Alhambra de Granada

As we made our way from Alicante to Granada, we were amazed by the agriculture outside of our bus window. At the lower elevations, there were orange groves. With the temperature moderated by the Mediterranean Sea, it is the ideal climate. As we climbed, the orange trees were replaced by olive groves. As far as the eye can see, olive groves. With Spain producing over 45% of the world’s olives for consumption, and exporting over 70% of its olive oil, this was not a surprise. Spain could have easily been the 'bread-basket' of Europe but its chosen leaders never allowed for this development to occur.

The terrain reminded us of New Mexico or the Texas Hill Country

If you zoom in on this pictures, you'll see the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background. Snow covered and majestic as any and appropriately named since Sierra Nevada literally translates to 'saw snow' in Spanish. It is the highest mountain range in the Iberian Peninsula and we were told by our driver in Madrid that it was one of his favorite places to ski in Southern Europe. 

The almost 7 hour bus ride was one of our longest. 

We had discussed the Basque as a region in a prior post. Spanish regions are "autonomous communities" that have certain powers of self-governance. Three of the ones we had just visited even had their own languages that are still flourishing. We began our trip in Madrid. Barcelona is in Catalonia with its own language as are San Sebastian and its neighbors in the Bosque region, Alicante is in the Valencia region. It too has a language of its own although we did not hear much of it. We are now moving on to Andalucía which is the southern most region of Spain. There are 17 regions in Spain. It is hard to compare them directly to states. They are more like U.S. regions (like New England, or the deep South,) but they have less powers than U.S. states. They are as much cultural as geopolitical but they also have their own histories as do U.S. states. We had heard much about about Andalucia and were excited to visit.

Having just visited Santa Barbara Castle, we were also growing curious about the Moors. Who were these people? What is the distinction between Moors and Muslims? We often found that the words were being used interchangeably. We went out to the internet and found National Geographic’s website to give us this definition.  

If the term “Moor” seems familiar but confusing, there’s a reason. Though the term can be found throughout literature, art, and history books, it does not actually describe a specific ethnicity or race. Instead, the concept of Moors has been used to describe alternatively the reign of Muslims in Spain, Europeans of African descent, and others for centuries.

 

Derived from the Latin word “Maurus,” the term was originally used to describe Berbers and ethnic groups from the ancient Roman province of Mauretania in what is now North Africa. Over time, it was increasingly applied to Muslims living in Europe. Beginning in the Renaissance, “Moor” and “blackamoor” were also used to describe any person with dark skin.

 

In A.D. 711, a group of North African Muslims led by the Berber general, Tariq ibn-Ziyad, captured the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal). Known as al-Andalus, the territory became a prosperous cultural and economic center where education and the arts and sciences flourished.

Ignoring the juxtaposition about ethnicity between the first and second paragraphs, the key element here is that the Moors, as we will call them, ruled the Iberian Peninsula from A.D. 711 until the final Reconquista in 1492.  The Reconquista was a centuries-long series of battles, that we as kids grew up lovingly calling the Crusades. They were not originally religious in nature but grew more so when they drew Papal support. They started as early as A.D. 792 and continued for 700 years until 1492. It all ended in Granada, with the fall of the Moors at Alhambra de Granada to the Spanish Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella.

1492 marks the end of the Muslim rule in Spain. Yes, the Moors were Muslims. This is also the start of Spain’s global power and colonial expansion. In addition, Queen Isabella is also the one who brought us the Inquisitions which drove all non-Catholics from the peninsula. This included the forced conversion of Jews and remaining Muslims. We’ll send you off to study this on your own, but while you are at it, study the Jews of New Mexico. Often referred to as crypto-Jews, they were Sephardic Jews from Spain when went to New Mexico to escape the Inquisition in Spain. Since New Mexico was ruled by the Spanish, Jews were not allowed there either, but this group managed to hide their Jewish legacy and maintained most of their Jewish practices and beliefs. It is worth doing some research about this sect of people who exist to this day in parts of New Mexico.   

 Back to Granada and what remains of the Alhambra de Granada. We had arranged for a tour of the Alhambra and met our guide about 11:30. The previous night when we arrived, we looked down onto the Plaza Nueva de Granada and up high on the hill, we saw the Alhambra. When we realized how high the structure was on the hill, we shared some concerns about the hike up that hill. They were well founded concerns, and we found the hill to be challenging, but the effort exerted proved to be more than worth it.

Our hotel is the one in the middle and this is a view from atop the Alhambra.

And this is the Alhambra as seen from our Hotel.

This palace was amazing and unlike anything we have seen in the past. It was not just a fortress, it was a fortress, and a palace. A summer palace with gardens. An entire city within a walled fortress. It was built by numerous rulers between the 12th and 14th centuries. There were six palaces and two tower palaces, but only two are remaining today. When the Spanish re-conquered in 1492, the Spanish Royalty took it over and continued to use it and even added elements of Renaissance architecture to it.

In 1812, parts of the Alhambra were destroyed by Napoleon, although he also lived there for a while. In 1832, the Alhambra was deteriorating from neglect and lack of care. An American writer was living in the Alhambra at the time, along with the thieves, and other outcasts that occupied the place. He wrote a book titled Tales of the Alhambra which brought international attention to the place and prompted the Spanish to save the place. In Granada, Washington Irving is celebrated as the individual who saved the Alhambra.

 Here are a few pictures from the tour, but again, our pictures can’t do justice and also fail to show the scale of this place. This place is 1,530,000 square feet or about 35 acres. We spent four hours walking around.

 

This is the outer wall gate to the Alhambra. One of many gates.

This wall was fascinating. Often in reconstruction, the builders would use whatever they found. In this case, many of these stones are tomb stones from graveyards in the vicinity. 

 

A number of Jews built houses into the caves and walls of the old city that you see in the distance trying to escape the inquisitions.

 

One of the palaces. We think this was built by Spanish Royalty and not the Moors. Definitely a renaissance style. The picture of the inner courtyard. The Spanish love there bullfights for so many cultural reasons we don't have time to cover. But even here, within the royal palace, in this circular space, walls were put up near the columns and there was a bull fight. 

The summer palace was built by the Moors on a higher part of the Alhambra. The Moors were fantastic architects who knew how to capture the cooler breezes of the mountains and direct them to other part of their buildings as well as how not to capture heat but to let it dissipate into the air. These same summer palaces were used by the Spanish royalty with beautiful gardens.  

The spring that fed the palace, still flows today!

One interesting thing we discovered in Granada was ready to drink Gazpacho. It was always on the menu in restaurants, and served in wine glasses for drinking rather than eating with a spoon from a bowl. We found it in the supermercado in a milk jug type container. Quite tasty!