Alhambra and Mezquita

Hola Familia and Amigos,

Today has been fantastic! Started off the morning bright and early at Alhambra (8:30 entrance). The reason I have always wanted to come to Granada was to see the Alhambra. As an amateur history buff, the history fascinates me! According to my guidebook, the place has 8K visitors a day. The Moors ruled the area for centuries, but slowly a unified Christian nation moved into a divided Muslim ruled area. The first to fall was Cordoba in 1237, then Seville in 1248. Then enter 1492 when Isabelle and Ferdinand conquered the area.

It is spectacular! The local guide, whose name I forgot, was awesome. His father was also a guide, and he has been a guide for 16 years. I believe I saw the entire complex. I didn’t go into the museum, but did see Charles V’s Palace. Saw the Alcazaba, which is the ruins of the fort.

What I didn’t realize is that part of the Alhambra Palace was destroyed by Napoleon’s army. As Wellington’s army approached, their retreat instruction was to destroy anything that could be useful to the opposing army. The part that was saved was only because a solider named Jose Garcia was able to diffuse part of the bomb sequence. The Palacios Nazaries was pretty cool. It’s fun to imagine how life would have been during the time of the sultan. Very leisure if you were part of the female royal family.

We started in the royal offices (where disputes were settled), then to the ceremonial rooms (where important visitors would be received) then the royal palace (where the royal family resided). In the royal palace, one side, would have been the sultan’s “main wife’s” quarter. He was allowed up to four wives. This up to four is true for all men as long as he could house and provide for all in the same manner. The primary wife was the wife who gave him his first male son (heir). Her and her kids lived there. The other three wives lived in their own homes with their families. Part of the fall of the empire, so to speak, was the infighting for power and succession.

The sultan lived on the side. On his side, was where his concubines were housed. He was able to have as many as he could afford to house and keep in an equal matter. There was a set of stairs that led up to where the concubines would have been.

The art details were very amazing. Everything was so precise. Some of what is left is original, the blue colors especially held up over time. The main colors were red (blood), blue (heaven), green (oasis), and gold (wealth). These colors are apparently huge in the Koran.

There were also courtyards. Since women didn’t really go out, this is where they could be outside without leaving the palace. Outside of the complex is the sultan’s summer residence, which is a little higher up.

The gardens were also very nice! I believe the number of gardeners is 40 something, and they maintain and plant year round depending on the season. Some areas have been remade to resemble what it would have looked like many years ago.

There is also a church that was built atop of where a mosque would have been. Isabella and Ferdinand did keep a lot of the palace intact. There are still Arabic inscriptions throughout the palace. I now can recognize the word God in Arabic.

The next move was to drive to Cordoba where I saw the Mezquita. This is the site of a former mosque, which is now a Christian church. A lot of the Muslim characteristics have been erased

One thing that was pointed out in both places was that the Muslim mosques tend to be very plain on the outside but very richly decorated on the inside, which represents the importance of focusing on the internal condition of ourselves.  

In the complex is a bell tower that was built over the minaret that used to call Muslims to prayer five times a day. The cathedral was magnificent and the high ceilings in the place were a beauty to behold.

Anyway, enough of my history lecture!

As I contemplate life, two vacations a year is sounding better and better. I need go to MS in April. Anybody want to spend a week with me somewhere before or after that. Think last two weeks of April.