Granada.....home of the Alhambra Palce

 

 

Granada, another city in the Andalusian region of Spain is also filled with history, beautiful landscape and of course the famous "Alhambra Palace".

 

The town center in Granada is full of little bars selling tapas, the food of the Spaniards.

 In Spain most meals are eaten as tapas or small plates, where small portions of delicious Spanish food is served.  It gives you an opportunity to try many different types of delicacies this way, while you are drinking sangria, vino tinto (red wine) or a caña (beer).

As in most of the old towns of Spain, the streets are cobblestone and not easy to walk on but they are so quaint and pretty. There are many shops, businesses and of course tapa bars. Another opportunity to try a different tapa! Awesome !

We finally get to the Alhambra situated on the northwest side of Granada.
The Palace was first built as a fortress in the 9th century, later renovated to its current walls in the 11th century and  then became the royal palace in 1333 by the Sultan of Granada, 

The palace and gardens were built on different levels and designed so that water runs throughout the palace through channels and fountains, beautiful column arcades and reflecting pools. The palace is called a "pearl set in emerald"  because of the white of the building surrounded by the magnificent lush green gardens. The court of the lions and fountain was one of my favorite places in the place. There are rooms and courtyards throughout the buildings and each one is as beautiful as the other. 
 In addition, the decoration on the walls are in the Arabic style of geometrical patterns wrought into arabesques.  Beautiful...(I keep saying beautiful but it simply is!) tiles in blue, yellow and reds panel the walls and columns too.

I had been waiting anxiously to see the Alhambra as I had read about it and seen documentaries on it.  I have to say that perhaps because my expectations were so high that although it was definitely unique and beautiful, I found that I liked the palace in Sevilla more.
The pictures you see here will show you how stunning the place is and if you ever are in the Andalusian region of Spain, you should pay both places a visit and see which is your favorite.

Looking forward to tomorrow's day where we will go to an olive farm and see how olive oil is made and to learn how to distinguish extra virgin olive oil from regular olive oil.

Hasta mañana !

Traveling Redheaded Lady

Sevilla ...the land of Flamenco !!

Beautiful city !  the people are friendlier here than in Madrid (shhhhhh!), the food still good and the royal palace of Alcazar stunning !  

Spain is having a heat wave (and of course I decide to visit Spain in August !!)  Today its only 102 degrees...ouch ! but I still manage to see some incredible places AND learn how to dance Flamenco !

Our first stop is at the royal palace Alcazar ...wow !  truly an incredible place.... Built by the Moorish Muslim kings during the Islamic Arab reign in Spain and later expanded to many other rooms and gardens by King Peter I.

 The palace is still used today by the current royal family as the official Sevilla residence. Alcazar comes from the Hispano-Arab word Alqasr meaning "Royal House or Room of the Prince".

This palace is huge and surrounds an immense courtyard that has reflecting pools , a gorgeous bridge and gardens.  The rooms are exquisitely done in an assortment of arabesque style with tiles, intricate stone and wood carvings.  I loved it and would see it again in a more leisurely pace.

The palace has been the site of many movies including "Kingdom of Heaven", "Lawrence of Arabia"  "El Cid" and "Star Wars- the Prequel".  It was also used in a recent very popular TV cable series....can any of you guess which one?  Look at the pictures (see answer at the end.)

Later we walk through the city and also visit the Cathedral which although beautiful and very detail, as all Gothic cathedral are, I found it very ostentatious and elaborate.

 Nevertheless, it is one of the largest in Europe.

By this time we are completely exhausted and we head to the hotel to get ready for our Flamenco dancing class !!

Anyone that knows me knows i love dancing and I enjoy Flamenco music too. Actually, as a little girl of 6 or 7,  I used to fancy myself a Flamenco dancer.  I had a set of "castañuelas" and would have "dance shows" and "perform" in front of family members where I would dance and use my castañuelas.  Of note is that I never took one lesson of Flamenco dancing or learned how to use the castañuelas.... I'm sure my parents, aunts and uncles who endured this must have laughed to tears watching me...but bless their hearts for sitting there while I danced and they clapped profusely and made a little girl believe she was a great Flamenco dancer...:)

So we get to the dance hall and we had been instructed to wear shoes that had some heels...Well of course the only two that wore heels were the two Latin woman in the group, Martha, my friend and traveling companion and me !

I'm thinking I know how to dance..why this would be easy!!!....not quite!!  Even Martha, who is a good dancer too, found it difficult.  But I didn't do so bad I guess when I ended being paired with the teacher.

