Bob's Sabbatical: In the Shadow of the Alhambra

Signage is not a big business in this country, or continent apparently. Directions for how to go about something are sparse and spare when they do appear. In spite of all we went through to secure tickets to the Alhambra, it was definitely worth it.

We ordered the tickets on line and got some of the few still remaining for Friday. Tried to access them at automated teller machines but that didn't work. So on the morning of our reservations, went to the Alhambra and stood in a sort of "will call" line. Was told to go over and use the machines to access tickets. The ticket machines told us we could not access the tickets and so ended up back in line where the teller told us that we could indeed access the machines. And so it went. But, we got in.

The Alhambra was palace, courts, gardens and other buildings of the Muslim rulers of this area built in the 1200s over previously built structures which date back to the 900s. When the Catholic Rulers waged war and kicked out the Muslims in the 1500s it reverted to them. So, it is a European Court built on a Mulim rulers edifices which are built over Roman occupation.

Today it is a World Heritage Site and the most visited place in Spain, hence the tickets and complexity of it all. Tour groups deluge the place and if you are doing this trip solo, as we are, you have to scrample for tickets. Nevertheless, it was well worth it.

This is still winter in Southern Spain. The nearby mountains have snow, the early morning temperatures are brisk and we had a beautiful sunny day which made it near perfect. The site allows one to just wander among parks, gardens and old buildings which the Moors and the Court of Charles V (who took over after the Muslims were defeated) left behind. The most sought after site here is the Nasrid Palaces which are the heart of the Alhambra. Your ticket assigns you a time to enter there, to avoid overcrowding. Once you have strolled through the Nasrid, you can wander anywhere else, like the fortress, gardens, Generalife (part of the European Court area). It is complex to explain since there are competing sites of the Muslim and European rulers buildings sitting beside and on top of one another.

At one point I wandered into the Catholic Church which was build beside the Muslim buildings and on top of former main mosque, a sort of in-your-face gesture on the part of the Conquering Catholics. Rather like installing a first aid station in a Christian Science Reading Room.

I would advise you to Google the whole thing and work on the history. Permit me to show some pictures.

Somthing which the Muslims excelled at, among many things, was the art of design. Everywhere you looked, one would see intricate design (the conquering Europeans tried to copy it, but couldn't come close to competing.)