After
our trip inside the huge cathedral, we stopped at a cafe for
sangria and tapas. Then we took a taxi up to the Alhambra
and walked back to town through a narrow canyon. Upon our
return, we saw some segways on a tour and we talked to the
guide; she sold us and arranged a private tour at 1800 later in
that day.
The photos below are what we saw.
A
pleasant cafe in a shady street with no cars or motorcycles.
A nearby
plaza. The upper reaches of the cathedral are visible
above the roof line of the buildings. All the plazas here
have fountains.
We took
a taxi to the Alhambra and walked back in a canyon. The
arched bridges connect the various parts of the castle.
Note the interspersed brick and rock in the wall.
This set
of roots had grown through the wall. I have no idea how
the river cobbles were cleaved to produce flat faces.
There is
an aqueduct from the Sierra Nevada mountains to the east that
supplies water to the Alhambra.
Construction
of the Alhambra was started by Muhammad I al-Ahmar, the founder
of the Nasrid dynasty, in 1238. Additions were made during
the 1300s and later in the 1400s. The facility fell to
Isabella and Ferdinand in 1492 and was then repurposed for royal
uses. Some of the older walls are showing
weathering. Note the Arabic-style arches. As with
most of the great castles, the location was chosen by the Romans
and their contemporaries simply chose to enhance the original
sites.
I assume
this was a port for shooting arrows.
There
were a number of flowers in the narrow canyon that were fed by
the overflow water from the Generalife gardens within the
Alhambra.
Further
down the canyon, we could see Granada.
At the
base of the canyon some archeological digs were in
progress. There was no mention of what was being explored.
From the
bottom of the canyon, we could see the summer palace at
Generalife.
The
north-facing ramparts of the Alhambra.
The
narrow streets of Grenada were designed to prevent horses from
turning around, thus increasing the defensibility of the area.
But, the narrow streets also present challenges for iron horses
as well. In the Albacin area, a moto is the only rational
vehicle.
We were
on a mission to find the "squeeze" that we had negotiated with
our rental car. On the way, we came upon these cool stairs
with intricate Arabic tile designs.
This is
the narrowest spot in the city and we were lucky that we could
make it through without damage to the car. We had to
retract the mirrors, but we made it through unscathed.
Others
that were less fastidious drivers or had wider cars were not so
lucky.
This
car, parked near the squeeze, was hammered. Both sides
were damaged.
Further
down on the street, we came upon these grinding stones built
into the stairs. While they are cool decorations, it is
more likely that they were already there and the easiest way to
"make them go away" was to build them into the wall, but I am
just guessing.
We came
upon a group and segways on tour and we decided to try them
out. Above, Kathleen has a test drive.
The gal
insisted that I try it as well. It turns out it was a test
to see if we would be good tour members; we passed and ended up
with our own private guide for a 2-hour tour.
We were
taken up the steep cobblestone streets of Albacin to a cliff
overlooking the city. The Alhambra is visible on the far
ridge.
Higher
on the hill, we entered the Sacramonte portion of Granada.
This area is where the Gypsies settled.
The
Gypsies were outcasts and were not allowed to live with the
Arabs, Jews or Christians. So they moved higher on the
ridge and built their houses into the hill. Most of the
houses are built around caves in the hillside. This place
has cactus on the roof.
The
place is about 90 square meters, about 1200 square feet, and has
book cases and shelves carved into the wall.
From
Sacramonte we could see up the canyon into the Sierra Nevada.
We
returned to the Alhambra after dark to see the Generalife
gardens (the only tickets that we could get....). This
building was obviously a later addition, likely done during the
1500s by Charles V.
This was
one of the earlier structures. Note the intricate stone
work that intersperses cobbles and brick.
Each of
the cobbles was split in half.
It was
about 2300, so the gardens were dark and photography was
difficult. But, I was able to get a few shots of the
intricate carvings in the wall.
Sadly,
the low light did not do this justice.
| Previous Adventure | ||
| Trip Home Page |
Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2017, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.