Spain, Day 4: The Alhambra, Irving's Reflections, and "When in Spain..."

After our late dinner, we were at the car by 6:15am on Day 4, ready to see the site we were probably the most excited about: the Alhambra. We made the 4 hour journey to Granada with ease, anxious to become some of the 8,000 visitors to this site daily.

The Alhambra is the last and strongest Moorish holdout. A bit of Spanish history will go a long way to understanding its significance.

The Romans ruled Spain from 200 B.C. to A.D. 400, bringing with them the Latin language and Christianity, and leaving behind wine.

The Moors ruled for seven centuries: 711 to 1492. In 711, 12,000 North African Muslims--called "Moors"--landed on the Rock of Gibraltar and within three years, they dominated the area. They were generally tolerant leaders, and left behind a legacy of architecture including horseshoe arches, ceramic tiles, fountains, gardens, as well as the Spanish language.

Throughout Moorish rule, Christian kings throughout the area were "re-conquering" individual parts of the peninsula for Christianity, and this time became known as the "Reconquista." Granada was the last (and strongest) Moorish holdout, and it fell in 1492. When Isabel and Ferdinand II married, Spain became a nation, rather than individual kingdoms. (Something else happened in 1492...I'll get back with you as soon as I remember...it seems like it was important.)
Thanks to Karen S. and her super-organized savvy, we had tickets to the Alhambra well in advance. We arrived and started by walking through some of the Alhambra grounds. The geometry of the grounds is absolutely Moorish. Notice our handy dandy audioguides: they accompany almost every picture of the day. This is the church where Ferdinand and Isabel were buried, until 1521.

We arrived at Charles V's palace first. When the Christians conquered Granada, he decided to build a palace over the existing Moorish one, financed of course by the defeated Muslims. Ouch.

This palace is the best example of Renaissance architecture in Spain--as evidenced by the marble columns. It is also designed as a "circle within a square." Notice the picture above of the building's exterior--it is square all around. Look below, the palace inside is a circle.
If you stand exactly in the middle of the courtyard, the acoustics are perfect. Brady tried out his "cords." I think he may have been better than the International Festival of Music and Dance that regularly performs here.

Incidentally, this palace was never finished. Charles V's son, Philip II, had better things to do, and built his own palace , the El Escorial (we did not make it here in our travels).

The second part of the Alhambra is the Alcazaba, or fort. This fort is the oldest and most ruined part of the Alhambra. It was built in the mid-13th century, although there was also a fort here during Roman times. The fort guarded the 2,000 residents of the Alhambra. It is the most ruined area of the Alhambra because Napoleon stationed troops here, wrecking it badly.

Standing in the fort, overlooking Charles V's palace:

Granada (to the right of this picture is the large Roma, or gypsy, population):

Where are the bathrooms?

The dungeon--creepy!

The fort's tower:

Just to prove that I wore a different shirt under the two sweaters that I brought to Spain (it almost hurts your eyes!):

One of our only pictures as a foursome--look at our audioguides to the right. We tried to hide them for one picture, but the sneaky fellas made it in anyway.

I get it--American clothing looks goofy to Europeans (and with my blinding top, it's easy to see why). At one point in Madrid, I completely changed outfits because I felt ridiculous wearing any color other than black, gray, or denim. But check out this finely clad individual--the pointy shoes, matching greens, tight white pants, and brown belt. Ow, ow!!!

Now for the highlight: the Palacios Nazaries, or the Moorish royal palace. We came to the ticket booth with our tickets in hand more than once--in so much of a panic that we'd miss our time that we absolutely chugged our Coca Cola Lights while walking to the booth. We were told to come back in 15 minutes when our ticket time was listed.

Rick calls this 14th century palace evidence of the "elegant Moorish civilization." We couldn't agree more. It was outstanding.

Representative of the Qaran, there are four dominant colors found throughout: red (blood), blue (heaven), green (oasis), and gold (wealth). Below you can see the detailed ceramic tiles.

