Cordoba to Granada…..days 1 & 2 in Granada
Categories Spain 2017.....walking, driving, training, buses, Spain 2024, 2017October 26, 2017
A cool but sunny morning and as we were getting breakfast the manager popped in and told us breakfast was on the house…..so we went for the full, rather than the continental breakfast, and gathered our luggage, at check-out they asked if we needed a taxi …we said we would hump it to the bus station…and the girl ran and got us a big bottle of water > nice gesture. A super location and a very nice stay at the Carpe Diem for 62 Euros per night.
It is supposed to take about 2.5 hours to Granada, and our bus leaves at 10:15, so we should be in our digs around 13:00.
It took us almost 30 minutes to get to the station, bought a pastry for the trip……nice station with a very vigilant police dude > nice to see and we are on our way with ALSA at 11:00 precisely….nice bus ride with a similar agricultural motif >>> olive groves and large farms with fields mostly tilled over for winter…
Arrived in Granada, taxi to hotel 8 Euros and we are at the 5 Senses Hotel by 13:30 >> reserving a hotel had been difficult with little choice, so these accommodations are more expensive (117 Euro per night) than our norm. It is in an excellent location, so for the next 3 nights we will be in a business hotel environment. It is quite warm 28 C and sunny with a beautiful blue sky….so time to do some exploring…
With all the Arabian influences we went for supper at Puerta de Syria > yes you guessed right, Syrian cuisine > tiny place, sitting on mini chairs with distinctly Middle Eastern decor and a rather glum looking owner. The food was rather bland and really just average in spite of the reviews ….
… what did not help was the “music” actually a video on the TV: a call to prayers > one of my favorite tunes for the entire dinner > and of course no alcohol to dull the pain > saving grace was the price 13 Euros for 2 meals + 2 aqua con gas. And that folks was that, as we made our way back through the alleys to the hotel.
October 27, 2017
Today is our big tour day …..we have gone “all-in” for a guided, small walking tour which will take us through the Alhambra in the morning and after lunch, a walkabout through the Albayzin. Wake up a little late, rush to where the bus will take us to the meeting point for the Alhambra part of the tour…..grab a tostida con tomates and serrano ham in a cafe…..Annie is too nervous to finish her tostada as the bus line is growing by the second. Pay, gulp our coffee and stuff the balance of the tostada in the day pack. First bus full but manage to get on the next one…..you can walk but it is a stiff 20 minute climb and we will be walking all day.
Anyways we see the white umbrella of our guide > call me Edu (and remember to write me up in Tripadvisor, as I am a freelancer and the more positive reviews I receive than the greater likelihood of me being retained by the travel company), check-in, get our precious tickets (we had tried to buy them online weeks ago but all were booked). Sort out our audiophone and we are good to go. The guide explains that we need to go to the Generalife Gardens first, as we are slotted for an 11:00 entry for the Nasrid Palaces > miss the allocated time slot and you are done!
The Alhambra was in fact a good-sized town in its heyday comprised of some 5,000 souls who in some manner were connected with keeping the court of the Sultans functioning: protecting, administering, providing for etc. It was built on top of Sabikah Hill, which cuts into a fertile valley and stands as the last bastion of the Sierra Nevada mountains, between the Darro and Genil rivers and in front of what constitutes present day Granada. Arab writers compare Granada, which is surrounded by mountains, to a crown, with the diadem of the Alhambra on top. One has to appreciate that the growth of the Alhambra was evolutionary, as the Nasrid dynasty took some 250 years to build it and following the Christian conquest changes have occurred to the present day. Suffice to say its history is long and terribly complex so best to go for a walk… a bit of an overview of the complex…
Our guide first takes us to the Generalife Gardens which occupy the slopes of the Hill of the Sun (Cerro del Sol), from which there is a complete view over the city and the valleys of the rivers Genil and Darro. It was built in the 13th century as a leisure place for the Nasrid rulers of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus when they wanted to get away from the official affairs of the palace. The buildings are rather simple providing for an intimate and peaceful atmosphere that the sultans were seeking when they retired to these gardens to rest. There are only some decorative motifs of plaster work, which are not very varied, but are exquisitely fine and tasteful…
…then we head to the Nasrid Palaces > there are three independent areas in the complex: the Mexuar, which corresponds to the semipublic part of the palace or selamlik, for Justice administration and State affairs; the Comares Palace (Palacio de Comares), which was the official residence of the King; and the Palace of the Lions (Palacio de los Leones), which was the private area of the palace, where the Harem was located. At this point there are hordes of tourists so it is a little harder to get a full appreciation of these palaces but our guide who is VERY enthusiastic tries to convey to us the finer points and of course the major sites …lots of “look, look this is AMAZING”, nice to see this kind of genuine interest …gateway into the palaces …
