Este es un año en España por mis ojos...: La Alhambra

(Friday, September 16, 2011)

Hola ya'll

Last friday I finally visited the mesmerizingly beautiful, claim-to-fame of Granada- La Alhambra. La Alhambra is a huge Moorish palace and citadel atop a mountain in Granada that looks over the entire city! It was originally built by the Arabs, only to be taken over by the Catholic Kings of Spain during the Reconquista of Spain. Granada was the last city in Spain to be ruled by the Arabs until 1492 when the last moorish king, Boabdil, finally surrendered his power to Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II.
La Alhambra consists of La Alcazaba, which is a defensive fort with living quarters for the military men, the Palace, and the immense gardens of El Generalife. Unfortunately I was not yet feeling 100% after being sick, so this day wore me out quickly and I didn't fully enjoy the visit nor the history as much as I would have liked. We were fortunate to have our history professor from the ILP program be our personal tour guide for the day and he explained to us the history of La Alhambra on site. (I only wish I was able to pay better attention... now I will just have to buy a history book about La Alhambra to teach myself and become a guide for family and friends that visit me! :) So if you want a tour, you know where to find me! ;) I've also got an extra mattress in my new piso, so you'll have a place to crash! But more on that in the next post.)
I don't have a whole lot to talk about this day- we literally spent the entire day at La Alhambra (from 11am to about 4 or so)- so I'm just going to post some awesome pictures that don't even do La Alhambra justice. But feel free to 'ooooh' and 'ahhh' all you want. I think it's worth it. :)
Obviously the Gardens were my favorite part. The kings seriously lived so well back then! Can you imagine having such an expanse of land to roam on your own?! Incredible! I also really loved the fountains (the fountain of lions is unfortunately still under reconstruction, but the actual lion statues from the fountain are now on display which is awesome! (however, you're not allowed to take picture of them) I just can't get over how detailed the Arabs were in their design of... well, everything- palaces, fountains, gardens, walls, windows, doors... all of it! To think that they were able to create such beauty by hand and design such intricate details and fountains... wow, it just blows my mind!

The gate to enter the grounds of La Alhambra... behind this gate lies a beautiful forest with incredible buildings)

Me and a waterfall on the side of the hill leading up to La Alhambra

I like to call this one 'Stairway to Heaven'... the lighting was beautiful in the morning. And it was SO good to breathe fresh air for the first time in a long time. (I'm not much of a city girl...the car exhaust is getting to me.)

A fountain

A Granada on the fountain in Granada! (Pomegranate)

Me peering in the door that is the entrance to La Alhambra (I look so tiny!)

kitties! Stray cats are ALL over the place in Granada- apparently these ones get fed at La Alhambra... even these stray cats get to live like kings and queens!

Flowers! :) So pretty!

<3 Always make time to stop and smell the roses <3

Arches in the shapes of horseshoes are common architectural designs by the Arabs

The Alcazaba

View from the Alcazaba

This is Granada- my home for the next year. Wow!

Not the best picture, but this is my History professor, Paco, with the flags on top of the Alcazaba

Las banderas! (Left to right: The flag for the European Union, The flag of Andalusia, The Spanish flag, and I believe the last one is the flag of Granada.)

Inside the Alcazaba- the living quarters (small town some say) for the military men.

Alcazaba and the View of the mountains (The city of Granada is behind me when I took the picture)

Inside La Alhambra

Look how colorful the tiles are!! And such detailed mosaics...

The detail is insane... I love all the arches as well.

A courtyard

detail detail detail!

I love this one- colorful tiles on a wall

The classic tourist picture of La Alhambra

Taken from the same spot as the previous picture, to the right

I don't know what this is, but it was in a wall... its not a doorway, though it kinda appears to be one in this picture

Gardens and fountains!

holy cow! Look at this detail. I wish I could have seen what it looked like in its hey-day when the colors were not so washed out... :) [Not photographed: the next room was where the King and Queen would have sex while the court watched... that's all I got. I didn't quite catch why the court watched this act... haha thought you might find that interesting!]