 By the end we managed to learn some basic steps and finish with a flourish of arm and hand movements and I fulfilled my dream of finally learning how to learn from a master Flamenco dancer... check that off the bucket list !!

 Afterwards we got to see a show by professional dancers that was simply amazing...

 Incredibly talented dancers....their feet were flying and the passion they showed in the dancing was emotional and dramatic.  Hmmmm,  I think I need quite a few more dancing lessons....oh well...

 Still, all in all a very interesting  day !!

Life is Good !

Traveling Redheaded Lady

PS -(the 5th season scenes of the Martell royal palace were shot at the Palace of Sevilla.  The fight scene between Jamie Lannister and the Martell girls is filmed in the courtyard and when Jamie is brought in front of the Martell prince, it is in the reception as in the picture)

The Mosque/Cathedral in Cordoba.....Magnificent !!!

Have you ever gone sightseeing or visited a place and have been left speechless from the experience or from what your are seeing?  That's the feeling I got when I visited the Mosque in Cordoba.

Majestic, beautiful, serene and spiritual....all those words can describe the mosque in Cordoba.  It's simply a place that catches the imagination and soul as it did mine.

Built in 784 AD by the Caliph Abd al-Rahman I it remained a mosque until the "Reconquista" of Spain in 1236 when it was converted to a Roman Catholic Church.  The size is enormous and local specialists say it is the largest Mosque in the world with over 250,000 square feet...the size of 3 soccer fields !

It didn't start out this way, but as the population of Cordoba grew so did the Mosque.  But you would not know this unless you were told.  It flows seemlessly and beautifully from room to room.  

The main hall is full of arches and holds 856 columns made of jasper, marble, onyx and granite remnants from ancient Roman temples that had occupied the site and surrounding areas.

The prayer room is an architectural artwork with intricate carvings, geometric designs and gilded etchings.

 Some of the marble used in the

columns were spotless white and the very valuable wine-colored stones.  The colors are warm and tranquil with soft whites, cream, peach and earth tones.

When the mosque was converted into a Catholic church it went

through many changes but the mosque was so exquisite that instead of demolishing it as many other mosques were with the Reconquista, King Ferdinand and others decided to add chapels and build a bell tower around the standing minaret and leave the rest of the mosque intact.

They later added a cathedral nave in the middle of the immense courtyard.

The day I was there it reached 109 degrees !  It was incredibly hot and yet inside the Mosque (Mesquita) it was much cooler. Truly one of the most magnificent edifces I've ever seen and I highly recommend it if you are ever in Cordoba...a place not to be missed.

Till next time...:)
Redheaded Lady

Spain....."La Madre Patria"

Spain..!!   A country full of history and culture.....and a plethora of things to do, see and enjoy.

I arrived early Saturday on the 4th of July ....no signs of Independence day here of course but no lack of celebrations in the city nonetheless.

Plaza Major , which is point zero for Madrid....has 8 different roads leading to this center circle point which is a very big meeting point for many "Madrileños".

Although the city has its old neighborhood called "Old Madrid",  what impressed me the most of the city is its many squares and wide avenues and streets such as the "Gran Via" and "El Paseo del Prado". Madrid was established by the Arabs when the Muslim culture ruled the country and  you can still see much influence of it still to this day in the architecture, food, music and names of the cities and towns.

it is a city of contradictions...old world and its tradition and new world  open mind thinking  and state of the art technology. A wonderful combination.

Sunday we spent the morning and early afternoon in Toledo. About an hour south of Madrid , it is known for the place that the best swords were made because of its steel production. Toledo is one of the oldest cities in Spain established in the 5th century by its Jewish inhabitants.

 

The original city is walled in and still feels like you are transported back to the early 15th century.  Toledo used to be the capital of Spain until about the mid 1500s and then Madrid became the capital. Toledo also had a unique history due to "La Conviviencia", i.e. the co-existence of Jews, Christians  and Muslims until the late 1400s when the Moors were expelled from Spain by the "reconquista"....yep the Christians....when they finally took back Spain from the Islamic Arabs after an 800 year war....Wow!,,,now that's perseverance!!

So here in Toledo you will find a beautiful Cathedral,

a simple but unique synagogue with Hebrew and Arabic writings,  and the intricate and stunning Mosque in very close proximity to each other.

Truly a beautiful city and so much history,,,,,,Tomorrow Cordoba!!

Ciao!
Redheaded Lady