Granada - 13.-15.05.2013:
Our hotel - with a nice view on the cathedral:
The Cathedral of Granada:
Granada town:
A walk along the river which leads to the district of Albaicín:
A lookout on the way offers a fantastic view on the Alhambra:
And on a little square some locals were entertaining with street music and dance:
The Albaicín district which retains the narrow winding streets of its medieval moorish past. Together with the Alhambra it has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1984:
We ended the day with a yummy dinner in town :-)
The next day, May 14th, was certainly the highlight of this Andalucía trip: on the day of our 10-years anniversary Marco and I visited the magnificent and mind-blowing Alhambra which is overlooking the city of Granada. The great complex of the Alhambra dating back to the 11th century is the best-preserved medieval Arab palace in the world and one of the most popular monuments in Spain. Its Moorish styles is one of the most beautiful examples of Islamic art. Since 1984 this magnificent place is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. No wonder we spent an entire day visiting it.
On the way to Generalife.
El Palacio de Comares - built in the 14th century this area constituted the Serallo where the sultan would receive dignitaries and deal with diplomatic issues.
El Palacio de los Leones - named after the fountain with the 12 lions in the central courtyard of the palace. Dating from the late 1300s, this place was the Harem, the private zone reserved for the sultan and his family.
At around 8 p.m. we left the Alhambra and went for dinner in the backyard of a nice fish restaurant in the Albaicín quarter.
The next day, May 14th, was certainly the highlight of this Andalucía trip: on the day of our 10-years anniversary Marco and I visited the magnificent and mind-blowing Alhambra which is overlooking the city of Granada. The great complex of the Alhambra dating back to the 11th century is the best-preserved medieval Arab palace in the world and one of the most popular monuments in Spain. Its Moorish styles is one of the most beautiful examples of Islamic art. Since 1984 this magnificent place is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. No wonder we spent an entire day visiting it.
La Puerta de la Justicia - built in 1348 this horseshoe arch makes use of Arab defensive techniques (a steep approach combined with four right-angled turns to slow down invaders).
La Puerta del Vino - so called, because it was used as wine cellar in the 16th century. It was once the main entrance to the market square.
Plaza de los Aljibes - from here visitors can enjoy a superb views of Granada, especially on the Albaicín.
El Palacio de Carlos V - an Italian renaissance building by a student of Michelangelo, hosting a range of Christian works and fine Nasrid art.
La Alcazaba - a fortress mainly in ruins, but climbing up the Torre de la Vela offers a magnificent view over the Sierra Nevada.
On the way to Generalife.
A police for tourists???
Generalife - the summer palace with its gardens in the east of the Alhambra.
A little refreshing break.
The Partal - gardens with fountains and watercourses laid out in an area that used to have palaces of its own. However, only 5 porticoed arches are left nowadays.
Los Palacios Nazaríes - in keeping with Islamic thought not to compete with the creations of Allah the Nasrid palaces are built of simple brick, wood and stucco.
And the Alhambra remains beautiful - also at dusk/night :-)
Back in town - and straight to bed. What a day! What a super, fantastic and beautiful day - this 14th of May - our 10th anniversary :-)
The next day we left Granada and headed towards our next stop: Córdoba.
To be continued with post Andalucía (3): Córdoba.
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