Granada ..steeped in history

Timeless
Wed 10 Oct 2012 14:42
Granada.
 

Puerto Banus is fun if a bit plastic. You do need a bit of culture now and then! So..
John & I booked a coach tour to see the historical city of Granada.
We opted not to hire a car as john wanted to actually see the sites along the roads and we thought parking would be a problem. It was a good decision as the tour guides facts were very interesting and parking in Granada did indeed seem to be a BIG problem.  Oh, and we left the marina in fog.

The only draw back to a bus tour is the pick up ritual – and we were first pick-up at 7am. They were still ‘picking up’ two hours later!
Still a quick doze made the time fly until we had picked everyone up. The last pick up was at Malaga and we then had a 2 hour journey to Granada. You pass through the Sierra Nevada mountain range. This is a spectacular sight and in the winter is Spain’s favorite ski area.  

Granada can reach 40+ degrees in the summer and then drop below zero in the winter. Sounds like Canada. It is sub-tropical region so they grow lots of fruit.  The “Pomegranate” the most popular crop here, a, it is their National symbol and b, Granada actually means pomegranate. The fog disappeared and sun was shone as soon as we left the coast behind.

The tour was well arranged.
On our arrival we had free time to see the sights of the city before lunch at a hotel. The main event after lunch was to visit ‘Alhambra’ the most visited monument of Spain. It is the best preserved and oldest Moorish palace in existence in the world.

The city of Granada is a modern mix of old and new buildings and shops. It has all the hustle and bustle of a big city similar to Toronto. Mopeds and scooters are abundant making it a great way and means of transport around the tiny streets.

The Granada Cathedral was first on our list of ‘must see’ monuments. This was the first Renaissance church built in Spain. The stone work and inside were as impressive and beautiful as all Catholic churches are. The Royal chapel is the burial place of the Catholic Monarchs again very impressive no money spared here! We then only had time to wonder the tiny streets.
These then enter on to wonderful Plaza’s all of which have impressive fountains.

For all our Canadian friends.. yep! I kept reading ‘Granada’ signs as ‘CANADA’ signs! (See photo)

 

We had lunch in a four-star hotel buffet style, surprisingly with wine included. We met and enjoyed a pleasant lunch with a couple from Norway. Not forgetting the five Spanish dressed singers who serenaded us with Vive el Espania and Quanta Lamira We decided against their CD!  ..but they did lunch an atmosphere?

The journey to ‘Alhambra’ from the city of Granada took us to the top of the ‘Hill of the Assabica’.  The vista was wonderful and you could see the whole city below – no the Emirs of the day decided to choose to build their palaces here.
Again, it was good to be with a tour guide as everything was ready on our arrival. We were given headsets and an excellent enthusiastic guide. We began the 2½hour tour starting with the ‘palace gardens’ and the ‘summer palace’.

The Moorish Palace was worth the wait to see. It was built as early as the 11th century.  It is the only one in existence because normally when a new Emir took power, they destroyed everything from the previous Emir and replaced with their own monuments!
Luckily the Spanish won the city back from the Moors in the 14th century and hence forth kept all the old Moorish buildings ‘as is’ but they ‘adapted’ them slightly to keep with Christian sensibilities.  This really was a lucky stroke for the rest of us!
It is now a world heritage site.  

The plumbing and the use of water through the palaces is quite amazing. The palaces are actually built on Roman remains so naturally they use the Roman techniques for running water systems. They also make use of the roman techniques for cooling rooms in the summer and heating them in the winter.

From the palace grounds you can see the valley and the city in a stunning view but perhaps the most interesting  part is that many of the original cave homes that were first occupied when the palace was built are still inhabited! It’s just that these days they have running water, electricity and the internet!

The gardens between 11th and the 14th century were tiered and had the effect of the Gardens of Babylon.  The Moorish were Muslims from North Africa where water was a scarcity. Here it was abundant and a conduit 8km long was connected with the Darro from the monastery of Jesus del Vale above Granada.
From this point they built lots of viaducts to channel it everywhere around the gardens. Abundance of water proved ‘great wealth’ to those the emir wished to impress.
Anyway this water meant they were able to grow many fruits and vegetables. The Moors planted roses oranges and myrtles. Its most characteristic feature, however is the dense wood of English Elms brought by the Duke of Wellington in 1812. The park has a multitude of nightingales and is filled with sound of running water and several fountains and cascades.
When the Catholics took over in the 14th century they changed most the gardens into the formal gardens as we would know them in England with lots of cedar hedging, (some the original and hundreds of years old), arbors with vines across, and roses. There are lots of cool shaded areas provided by these trees and water running continually through them, these areas keeps it cool. The day we visited was a cool 29 degrees so we walked as quickly as we could from one shaded area to another.

