The Rain in Spain - And the Alhambra

For the first few hours, we almost regretted having left the buzz and excitement of Barcelona for Granada. The approach from the airport was through an industrial area, with dirty furniture warehouses and gritty factories. The approach into the centre of town reavealed a quiet small town, with one main street. Not much was happening, even at five in the evening. We were told that the town shut shop at siesta time.

This is not one of those "boutique" small towns that you visit for the souvenir shopping or the local art. What it does have however is character. As a visitor to Granada, you learn to slow down, to let the attractions of the place grow on you, instead of the constant whirlwind of sightseeing that is any normal vacation.

As you wander through the back streets of town that lead up to the cobbled alleys of Albayzin, you begin to appreciate the unique history of this place. Granada was the last bastion of the Muslim (moorish) empire in Spain, before the surrender of the last of the Nasrid kings - Boabdil- to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in the 15th century. The settlement in Albayzin dates to as far back as the 11th century, it became the extension of the "medina" or the marketplace for the Nasrid kings who made Granada the seat of the kingdom. It retains much of its historical character. Most tourists pass through the Albayzin to reach viewing points to the top of the hill, however this historic quarter itself deserves some more attention, such as the Palace of Dar al Horra (residence of the first queen Aisha) and the Muslim baths. The fascinating blend of Muslim life and architecture with the catholic influences of the Castilians makes this a unique site to visit.

And then of course there is the Alhambra. A lot of superlatives have been written about the Alhambra, and I was curious to see if it really lived up to the hype. It did. With socks on. We spent almost an entire day there, and we still managed to see about 80% of the place-we had to stop because our feet gave out.

The Al Hambra is a walled fortress town, broadly clustered into the Nasrid official palaces, the Generalife (the king's private palaces), the various towers, the unfinished palace of Charles V, the Alcazba. The fortress is designed so one flows from one building to the other through exquisitely designed gardens and water fountains. We were assisted through our exploration of the Alhambra by an audioguide which contained excerpts of Washington Irving's "The Tales of the Alhambra", who actually lived in the palace for a few months, during his journeys theough Spain.

Many stories and legends revolve around places within the Alhambra. The more powerful ones relate the discovery of the infidelity of Zoraya in the garden of cypresses, or Queen Isabel recruiting Christopher Columbus to sail around the world in the Salon de los Embajadores.

I am not even going to try to verbally describe the beauty of this place, or the feelings of mystery and romance it evokes. I will only say that the Alhambra has to be on any list of places that one must visit in a lifetime.



(The Alhambra and the Albayzin quarter are UNESCO world heritage sites. They are an hour and a half flight away from Barcelona, cheap tickets are available on Vueling and Ryanair)