Today I was off to Granada because how could I come to Southern Spain without seeing the Alhambra. Purchasing tickets for the Alhambra was a slight disaster since I bought a train ticket to Granada only to realize it was sold out so I canceled my ticket. Tickets later became available so I quickly rebought my train ticket and took it as a sign that I needed to visit.
The train ride to Granada was about 2.5 hours through the countryside of Spain. The countryside was very hilly and full of vineyards. Parts of it were pretty but for the most part it was a remote desert with nothing but shrubs growing in the heat. When I arrived in Granada, I started by meandering through the streets until I came to the Granada cathedral. The Granada cathedral was originally built on top of a mosque and is Spain's second oldest cathedral next to the Seville cathedral. The cathedral was so big you could not even capture the whole thing in a photo!
The area around the cathedral was littered with outdoor restaurants and small markets. There were many alleyways with pop up vendors selling colorful clothing and trinkets. The little vendors reminded me of the markets in India.
From the cathedral, I walked up to the Plaza Nuevo where I ate lunch at a Spanish place. I had huevos rotos which means broken eggs over potatoes. The Plaza is situated between the historical town and new town marking the division of the two. I decided I was going to walk to the Alhambra so I could hit a few places along the way. The first place I stopped was El Bañuelo. This was a bathing establishment that managed to survive the reconquest by the Catholics who found such places scandalous. The only reason this one survived was it was hidden under a private residence. The baths were decently underground with holes in the ceiling for ventilation. They were smaller than I expected and it didn't take more than a few minutes to see them.
The best views of Alhambra are from the Mirador De San Nicolás. This viewpoint sits high on a hill directly across from the Alhambra. There were many restaurants up on this hill and they had such a good view! All of the houses also seemed to be built facing the Alhambra. Likely intentional so the kings could look down on their people back in the day. Nowadays those people likely get some of the best views the country has to offer!
The Alhambra is a massive palace that is now regarded as a UNESCO heritage site. It was built in the 1200s by the first king of the Nasrid Dynasty, Mohammed Ben Al-Hamar. It is located high on a hill overlooking the whole city. I joke it's always leg day in Europe but the Alhambra really tested me today. There are five different parts to the palace - Generalife, Alcazaba, Charles V, and the main attraction; the Nasrid Palace. The Nasrid Palace is highly patrolled and only 300 people are let in every 30 minutes. Apparently a total of 6,000 people visit Alhambra daily. My timed entry for the Nasrid Palace was only at 5pm so I started with the Generalife.
The Generalife is a royal garden that is neatly manicured. It has many little ponds as well as fountains lined with trimmed hedges. The Generalife palace was framed with many arches that were built in the Moorish style of architecture and offered views of the Alhambra palace.
The Generalife leads to the Alcazaba which is on the furthermost tip of the palace. The Alcazaba consisted of many towers which originally served as watch towers but now function as lookout points. The views from each of the lookout points were spectacular. You could see all of the tiled roofs of the white houses below with a backdrop of the Spanish mountains. One thing I love is climbing to the top of a tower for a good view of the entire city!
The Charles V part of the castle was what Charles V built as part of the Catholic colonization of the palace. The building on the exterior has a town hall look and inside is a U-shaped amphitheater. Today the amphitheater is still used for concerts assuming that was what it was used for back in the day.
My favorite part of the Alhambra was of course the Nasrid Palace! This palace was distinctly Moorish. All over the walls there were carvings with Arabic calligraphy and designs. There were so many pillars and arches giving it a very royal feel. What is interesting is the pairing of the Moorish style of highly decorated carvings in the wall and the incorporation of the Spanish talavera tiles used. The detail of this palace had me in awe. The best area in the palace was the main courtyard that was an area of highly decorated arches and pillars. It was so gorgeous! I could not get over how regal everything was. There was a couple taking their wedding photos there and I am sure those turned out amazing!
Branching off the main courtyard were several smaller rooms equally as ornate. It was insane the amount of decoration there was from the ceiling to floor. Obsessed doesn't even begin to express how I feel about the palace!
I spent nearly 5 hours at Alhambra. It was so massive! There was lots to do and see and it was nice there were convenience stores and little shops along the way. For dinner, I picked up a couple of empanadas and then headed back on the train to Seville. My train reached at 10:30pm and it was crazy that it was still light outside. How nice it is finally summer!
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