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Published: September 24th 2009
Alhambra
Visited the Alhambra today. Entrance is strictly controlled to protect the site. My ticket was for the afternoon, so I first walked up a hill which faces the site to take some preview pictures in the morning. The way up was steep, but fairly easy to find a good viewpoint. On the way down, I decided to take a different route, and got completely lost in the Albayzin (Arabic neighborhood). It was fun, and gorgeous, and I ended up on Plaza Nueve (my starting point) about 100 meters from where I started. Not bad for not having a map with me.
The Alhambra is built on three hillsides. The site was significant in Roman times, a ruling city for the Moors in Spain, and then a ruling city for the Castilians until the capital was moved to Madrid. Both the Moorish ruler and the Castilian ruler have castles on the site, the gardens are phenomenal, and it was fun to hike over the ancient ruins. The Moors intended their castle to be rebuilt with each new ruler, so that it has lasted since the 14th century is amazing. As I walked through the Moorish castle, the detail just blew
my mind. I kept putting my finger into the picture for scale; some of the detail would have fit onto a pin head.
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Julia Lowther
non-member comment
I remember the deaf Flamenco dancers...
Lovely shot! I remember when my mother and I visited the Alhambra in April of 1983, we stood at this same spot and watched a group of deaf Flamenco dancers perform under the arches at the other end of the pool. Their hearing teacher had a tape recorder playing the music that we and she could hear, and she guided the timing of the dancers with her hands, conducting them. It was beautiful and, surprisingly, not at all surreal. They were very good! The Alhambra is a truly magical place.