Alhambra


Alhambra
We arrived at Alhambra in the city of Granada, late morning on Monday. On the advise of an Alhambra tour guide we met the night before, we did not purchase tickets in advance. The tickets allow entry to the Palace, however, everything else in Alhambra is accessible without paying. Passing the crowds of people lined up at the entry to Alhambra made us think that skipping the palace was a good idea.

The white houses of Granada
We took a walk down a steep hill through the genralife to the center of the city. In front of us we saw views of the white hillside houses of Granada. Reaching the bottom of the hill, we asked a local for advice on what route to take. He told us that there was a park nearby with a path up the hill to a fountain. Reaching the top, we were able to see the city from a different perspective. The walk turned out to be worth the time. We strolled along the edges of the city and ran into several large stones engraved with famous writers' poems. They all had to do with water, life, and time. My favorite of these was by Jorge Luis Borges. Down below we could see the cave houses. These buildings extend into the hill, with only their white painted facades visible.

The narrow streets
of the old town
A typical Granada courtyard
After spending some time at the end of the park path, we headed back into the center the old part of Granada. First, we walked along the tourist route and then found ourselves veering into the more desolate spaces inside the city's small streets. This part of Granada was very obviously influenced by the Moorish. A great treat before our upcoming travel to Morocco. The people here keep telling us Morocco is a must see and safe. Just be respectful and be ready to experience "Culture Shock".

Proceeding back up the hill (a very steep hill) towards Alhambra we were left wondering where the best views might be. Two people approached us and asked us which way to go? Of course, we told them how to get there, not knowing if we were headed in the wrong direction. Luckily, we were on the right track.





The generalife
Interior of the Charles V palace
Entering the gates of Alhambra, we were confronted by amazing Moorish details every where we looked. Alhambra means "the red one" which is a deviation of the original name Calat Alhambra or the "red fortress". Built during the 14th century, Alhambra is today a UNESCO world heritage site. Built from simple materials, such as brick, stone and tile, the buildings are constructed in a Mudahar style. The courtyards, gardens and fountains create a peaceful atmosphere. Stepping inside the ancient bath houses and the incredible circular courtyard of the Charles V Palace, made our journey complete. The smell of Jasmine throughout the lsuh park was outstanding. We wish we could bottle it up and take it with us; especially, after spending the previous night at a beautiful castle in which all the water smelled like sulphur.
Moorish details of Alhambra
Overlooking the palace
Next on our list was a stop in Laranjon. A little white town on a hillside. This stop was right before we hit the coast. This stop broke up the long drive we would have to do to reach the coast along the tip of Spain. Plus, all the walking up and down hills in Alhambra, made this stop necessary.





A water channel
The hotel was ok, not great, and the people were not very friendly. Seemed more like an older crowd. The smell the bathroom had was horrible. The hotel was very pretty but there was not much to do in the town. We walked along the edge of town overlooking the mountains and a ruined Moorish castle. It was cold and rainy. One of the interesting things about houses in Andalucia is that many have curtains across their front doors. These are evidently used to keep the door behind open for visitors, while keeping the dust and flies out.

Typical village front door
Having some time to kill we decided to take advantage of the available washing machine and clean our clothes. Big mistake! The washing machine took 4 hours for one small load. Our clothes did get clean but it kept us up until 2 am, as we waited to switch them to the dryer. After running the dryer twice, our clothes remained sopping wet. 8 hours later we had clean but wet clothes. This meant in the morning hanging our clothes in the backseat of the car and rolling the windows down, to try and dry them.

Winding back down the mountain, past enormous wind turbines, we were excited to continue on to the coast north of Tarifa.
View from below Alhambra

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