…the Mexuar…
…while the Christians did not raze the palaces they did stamp their imprint on them although in some aspects in a rather subtle manner >>below a pic of an inscription in script where a wall was altered, the subtlety is that using Arabic craftsmen the message is one of praise for the Christian god rather than for Allah…
….this pic highlights the doorway to the Sultan’s main meeting room….as can be imagined the room is perfect except for the frame of the door…..a reminder that Allah is all-powerful, even when measured against the power of a Sultan…
… the Patio de los Arrayanes (Court of the Myrtles) and Torre de Comares (Comares Tower) …
… Palacio de los Leones (Palace of the Lions) which is quite spectacular…
…and the Fountain of the Lions…
…one can only imagine the spectacle when the sultans ruled …. the copulas/ceilings that are surreal in their artistry …seemingly dripping with icicles or stalactites…
…these palaces are surrounded by formal and informal gardens, very pleasant to just sit there and take in the moment…
After a very short biological break (the tour pace was brisk) we pass through an archeological dig …they apparently are quite reluctant to dig as they could cause more disruption than good…
…and many cats who have become well versed at persuading tourists to part with some tidbits…
…and lastly the Alcazaba Fort which is the oldest part of the Alhambra. No doubt a fort or fortifications were at this location through much of historic time, but the current buildings date back to the 1200’s AD. The fort was remodeled by the Moors, who added a very long outer wall in which they built the Nasrid Palaces. Following the Christian takeover of Granada they made many alterations and repairs and it fulfilled many functions, very often as a prison. It does provide a fantastic overview of the city…
…the large church in the pic below is the Granada Cathedral …
…a few last vistas, before heading down a promenade through the gardens/parkas we need to meet our guide at the Nuevo Plaza at 14:45 and we have yet to have had our lunch…
… a little further, the statue of American author Washington Irving which was erected in 2009, on the 150th anniversary of Irving’s death, to commemorate his role in sparking interest in Spain’s Moorish past. It was neat to see it as when we were living in New York (Ardsley) we were quite close to Irvington where he wrote the “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle”…
…and finally exit via the Puerta de las Granadas (Gate of Pomegranates), a massive triumphal arch dating from the 16th century…
…although we did not encounter many hassles in Spain (to date) there were a lot of gypsies playing the “free sprig of rosemary” game, which if you accepted, they would then insist on telling you your fortune and of course subsequently demanding payment >>> not just a small coin but at least 5 Euros > watched as a middle-aged couple go into a shouting match over this issue …..the pic below is of a rookie couple who very soon will be in paying mode …
…then a takeaway lunch on a bench at the Plaza Nueva where we will meet the guide for Round #2, a walking tour (climb) of the Albaicín centered around a hill on the north side of the Darro River which passes through the city…
The Albaicín at the height of its splendour in the last years of Nazarid dominance, comprised a population of more than forty thousand inhabitants and thirty mosques. The streets were very narrow and small with clean houses, plus numerous wells, some of which still exist in this neighborhood. With the reconquest, the Albaycin was left for the Muslims as their own place of residence. But soon the population dwindled and the constant revolts forced the monarchs to expel the Arabs. The mosques were demolished and on the same sites churches were raised.
The El Bañuelo was constructed in the 11th century to serve the Mosque that once stood adjacent to it; the money earned from the baths was used by the Mosque for maintenance. The bath house was then known as Hammam al Yawza (The Bath of The Walnut Tree). It is unique because it is still completely intact, and it is one of the most ancient baths still standing in Spain. It is one of the only Arab bath houses not destroyed by the Christians, who considered bathing so often and in such a public manner to be excessive and decadent …they actually converted it to a laundry…
…the guide continued to give us little insights explaining various things such as the water system established by the Moors which was quite sophisticated for its time ….aside the complex water transfer system (from the snow fields of the Sierra Nevada to Granada) which he likened to that of the human body: capillaries, veins, arteries which still in part exists today, it included dozens of cisterns so that the public could easily access water…once such cistern below:
…the San Nicolas Mirador affords the best views of the Alhambra from the Albaicín …the snowfields of the Sierra Nevada in the background…
Finally our guide led us through some very scenic lanes concluding where we began at the Nuevo Plaza…
After the walk we are ready for a beer and what better place than one of the open air bar/restos on the lovely Nuevo Plaza: cold beer > blue sky > sunny and warm… it could be a lot worse !!! Then back to the hotel for some siesta time before heading out to hit the tapas bars ….managed to hit 3 of them including one only 25 meters from the hotel before we were satiated, tired and ready to cry no mas !!