Today we’re going to talk about Granada, Spain.
Granada, residing in the foothills of Sierra Nevada mountains makes it to the list of the
most visited places in Spain that has medieval architectural wonders and artistic monuments
in abundance.
The city’s name has a quirk associated with it that either came from the Spanish term
for pomegranate since this fruit is found here in abundance or came from a Moorish term
Karnattah meaning the hill of strangers.
Moors reigned here for some centuries before the Christians took over, so you will find
the architectural mix here from both East and West.
To know more about this artistic wonder let’s dig deeper into the top five things that you
can do while you’re here.
5.
Sierra Nevada
You’re here and you feel alive.
A vast outbreak of the mountains covering the area of around 850 square kilometers makes
this spot the most heavenly to be at in winters.
All you have in sight is the vast plains entirely covered with snow and people swaying on those
and feeling alive.
If you’re ever here you must try skiing and the right season to do that is from November
until Early May.
Even if you choose not to ski here, this spot will never disappoint you.
An hour drive from Granada, Sierra Nevada provides an ethereal view of the mountains,
one that has been fully absorbed with the littleness of the two eyes.
Not only that it's home to Spain’s highest peak, Mount Mulhacen.
Trekking towards the mountain is not a tough thing to do normally and can be done in a
day and there’s refuges available at the summit even if you want to stay overnight.
Along with housing the highest mountain, it’s also a home for Spain’s third highest mountain,
Veleta.
So there’s a lot of trekking and summiting that can be done while you’re there.
Not only that, Sierra Nevada possesses a truckload of beauty as well.
The Alpurajja region of Sierra Nevada makes one sit and ponder about the adroitness of
God towards everything that he creates.
This village is entirely white washed and the snow just doesn’t melt easily during
the season.
A very beautiful region to roam around and cherish.
Just the right spot to have a dinner or lunch at and to enjoy the calmness of the roaring
mountains.
There’s plenty of other things as well that you can do here from spotting the different
flora and fauna to chasing the sunset while being in the main resort town on a chair lift.
This region of Granada is so vast that one has to have a time span of week to embrace
all it resides with propriety
4.
Alhambra
Alhambra, called the red fortress is called so because the outer walls of the palace are
made of rammed Earth having the color red.
The most notorious palaces of Granada are an amalgam of the Islamic and Spanish Renaissance
architecture and were built many centuries ago.
It surely is a prestigious wonder of Moorish architecture and there’s plenty of reasons
to go visit this unique palace while you’re in Spain.
Alhambra was built on the Roman ruins and that makes it even more interesting because
while it was built moors didn’t seem to care about this fact.
The detailing in this palace is confounding and right according to the Moorish style.
You will find arabesques and calligraphy on the walls.
But the palace didn’t seem to hold on to these details for longer because when the
Christian rulers came to reign by the end of 15th century they built it according to
the famous architectural style of that time and that was renaissance style.
And that makes this palace very complex to look at.
It’s the fusion of two different worlds, east and west, making a unique style of Mudejar.
Moors planted the orange trees and roses here.
You’d also find elm trees that the Duke of Wellington gifted in the 19th century.
You would even find the residence areas of the Moorish kings in there called as Nasrid
palaces along with the residences of their wives and mistresses.
It’s all very detailed and thoughtful to look at.
Moreover the palace is filled with gardens and fountains as every palace should so you
can roam around breathing in the same air of the fresh flowers that once the Moorish
monarch rulers inhaled.
There you’d also find the palace of Carlos V who when came into reign in the 16th century
wanted a residence of his own inside the palace and that shows how ginormous this palace must
be.
The palace is not just the flowers and rainbows but it has plenty of iron gates in there that
lead to some tunnels that connect the inside world of palace to the outside of the Granada
but that isn’t accessible to the public yet or can’t be in near future but it’s
a very consuming thought to get a little knowledge about it as well.
The fortress is full of history, knowledge, and painstaking architecture.
3.
Browsing in Alcaiceria
A lot changed after the reign shift from Moors to Christians and this Great bazaar (Moorish
tradition) was one of the things that survived this massive change.
Arabs were exclusively given the rights to sell the silk in the sixth century by Byzantine
Emperor Justinian and that’s what the name of this Bazar indicates as well, which means
‘the place of Caesar’.
The Bazaar has a very fine history because it doesn’t look like the way it used to
centuries back that’s why it’s called Neo-Moorish.
A lot changed with the passage of time.
Initially the bazaar was twice the size it is today but in the early 19th century because
of a brutal fire a lot was turned to ashes.
The new bazaar was built but it was the cheaper version of the initial one where it was being
protected with iron gates and well locked to protect all the goods inside.
There was a variety of goods to be sold from silk to spices back in time but now a little
portion of Calle Alcaiceria is left where there’s still a lot of exotic and interesting
things to buy.
There’s plenty of stalls that sell Arabic craftwork, local painted ceramics, wooden
items such as desk boards, chess and trinkets and stained glass lamps which are used in
bars and tea shops in those streets as decorative items.
There’s plenty of other stalls as well that sell the traditional herbs, spices and granadino
trinkets.
So you’re going to find a lot of antique stuff here if you go visit it.
And it’s always amusing to find a culture poured into some item set to be sold or displayed.
Since Bazaar is full of tourists to get hold of all this exotic stuff it also has pick
pocketers roaming around as well so make sure you stay attentive even when dwelled in all
that craftwork.
Oh, and did we mention you can see gypsies there who can foresee your future by looking
at your palms?
There you’d find plenty of tiny shops where you can have your name scripted in Arabic
as well.
2.
Gypsy neighborhoods in Sacromonte
The thing that makes Sacromonte so different from the rest is its authentic gypsy caves.
You will find authentic ethnicities merged in here.
And not only there you can find your fairytale dream coming true here making it the right
spot for weddings as well because it's surrounded with Nevada mountains that gives the majestic
sunset views making the kind of setting that’s just found in fairytales.
Sacromonte in Granada is an authentic gypsy neighborhood in Spain offering plenty of majestic
views and authentic culture.
Take a stroll in this neighborhood and you will figure out for yourself that it has its
own essence and identity from the way it's built to its 600 inhabitants bearing an individuality
in their own distinctive way.
You will find particular cave houses here as well, so make sure you hold on tight to
your camera so you can make the most of every moment.
Here you can feed your brains with how life was like here and the kind of work people
used to do here that’s still portrayed beautifully.
From the Sacromonte Abbey viewpoint, you can get to see Alhambra and Valparaiso valley
with a different perspective.
From strolls, to caves to views, Sacromonte has a lot to offer to a tourist looking for
something different.
1.
Corral Del Carbon The construction of coral del carbon dates
back to 1336 making it the oldest monument in Granada.
It was built as a warehouse containing all the goods inside and also served as a shelter
for merchants.
But when Christians took over Granada, it was used for stage performances.
The architecture traces back to the Middle Eastren architectural model with a very simple
building having an entrance pavilion housing plenty of workshops and galleries all opening
to a square courtyard where open-air performances are now being held.
The building, which faced a major ownership shift in the past is now solely used for a
subtle presentation of cultural performances.
And also houses a bookstore.
Granada itself carries so much history, complex palaces, serene patios, arduous terrains and
precision of the beauty that it all can’t be cherished with one visit.
But it’s also the city that you would keep coming back to and won’t be able to get
enough of it because it has so much to offer and there’s so much to see.
Now that you’re familiar with the beauty of the city, who would you bring along for
skiing with you?
Let us know in the comments below.
And as always, where to next?