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Published: December 3rd 2010
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The Alhambra of Granada
Below are ruins of old homes within the fort Eurovision was the name of the pre-semester seminar that I started my time here in Europe with. As a part of the program, we have a reunion trip to the south of Spain to the Andalusia region. This region is probably considered one of the "most Spanish" in Spain when it comes to culture with Flamenco, bullfighting, and other general life style tendencies of the region (afternoon siestas are still very much observed here, where not so much in other parts of Spain... especially Madrid). Andalusia is also considered one of the economically poorest regions in Spain, and in the entire E.U. for that matter, and the main industry survives on agriculture. Yet, the area has an incredible history of Muslim and Christian rule as well as a once strong Jewish presence. There was also a strong influence from the Romans, Greeks, and Visigoths even before that. All this has resulted in incredible architecture, that has suffered lots of transformations over the the centuries depending who was in rule, and we centered our trip to the region on three of the most interesting and important structures that are found in three different cities: Granada, Sevilla, and Cordoba.
If anything else,
On top of the Alhambra looking back at the Sierra Nevadas
This is a popular place to do its close proximity to the mountains for skiing as well as the Mediterranean Coast this trip was super fast! We had three cities to see in three days which didn't really allow for much additional time to explore and means early mornings (after late nights) in order to catch the bus to the next place and to maximize our already short days. And of course it wouldn't be Eurovision without some really special visits and experiences, drama, late-night emergencies, and lots of fun (the joys of traveling with a group of people that you know way to well!).
The trip started in Granada. This city is in a really beautiful location with the popular Sierra Nevada mountains close by for skiing as well as the ocean only an hour away as well. It is also considered a university town (similar to Salamanca) with a great nightlife. The most famous part of Granada though is hard to miss: it is the Alhambra, a Moorish fortress and palace that is a great lasting legacy to the Muslims that ruled for a long time in this region. When the palace fell to the Catholic Kings in 1492, it signaled the end of the reconquista. The palace was very impressive as you would expect and is actually
considered the 8th wonder of the modern world (it didn't make the top 7, as it was widely assumed it would, because barely any of the Spanish voted for it). We had a really good professor from our school to explain all the intricacies and history of this fortress (the littlest things purposefully made for defense can easily be overlooked... for example a 'S' shaped entry ramp to make it harder for incoming armies to swarm into and easier to defend against with a surprise attack around the corner! or the holes used to throw burning water down on invading armies!)
The first night was one of the really cool experiences that only Eurovision can do. We went to see a Flamenco show in a cave just outside the city center which was owned by a Gypsy family and all performed by the family members. It turned out to be the exact same cave, performers and all that Michelle Obama saw when she came to visit Spain for vacation this past summer. One of the girls from our group got the privilege of sitting the same seat that the first lady sat in. The show was incredible! I didn't
know peoples feet could move so fast or stomp so hard. And I easily could see why it was recently sanctioned as a world heritage cultural "thing" (I can't remember official term for it).
I could have spent more time wondering the beautiful city center and exploring more of the city, but the next morning we had to be on the road early to Sevilla, the capital city of the Andalusia region. This city played an incredibly important role during the Spanish colonization of the Americas as it was the monopoly port city that all ships from Europe had to stop at to pay taxes on all the goods brought back from the Americas. This brought enormous amounts of wealth to the city and one of the things that money was used for was to construct one of the largest Gothic churches in the world, the Cathedral of Sevilla, replacing a mosque that had been there before. This Cathedral boasts the largest altarpiece in Europe made almost entirely of American gold and everything else in the cathedral says that this was the most powerful city in Spain (and probably the richest in Europe besides Florence) at that time.
Getting ready for our Flamenco Show
The girl sitting in the front left seat (as you are looking at the pic) is sitting in the seat that Michelle Obama sat in to see the show back in August. Unfortunately the weather was terrible when we first got there... rain that would give Seattle a run for its money! And the funny thing is they say it never rains in Sevilla: just our luck! But the hotel (where we had to stay a while before the rain cleared to a beautiful afternoon) more than made up for it! It was a four-star place that goes for 180 to 240 euros a night according to the back of the door. But, of course Syracuse has their connections has it worked out to pay only 35 euros a night according to our director Paul. It was definitely the nicest hotel I stayed at while in Europe. Once the rain cleared up, we were able to do walk around the city and still had time to rest up a little before a fantastic three-hour long dinner. It was our Eurovision (not Madrid) farewell dinner, and Syracuse really treated us well! 5 rounds of appetizers, our main course, dessert, and wine! We all barely made it out we were so stuffed. After getting the lowdown on where to go out for the night from our very experienced professors, we headed out for what
turned out to be an eventful night. One of the problems with traveling with the same group of people for so long, is that some people start to have issues with others and these issues resurfaced during this trip (mostly drama with the girls of course). This unfortunately resulted in the consumption of huge amounts of alcohol to the point that one girl had to be taken to the hospital. I swear I kept having flashbacks from my time as a RA last year (but that was with mostly freshmen...). Anyways, the next morning looked quite comical and like those in the church grave near by the hotel were joining us for breakfast and several people had to bring bags on to the bus with them (just in case). But, Eurovision presses on and our last stop was in Cordoba.
Cordoba was a convenient stop on the way back to Madrid and we basically went with the soul purpose of seeing the huge mosque that is there. This mosque (another world heritage site) was actually first a visigothic christian church, until the moors captured the city and build a mosque in its place. Then later the mosque was converted
Passionate Song and Dance
It was really hard to get good pics. The dramatic lighting didn't help much into a Catholic church after the reconquista and the church was simply constructed directly in the middle of the mosque. It is really weird to find a huge catholic church WITHIN a mosque! Even the tickets say "The Cathedral of Cordoba" pointing to how this is still the working center of the catholic diocese in cordoba. It was a quick stop, but very worthwhile.
There is so much more to see in Andalusia that I wish I would have planned my own trip down to the area. Above all, the culture was so rich and 'spanish'. I often tend to miss out on some of the more Spanish aspects of the culture in Madrid and Andalusia reminded me of some of the reasons that I had wanted to come to Spain in the first place; the incredibly nice people, rich history and much more relaxed pace of life than U.S.
INTERESTING FACT: This region is also know for the Dehesa's, which are like pastureland found in the Iberian peninsula made for cattle to graze. It is a model system of exploiting the land but in a sustainable way. But, more importantly, it is where the bulls for bullfights
Getting towards the end of a dance
Towards the end, they really start moving fast, swing their arms, and stomping their feet madly with passion. Thus the blurry picture... too much movement! are raised and sold for as much as over 20,000 euros. It is also where the cerdo nego (black pig) grows. This is the most expensive ham in Spain and is considered a delicacy. In fact, just like business people in the U.S. give Omaha steaks as a nice gift, the nicest gift you can receive in Spain is a leg of pata negra.
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Sandie Swartout
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Following Your Journey
Todd I am having fun following your amazing adventure! You are fortunate to have this opportunity. Enjoy and be safe!