 The summer palace was built for Charles V, Holy Emperor of Rome and his wife around 1527 – sort of like their summer cottage in Muskoka!

The religion of Charles and his wife required the architecture to be tasteful but not too flamboyant on the exterior. It is basically a square stone building with bueatiful carvings and a huge wooden door entrance. Once inside you then enter a great circular area with a massive gallery landing and marble floors.
Unfortunately for the Emperor, his wife died suddenly and so he had no interest left
to finish the third floor. The inside and outside of the palace are highly decorated

The main glory of the Alhambra is the Moorish palace though.
You are given strict entry times and wow betide anyone that misses their slot! It’s extremely popular. They only allow a certain number of people at any one time into this area.  Our tickets were checked via a bar code four times! (Hmmm..? or was is just John’s ticket that they wanted to check that number of times! )

 

At first sight (and typical of Muslim religion) the outside is plain, austere even. The sun and wind are freely admitted by cleverly placed windows and doors.  Only those invited can ever see the splendor inside. It’s just like the Muslim tradition where the women are to be covered and only seen by those invited few.

The majority of the buildings are quadrangular in plan with all the rooms opening onto a central court. The Alhambra was extended by the different Muslim rulers who lived in the complex. 
Each new section added followed the theme of ‘Paradise on earth’. Column arcades, fountains with running water, reflecting pools, beautiful marble floors were used.

It was extremely important to the current Emir in power to intimidate visitors  so the beautiful marble work and carvings in his palace were not only for as aesthetics but also to strike fear into those who arrived there – having viewed the emirs immense wealth. Visitors were always left waiting to see the Emir who could make them stand and wait for many many hours amongst this splendor but never quite allowing them to get close to him. The Emir might only have been just a meter or two away behind a curtain. (hmmm.. these tactics are a little like those used by one or two of the buyers I’ve come across over the years!)
The reflecting pool was also designed, through it’s sheer splendor and impressive design, to make any visitor uncomfortable as to what further amazements and wizardry may lay beyond.
This particular reflecting was apparently the basis of many other reflecting pond designs such as the famous Taj Mahal reflecting pool - who obviously copied the design! We are told.

 

It must have been pretty tough being a top dog in those days. It was quite common for the 22 Emirs in residence to bump off one or two of the other Emirs that didn’t quite suit them at the time. It was very common for fathers, uncles and brothers to come to untimely deaths if they were not too careful of their ambitious and dear relatives. One of the tactics used by some Emirs so they could sleep easier in their beds at night was send huge quantities of wine down to the garrison each evening.
A drunken soldier is much easier to deal with, right!

 

Blue, red and yellow - all somewhat faded now through the lapse of time and exposure to the elements were used in the decoration of all the walls. The Muslim tradition of square geometrical patterns of foliage design on paneling are seen everywhere, the walls are also full Arabic inscriptions. The ceilings are rich, carved cedar wood from Lebanon, and are still in excellent condition all these centuries later. Cedar is such a clever wood.

The personal rooms for the Emir are just stunning. Arabesque ceilings of intricate design, marble columns, marble floors, running water and a magnificent white “Fountain of Lions”. This was given as a gift to the Emir by a prominent Jew of the time. He could not refuse it (war if he had! ) but animal depiction is not allowed in Muslim faith.  The answer was to place the fountain in his private quarters so only a few ever saw it. The fountain has an alabaster basin supported twelve lions as symbols of strength, power and sovereignty. On eachhour one lion would produce water from it’s mouth.
The engineers were very ingenious!

Overall, Granada is not a place to miss.

Our Spanish tour guide and driver.
I’m not sure how well they might go down in Canada.
As the tour wound down so did their professionalism.
Talking on the telephone for the most part as we drive through the town centres for 90 minutes, going round roundabouts with the phone in one hand and changing gear with the other. Doesn’t everyone turn their steering wheel with their legs?
Then the tour guide also gets into the act and chats continually when he was not on the phone punctuated with the odd friendly punch to the driver and showing him animations with her hands!
Meanwhile John reminds me of the update Bob offered us a few months ago on the safety or not of modern coaches! Safely back to Puerto Banus we said a few prayers of thanks and walked back in the now thick fog to the marina where we could only just make out our mast 30 meters away.

Hmmm… any chance of leaving port tomorrow morning have been instantly quashed!
oh well,  just have to make the best use of time clothes shopping! Dolce
 & Gabbana, Versace, Prada,  Karen Millen, Amani, Cavalli ……

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