THE ALHAMBRA - THE JEWEL IN THE GROWN OF GRANADA ...

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Walking around the Alhambra has truly been the highlight of my trip so far. Seen from afar, it's mellow red walls and simple, but imposing structure does not give any clue to the wealth of the various cultures who have inhabited it over the ages. Granada is surrounded by rolling mountain ranges and the Alhambra sits solidly high on the side of a very steep hill and meanders down the slopes - having been added on to by every occupier since it was first built centuries ago. It is a mix of religious cultures - Arabic, Jewish, Spanish and the Catholic Royal Families. All of these blend together seamlessly and even the 3 museums which are placed around the huge central Plaza have been constructed in a simple modernistic style which does not detract from the original architecture.

A lot of the palace plazas contain excavated ruins which have been carefully preserved - these small homes with their tiny rooms give an indication of a people who were much smaller in stature. I wandererd up, over, around and through this wonderful structure and was caught by the beautiful view from the top of the fort out over all of Granada in a 365 deg. vista.
Every corner one turns reveals another small jewel, sometimes in the form of a carved white marble fountain which is still flowing, or a small courtyard with beautifully ornate Moorish arches and marble benches artictically placed in and around the old gardens, some of which have been faithfully reconstructed from original plans which still remain today.

Granada was a very dry area and one of the major achievements of a former owner was to re-route the river up to the Fort. Using a series of cleverly designed viaducts and small canals, water was channelled internally to all the gardens and courtyards. In the Generalife Palace Gardens, a lovely white marble stone staircase winds down from the top level and atop walls on either side of the stairs, water flows in channels downwards. Every so often on the stairs, there is a small fountain to which the water has been channelled and they flow still today.

All over the Alhambra, workers are re-constructing, renovating and re-generating the old forts, palaces and gardens. The Spanish know that this is one jewel which needs to be carefully polished and they are working to an overall plan to bring her back to some of her former glory.

I spent well over 5 hours here and as I walked home down through the old forest road was grateful once again for all that I have seen so far.

More on Granada follows later ....

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