Granada is in the Andalusia of Spain. It was such a different city from the rest of the Spain! It was a city with Moorish influence, so it felt more like Morocco than Spain. The Alhambra was definitely the highlight of the city, but I also loved how small, walk-able, and inexpensive it was.
The Alhambra:
Nope, not just a boardgame, but a Moorish palace. Nasrid emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmer of the Emirate of Granada built a fortress on Roman ruins, and later Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada converted it into a palace. During the Christian Reconquista, Christians took back control of Granada, and so it became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella, who approved Columbus' exporation expeditions in 1492. Now it is Spain's most well known work of Islamic architecture.
Literally "the Red One" alluding to the red bricks on the outside. The buildings were rectangular in shape and austere on the outside, but surrounding a central court and exquisitely elaborate on the inside, typical of Muslim architecture.
In the front there were 2 courtyards each with a Moorish pond in the shape of half circles.
Ceramic tiles "alicatado" with complicated mathematical shapes and details decorated the lower parts. Meanwhile the upper parts had poems carved beautifully in the stucco. The roof was pieced together with detailed carvings.
Golden room and facade of comores. This is where the Sultan sat.
Court of the myrtles. Water reflected like a mirror. The water and vegetation gave a sense of coolness.
Sala de la Barca (baroka, blessing prayer when enthroned) poem: I am beautiful and perfect. The chair on which the bride is presented. Look at the vase and you will know the extent of the truth in what I say. Then look at my crown and what a crescent moon you shall see. That Ibn Nasre, bright and beautiful sun in the realm in such a high position shall remain safe from the time of sunset.
Comares hall/throne room 45m high. Decorated with alicatarol ceramic tiles. Cover with plaster, placed on walls of most important rooms. Inscription: sura 67. Recited when taking power. 7 heavens and Paradise roof over 800 pieces. Macarabase 8th heaven. Joint prison. Honeycomb.
Mohammed 5 take power again. Extension built: palace of the garden.
Hall of muqarnas destroyed by explosion of power magazine. This was where official business took place.
Patio de los leones (lions). 4 canal carry water like 4 rivers of Islamic Paradise. Never overflows because of its ingenious design. Poetry around it talks about it and dangers of betraying sultan.
West Hall (Hall of Abencerrajes). Legend about Abencerrajes family feud between families. The Abencerrajes family was killed in this room. Roof consists of plaster series of conical pieces, which referred to the 8 heavens.
Hall of Kings: lambskin with bamboo pins. It tells a tale of a Muslim man rivaling a Christian man to gain the affection of a woman.
Hall of 2 sisters: 16 windows under dome. It gives a sense of weightlessness. Cosmic dome.
Hall of Arjimeces. Dome of marquines.
Palace of the portico.
Generalife: from Arabic Yannat al-Arif meaning "architect's garden." It's part of the royal estate where agriculture took place and livestock was kept.
Defense towers. Tower of 3 princess: astrologer gave an ominous prediction so all 3 princes were locked in tower. Two of them ran off with Christians and the last one died when she turned back.
Court of the Acequira and Belvedere. Beautiful fountain astonished guests. Then court of saltana's Cypress where ancient Cypress tree grew. It also has a small waterfall that provided bath water. Water staircase. Casa de los amigos. Oleander walk.
Medina: town within walls for artisans, workers. Tan leather, silk, glass blowing.
Palacio de los Abencerrajes. N African Noble family. Napoleon bombarded this area.
Gate of Justice: there's a legend that if a hand picks up the key, then Alhambra would have fallen.
Palace of Charles V: Holy Roman emperor.
1526 Charles I of Spain or 5 of Germany visited Alhambra and chose to build a palace here. Now it is the entrance to the Nasrid palace and Alcazar. Ashlars designed it in Italian style. Eagles/lions were the crest of holy monarchies.
Bottom column Tuscan, upper ionic. Now it's for Concerts.
Alcazaba: the 1st sultan built this citadel. Material used in construction is reddish, so it was called the Alhambra ("red one"). Torre de la Vela was the watchtower ("tower of the candle).