At the Alhambra's entry, there is a rotating advertisement for the audioguides. In every picture, the Alcazaba, Generalife grounds, or Palacios Nazaries are the backdrop for a cheesy couple's pose--always with the audioguide held like a cell phone and the couple smiling in pure delight. I mock the silly look of the guide, but it really did add life to the tour. Here Karen and I sit with our faces in pure delight:

It is at this point I must concede that Brady's photography skills are far-and-away better than mine.

Again, the keyhole arches and doorways:

Water is a major theme of the palace. It is a Muslim symbol of life and purity.

Islamic art (outside of the home) does not generally include pictures of people or animals--which are considered graven images. Instead, floral patterns, stars, diamonds, vines, and calligraphy are the prominent features. Below, you see a cursive W with a loop on the left hand side. This symbol is a phrase--"Only Allah is victorious"--and it is found throughout the palace 9,000 times.

The Grand Hall of Ambassadors was where the sultan received visitors. Two major events occurred behind where Brady is standing: Boabdil, the last Moorish king, surrendered to the Christians, and Columbus made his pitch to Ferdinand and Isabel!The Courtyard of the Lions was missing its 12 lions--which are under restoration. Interestingly enough, they were given to the Moors as a gift from a Jewish leader, which means the lions likely represented the 12 Tribes of Israel. The lions used to operate as an intricate fountain. When the Christians took over the palace, they disassembled the fountain to see how it operated, and it has never worked since.

Another room in the palace includes the fountain where 36 heads were thrown in to prevent Boabdil from assuming the throne. The scheme did not work.

Ah, "I forbear for the present, however, to describe the other delightful apartments of the palace. My object is merely to give the reader a general introduction into an abode where, if so disposed, he may linger and loiter with me day by day until we gradually become familiar with all its localities."

Washington Irving, the famous American poet, lived in the palace in 1829--accompanied by gypsies and donkeys. His writings actually brought the Alhambra back to life--figuratively and literally. His attention led to Alhambra's rise in fame, and it soon became a national treasure and monument.

Irving (via audioguide) danced us through the palace with his musings. Perhaps our favorite phrase he used was, "And now, my weary traveler..." Karen and I both bought his book, "Tales of the Alhambra," which illustrates the legends and stories that unfolded within the palace and fort. Below is a picture of us, with our books, of course, underneath a plaque thanking Irving for his contribution.

The fourth part of the Alhambra: The Generalife Grounds. The immaculately kept gardens (reconstructed in 1930) and fountains were the perfect conclusion to our visit. These gardens provided the vegetables and fruits for the Alhambra residents, as well as a place of retreat for the sultan.
Remember when I said another picture was my favorite of the trip? This picture at least ties for that award. (Can you tell that I love to rank?)

During our trip, we used the phrase, "When in Spain..." to describe/rationalize many behaviors: eating ice cream mid-day, taking a nap in a park, eating green olives and strong cheeses, commenting on outrageous clothing, and most of all, public make-out. We stared unabashedly at this couple as they went to town for at least 5 minutes. (We think he is licking her nose in this picture.) "When in Spain..."

Another small palace within the gardens:

One more comment on water: running water, represented numerous times throughout the Alhambra with various fountains, is the Qaran's symbol of heaven.

A final quote regarding the Alhambra from Irving, as he left Alhambra for good: "I now could realize something of the feelings of poor Boabdil when he bade adieu to the paradise he was leaving behind...everything was lovely, but tenderly and sadly so, to my parting gaze."

With our preparations for the trip, we researched and plotted out our driving directions. We were most nervous about getting through Granada. Despite one mishap, which left us circling a roundabout at least 30 times (I understand this is a scene straight from "European Vacation"), we made our retreat without hiccup. Unfortunately, making our way through Estepona, our next destination, was not so easy. We spent an extra hour in the car, and ended up in the McDonald's parking lot twice. No, we didn't eat there--that's not allowed for an authentic European vacation. We did, however, get directions and use the facilities. We finally arrived at our hotel, fairly frazzled and exhausted, and settled for the hotel's cheesy American meal and even worse flamenco performance. Oh, well, that was our only major strike for the choices we made in Spain!