Granada 10

I was so excited for the CIEE trip to Granada that I could barely sleep on Friday night.  Granada, España is located about 3 hours east of Sevilla in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.  This was an overnight trip and we were all pretty pumped about getting to stay in a hotel…it reminded me of being in the dorms and was really fun because usually we all split up for meals and can’t walk home or get ready together.  After settling into our rooms and having a buffet lunch (the hotel had custard that was out of this world…or maybe I was just really hungry, haha) we began our guided exploration of the city.  Granada has an incredibly important role in Spanish history, which I will attempt to explain as I go.  First stop, el barrio del Albaicín.  Although this area is now considered a neighborhood, it was once it’s own city during Muslim rule and was able to survive as the Muslim quarter for several decades after the Christian conquest (although there is now only 1 remaining mosque).  The highlight of this area was the incredible view – Mirador de San Nicolás – where you had a view of the white washed city, the Alhambra, and huge snow covered mountains in the background.  We were on a mountain, but it wasn’t tall enough to be snow covered.  While walking to the next destination we stopped at a convent because our guide wanted to show us how the nuns there sell deserts and sweets - something I didn't know before Granada but it very common.  What happens is you knock on this small door that is kind of like a milk chute and on of the sisters will come talk to you, although you can never see her.  You tell her was desert you would like to buy and put the money in the cubby thing that she then rotates and on the other side comes your sweet purchase.  What I was most fascinated by was there was a family that ordered the following (hopefully you can understand the description): when the church cuts the hosts for communion, they have a sheet of the bread that the circles are cut out of...so apparently the remaining part of the this bread sheet is unblessed and also for sale, haha.  

Next we visited the Real Capilla de Granada (royal chapel).  This chapel was commissioned by the Reyes Católicos, Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand, to be their burial site.  Today it houses the remains of Queen Isabel, King Ferdinand, Queen Jauna, King Felipe.  Queen Isabel chose to be buried here because Granada was the last Spanish city they conquered during the Reconquista.  If you look at the marble monument you will notice that Isabel’s head lies deeper into the pillow than Ferdinand’s.  This is meant to symbolize that Isabel had more power in her reign than Ferdninand.  This is definitely a true fact because the queen was the one who was most proactive and made the important decisions.  It was her idea to begin the Reconquista and unite all of the Spanish kingdoms under one religion.  

Queen Isabel on the left, King Ferdinand on the right

Granada took 10 years to conquer and on January 2^nd of 1492, the Muslim ruler handed over the keys to the city (a historical moment that is portrayed in a lot of Spanish art).  It was crazy to imagine how much history had taken place in the city and that we were standing before the remains of the most famous king and queen of Spain.

We finished off our tour of Albaicin by stopping at an authentic Muslim tea shop for some tea and dulces árabes (sweets).  The shop had really neat decorations and our drinks came in individual tea-pots!   

At night we walked down the mountain to the center of the city where there is a large plaza.  One fun thing about the Granada nightlife is you get free tapas when you order a drink.

Sunday we only had one thing on the itinerary, La Alhambra….but that was a big thing to do.  The entire complex was massive; we were there for about 3.5 hours.  La Alhambra is the Muslim palace built during their 700-year rule of Granada and is Spain’s most significant and well-known example of Islamic Architecture.  Obviously, when the Reyes Católicos conquered the city, this became their palace as well.  While touring Alhambra I kept in mind that this was more than just a royal palace, but it was also a city with streets and residential housing.  The first part we visited were the gardens named Generalife – we spent a lot of time taking pictures here.  The gardens were full of fountains, water channels (water is one of the focuses of Islamic religion) and tall shrubs that were perfectly trimmed like walls.  Next we passed through the area were the soldier’s and their families lived.  This area was close to the largest tower of the complex that we were able to go to the top of.  From there we got the best view of Alhambra yet.   After that we saw the most obvious change to the original grounds.  Carlos V, the grandson of the Reyes Católicos, wanted to make his permanent residence at Granada’s Alhambra.  Therefore, he constructed a two story square palace with the center plaza being a perfect circle.  Although the king didn’t spend a lot of time here, he did enjoy a lot of theatrical and musical performances that were held in the circular plaza.  The importance of the fact that it is a perfect circle has to do with the acoustics.  When you stand in the center, your voice is amplified…I tested out the theory by saying something at a normal volume and was shocked at how loud it ended up being.  Finally we visited the Palacio Nazaríes, which is the true palace, and it was gorgeous.  I love how all of the architecture here includes big open-air plazas and incorporates nature as well.  The Muslim plazas especially put an emphasis on water and fountains.  In the main plaza the sun reflected off the water and made the palace sparkle, one of its intentions (it also functions as a way to naturally provide light to the surrounding rooms).  Again, to put history into context, one of the rooms were in was the very same one where Christopher Columbus proposed his idea to Queen Isabel (everyone else said he was crazy) that the world was not flat and he could sail to Indies…and thus began the expansion of Isabel’s Spanish empire.  

Overall I had a blast at the Granada trip.  It was fun going with CIEE and I met a bunch of new people who are in my program ( I could probably meet someone new everyday and still not know everyone…there are about 250 kids in our specific Liberal Arts program).