 |
Flag of Granada
|
Province: Granada
Autonomous Community: Andalusia
Country: Spain
I was watching a wonderful BBC documentary entitled, ‘The Art of Spain.’ I strongly recommend it to anyone who is generally interested in Spain because the presenter doesn’t only focus on art itself but the aspects of history which influenced it. Its’ pretty original, super informative and altogether I learned a lot of fascinating things I had no idea about before, especially concerning architecture and the Moorish influence
eg. That the guitar, Spain’s national instrument was brought there by the Moors,
That the Flamenco shares a lot of similarity with their type of dancing
And also that there is Flamenco singing!…etc
Really cool! Anyways,as a result I decided to start the ‘Places to Visit’ with Granada, a city that I never heard of before I watched it! Surprising because it is such a beautiful city with a lot of fascinating history and architecture. Enjoy!
Spain contains 17 autonomous communities, some of which are for example, Catalonia Valencia and Andalusia, which contains the province of Granada whose capital is Granada city.
Spain can attribute a huge percentage of its unique culture to its early Moorish residents. The architecture, the art, the dance of flamenco, the music…and Granada is a perfect example of it. Granada was the last stronghold of Moorish Spain, or Al-Andalus as it was called but it eventually fell in 1492, marking the completion of the Reconquista of Al-Andalus.
Fascinating Places to visit in Granada:
Alhambra
Literal meaning: ‘Red Fortress,’ referring to the color of the red clay that was used to make it.
Alhambra is a fort and palace complex in the town of Granada, Andalusia, Spain.
It was constructed originally as a fort by Moorish rulers of al-Andalus somewhere in the 9th century, and later around the mid 14th century was adorned with palaces by the last Kings of the Nasrid Dynasty, to serve as their fort/palace/city.
 |
|
The Alhambra’s’ beautiful and exceptionally detailed architecture is typical
of Moorish Islamic architecture.
|
 |
The Hall of Ambassadors, a rather magnificent reception room of sorts. Allegedly, Christopher Columbus was in this very room when he received orders to sail to New Found Land. |
 |
| The Court of Lions |
Generalife
A leisurely refuge of sorts for the old Kings, the summer palace with its exquisite garden is located near the Alhambra, separated by a ravine. While beautiful through its nature, it shares none of the formers intricate and detailed architecture, the buildings in it being simple and plain. It seems remarkably serene and peaceful, the nature not the architechture being the main attraction.
 |
| Painting of the Generalife |
Granada Cathedral
In the Coeur of the city, The Granada Cathedral is a grand example of Spanish Renaissance architecture, remarkable and stunning. Originally commissioned as a gothic design, only foundations where complete. Diego of Siloam completed it, building a Renaissance building on gothic foundations.
Its burial chamber contains the tombs of multiple Christian kings.
Aammin Alyawza, The Banuelo aka the Arab baths
Constructed approximately around the 11th century, the baths remain a national monument and are considered one of the oldest Arab baths in all of Spain. Pretty cool!
 |
| The ceiling is pierced with star shaped holes to allow a light flow. |
Further Reading:
http://www.andalucia.com/province/granada/home.htm
http://www.lovegranada.com/granada/what-to-see/ <– Top 10 Places to Visit, with much more info.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/11_november/01/spain.shtml