Tour:
In 1492 the Christians beat the Moors, so they had a lot of money, so Isabella was able to gave Columbus money for his exploration of the Americas. Otherwise, the Americas may have been French, Portuguese, or British!
Realejo: Jewish quarter. Yehuda ibn Tibon was very a very important intellectual because he translated Arabic to Hebrew, and helped spread knowledge (from Roman, India, etc).
During 1 ce, it was a very poor area. There was farming and little tourism. 1800 it developed into European lifestyle.
Granada was founded in 1013 on the hill Albaycin by the Moorish. 1492 Catholic king conquered Granada. He allowed Moorish people to keep their old traditions for 8 yrs, then the Spanish Inquisition came about.
Gypsy and non-converted Muslim lived there in half caves because they were banned by the Inquisition, and that's how the flamenco dance was born. It's a mix of eastern belly dancing and Gypsy dancing.
Supposedly Clinton visited the St Nicholas church viewpoint and said it was "the most beautiful sunset." There's an Inquisition museum nearby that shows all the torture methods used.
Carmen houses: large white wall, window only inside point to central patio. Most expensive houses now, but used to be poor people.
When the Catholics conquered Granada, it was the intellectual center of the Moorish Empire. They changed the city design to be like Spain and built the Nuevo plaza. Spanish cities are built around large central plazas. Franco became dictator for 40 years where he had executions in the Supreme Court until 1972. Afterwards kings were just figure heads.
Santa Maria church: moodejar. Neochristian, yet Muslim style so it has a single minaret and made of brick.
Hammam: Arab baths (from Roman culture). Social meeting point. Man morning, women evening.
Daro means give gold. Gold in mountain. Water supplied from Sierra Nevada. The Sierra nevada was the set for Game of Thrones, Indiana Jones.
The week we were there, it was Corpus Christi (8 weeks after Easter), where they paraded the "casket of Jesus."
We visited a Nasrid house: Casa de Zafra.
All the decor was on the inside not he outside because they were not allowed to show off. There is a zigzag entrance, so you can't see inside easily and it makes it more difficult to use a battering ram. The central court pool is for cooling, not swimming. There is no heavy furniture because people moved like nomads around the house and sat on the floor. So many decorations are better viewed at floor level.
Muslims were great architects and built canals and water fountains all around, which were also used for washing/prayer 5 times a day.
Catholic chapel: where Royal Kings/families buried. Only building in Granada in Gothic style. It was built on a mosque. 16th ce: after students finished their law degree, they painted "V" and their name on the wall to advertise that they are now available for service. It wasn't discovered until later because it was painted black over it.
Madrasa Muslim University. Oratory remain because it was an alter. Christian turned it into a government building. Pomegranate in Granada is called "Granada." Moors planted pomegranate everywhere, so it's called Granada.
Bazaars sold silk, and became rich.
Gate of Ears was the opening to the city during 13-15 CE at Bib-Rambla plaza. If someone didn't pay taxes, they would get their ear cut off and put on the gate. Or hand/arm depending on how much was owed.
Cathedral:
Catholics conquered Granada and wanted capitol there, but they ended up not establishing the capitol there because they kept on fighting and moving. Then finally Philip settle the capitol in Madrid.
Granada's Cathedral is the 3rd biggest cathedral in Europe. It has 5 naves. The largest cathedral is in Seville, then England. The Granada Cathedral took 200 years to build because eventually Madrid was chosen as the capitol and Spain stopped financing the Granada Cathedral. It was supposed to have 5 levels, but the Gothic foundation was changed to Renaissance style, and the entire building started leaning, so they stopped at 3 levels.
There are 2 organs, each with 4,000 pipes. The columns were cross-shaped. Windows light up the white walls in a unique fashion.
Central area: 12 apostles, paintings of the 7 Joys of Mary. Life of Christ in the stained glass.
La Estrella restaurant.
Provincia had good fried fish
Los italianos ice cream
No comments:
Post a Comment