Iberian Discovery - Part 8

Malaga, Granada, The Alhambra

Today's agenda included a stop in Malaga before heading to Granada. Sunny weather continued as we stepped off our bus and saw Malaga's Alcazaba, an ancient fortification built in the mid 11th century. The fortified hillside is shown below.

On the back side of the fortified hill is a Roman amphitheater built in the first century BCE and used until about the 3rd century AD.

(Click on panorama below for a larger view.)

We walked past the amphitheater towards the Picasso museum and saw the following picture on a wall along the way.

In the Picasso museum I found the local guide's lectures insufferable - subjective art history gone wild. C was content to continue with the museum tour, but I went outside to wander local streets on my own. I came upon this attractive open square during my rambling.

C and I had lunch at an outdoor table after she was finished in the museum. Then we strolled around a bit and came across this incomprehensible group of Smurfs in front of the amphitheater.

On our way back to the bus we heard lots of loud squawking among the palm trees lining the sidewalk. The green birds making the racket were Monk Parrots, an invasive species natives view as a nuisance. They nested in the tops of palm trees and were extremely hard to photograph. The picture below showing just one green bird was the best I could do.

After Malaga we drove on to our hotel in Granada. Then we headed out to see the Alhambra. A local guide marched us up an incline and soon we were looking at the Wine Gate whose two sides are shown in the next two pictures. The Wine Gate was built in the early 1300's. Notice the key symbol over the arch in the second picture.

We passed these towers on our way to an entrance point.

There was so much to see in the Alhambra. My head swiveled from one gorgeous scene to another as the guide maintained a forced march from room to room. I gave up trying to listen to her lecture and tried to capture as many pictures as possible. I have too many pictures to post them all, so I've tried to select highlights. The next four pictures show a sample of elaborate wooden ceilings.

Next are three examples of wall decoration and tile work.

Arabic inscriptions adorn walls in the next three pictures.

This hallway gave a beautiful view of Granada below the Alhambra.

Next are five pictures of incredible decorative arches. You may understand how my head was spinning from one astounding sight to another.

High above, elaborate ceilings seemed impossibly complicated. How were these constructed? How long did it take to make something this beautiful?

Next are some exquisite courtyards and gardens. The picture below is The Court of the Myrtles.

The next two pictures show the Court of the Lions, an elaborate fountain and water delivery system. It was hard to avoid including scaffolding and construction work in the pictures.

This pretty courtyard was seen from above.

As we left the Alhambra we had a view of Granada with its ancient city wall running up the hillside on the upper right in the next picture.

Now it was late afternoon. Our local tour guide had kept a merciless pace for more than two hours through the Alhambra. There was no time or place to sit for a few minutes. Some of our group needed to rest, so they skipped the next stop at the Generalife, a garden adjacent to the Alhambra. The garden was attractive, but I was also beginning to wish for a seat myself. The next three pictures are from the Generalife.

We left the Generalife on this romantic path.

My seat on the tour bus felt exceptionally nice after long hours on my feet. During the drive to our next stop I recovered enough energy to be ready for our next walk through the Albayzin District, an ancient Muslim section of Granada declared a World Heritage Site in 1984. We walked on hilly, narrow, cobblestone streets like this.

The Sun had set, and pleasant, mild twilight weather prevailed as we arrived at the Plaza San Nicolas, a magical spot pulsating with energy and music. Below is the spectacular evening view of the Alhambra seen from the plaza. The view was wonderful, but the passionate music and vibe in the plaza was electric. A flamenco dancer was warming up. How cool would that have been - to see a flamenco performance with the Alhambra in the background! I longed to stay and experience more of this, but we had dinner reservations at an appointed time, so, reluctantly, I left the enchanted plaza.

Our late dinner was served in a lovely outdoor restaurant, el Trillo, more like a garden than a restaurant, really. The temperature was perfect. The air was fresh. Not even one insect annoyed us. And no gratuitous background music!

After dinner we walked back to our hotel down steep, slippery cobblestone streets. We were very, very tired, but we had a fabulous day!

The next morning began with a walking tour of Granada. Ferdinand and Isabella are prominently featured in this entrance to an interior plaza at the City Hall.

A striking monument to Queen Isabella enabling Columbus' first voyage is located in the Plaza Isabel La Catolica.

Scenes from Spanish history adorned the monument's sides.

We walked through narrow streets towards the Granada Cathedral and passed this very aromatic tea stand along the way.

Granada's Cathedral was another huge and impressive church. Here we saw the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella.

Art work in side chapels presented religious scenes.

In several churches we encountered bizarre explicit depictions of martyrdom like this anatomically correct head of John the Baptist in the Granada Cathedral.

The central figure in the monumental cathedral wall shown in the next two pictures looks like a Spanish knight trampling a Muslim warrior beneath his horse. This is a representation of Santiago Matamoros, or Saint James the Moor-slayer. Saint James, one of the twelve apostles, is known as Santiago in Spain. He was said to have preached in Iberia before he was martyred in the year 44 AD. The legend of Santiago Matamoros claims that Santiago made a miraculous appearance in 844 at the mythical battle of Clavijo where Christians fought Muslims. The Santiago apparition led outnumbered Christians to victory.

An extremely large hymnal about one meter tall was on display near the large central altar.

Our official Granada tours were now over. We had a little time to rest in the hotel before taking an evening walk to look in shops and get dinner. Every single day on our trip so far had been sunny, but, this day, rain threatened in the evening. C suggested we find a place to eat under umbrellas, and this was an excellent suggestion! While we ate rain finally hit. Some folks sitting between umbrellas got soaked, but we stayed dry. I ordered a "club sandwich" and got the surprisingly delicious egg-filled combination shown in the first picture below. C ordered gazpacho and enjoyed it.

We walked back to the hotel in the rain, but it left us only a bit damp. The next morning we headed to Cordoba.