in the Iberian Peninsula.
The
fall of Granada came at a crucial moment for Christian Spain, as it was that
same year that Christopher Columbus made his first voyage to
the Americas, bringing back reports of the wealth and resources that could be
gained there. Flushed with the thought of success, Spaniards conquered much of
the Americas and brought great wealth to the new Spanish Empire. In
the case of Granada, the Christians soon forced the existing Jewish and Muslim
residents to convert and began making significant changes to the appearance of
the city in an attempt to hide its Muslim character, including replacing the
city's primary mosque with the massive Cathedral and constructing a large
Christian palace in the heart of the Alhambra. Persecution against the Muslims
and Jews took its toll, and over time the city began to suffer economically as
these populations abandoned their homes in the area.
Granada
remained a largely medieval-style city well into the XIX century, going through
many economic slumps and seeing much of its architectural heritage destroyed.
However, the last half of the XIX century saw Granada incorporated into the
national rail network and the first stirrings of tourism thanks to reports of
sites like the Alhambra to a global audience. However, the Spanish Civil
War of the 1930’s sunk Granada's economy, and it persisted largely as
a bureaucratic and university town until the late XX century, when the city
underwent a massive period of modernization and development which brought new
business and visitors to the city.
We
were at Plaza del Carmen, where City Hall is located in the heart
of the city, named after the old Carmen convent which has been demolished to
make room for the town hall building.
From there we decided to take a self guided tour.
We
crossed the street and arrive to the Royal Chapel and at the
entrance we saw a group of Israelis. We introduced ourselves and tagged along
with them.
This
impressive 155 feet-high domed chapel is attached to the Catedral Santa
María de la Encarnacion but has a separate entrance; it was an
addition to the cathedral built from 1506 to 1521 in Late Gothic style.
This
is the resting place of Isabella and Ferdinand, who chose to get buried in
Granada because they deemed their defeat of Muslim Nasrid kingdom here
as their most important accomplishment. We saw the painting of Nadrid's
surrender outside the chapel entrance.
We visited the crypt were the along with their daughter (Joan the "mad"). In addition, there were also other artifacts here such as Isabella's crown and Ferdinand's sword. BTW, photo is not allowed here, and I was caught taking a picture of the graves and was asked to leave. Luckily, it was at the end of the tour!
The
sights were amazing and every alleys or streets were mesmerizing with their
uniqueness and beauty.
Our
goal was to get to the top of the neighborhood to view the Alhambra Palace from
there.
We
reached the summit and in a panoramic spot, not far from the XVI Century Church
of San Nicolas and stopped in a large terrace as our mouths dropped when
we marveled the spectacular views from there.
The
rewards for the steep hike through the neighborhood were worth it. The views of
the Alhambra and the Generalife with
the Sierra Nevada backdrop, were amazing. Bill Clinton recently
re-visited this spot whilst on a trip to Spain as apparently he had been there
once in his student days and had never forgotten the magnificent vista.
We
returned to the bazaar, using a different route and exploring other alleys and
narrow streets. It was amazing!
Our
next visit was to La Juderia, the Jewish Quarter of
Granada.
We
approached a small museum when we saw a lady placing a “closed” sign next to
the entrance. We convinced her to let us visit and she agreed. Her
husband was inside the tiny museum and he told us few facts about this place:
The
Jewish quarter was very extensive, could have between 15,000 to 20,000 souls,
and occupied approximately the extension of the current neighborhood
called Realejo - San Matias, which was an immense labyrinth of
alleys. it was a very prosperous quarter that enjoyed great importance.
The jews were mostly craftsmen and merchants who traveled continuously.
Thanks to this they used to dominate several languages, were aware of the new
discoveries and had, in general, a great culture. They also had a vast
knowledge of medicine. All this made Garnata al-Yahud a
cosmopolitan and cultured neighborhood, which had a very positive influence on
the development of the city. Today there are only few Jewish families
left here.
The
tiny museum has few rooms containing artifacts exhibit and other Jewish
symbols.
It
was dinner time and we headed to the nearby Campo de Principe, a
plaza known for the best tapas in town. We found a table outside one of
the eateries, named Meson Tabarka and had a fantastic dinner.
Day 26: October 20,
2018
Granada, Spain
A rainstorm welcomed us this morning.
We felt so sorry for the lady who chose to visit Alhambra Palace today and
prayed for a nicer day tomorrow.
Armed with umbrellas and warm clothing we
started the day.
After a quick breakfast we headed to Plaza
del Carmen to find our guide ofr today’s tour of the city, but when
she finally arrived she told us that the tour had been cancelled, due to the
weather. We asked her if there were any other tours and she said that we
should try our luck in another square, called Plaza Nueva.
We rushed to the plaza as the other tour was already in session. I asked the guide in charge to join the group and she welcomed us without any hesitations.
The guide started by telling us where we are:
The Plaza Nueva was formerly one of the most important parts of the city where
various tournaments, games and bullfights were held.
Fifteen minutes into our walk, the rain had
stopped and the visibility was clear.
Most of the tour was familiar to us. We just did the same tour yesterday only that now it came with lots of information and details about the Royal Chapel, Albaicin Neighborhood, the different style of homes that we had seen, the Bazaar and San Nicolas Church. We stopped at the terrace and once again admired the beautiful views.
The guide mentioned to us that a night tour here is well worth it as the sky in the horizons is filled with the Alhambra lights, creating a spectacular display. We looked at each other and decided to take this tour as well, later today.
We met a couple of ladies from Italy and
along with them were looking for a tavern, recommended by our tour guide.
We found Plaza Larga, only 5 minutes away, and the four of us sat down in Aixa Restaurante for lunch. Service was slow but the food was excellent. The plaza was obviously a very popular spot for locals (and tourists), as many of them occupied the tables of the restaurants there. The plaza is considered to be most vibrant square in Albaicí, characterized by its attractive cobblestone paving which holds the vegetable and fruit market every morning.
A procession was taking place as a group of
(very drunk) locals celebrated some kind of a legend and a miracle.
We agreed to meet the two ladies from Italy
in the afternoon for the night evening tour and were wandering the streets of
the old city for a couple of hours.
Click Here to watch the procession
Click Here to watch the procession
