¡Hola!
It has been a long time, but it's been busy here! Since I've done a lot of things without blogging about them, I'm just going to conjoin some of them to save time. So a couple weeks ago the group I'm in toured the Albaicin and the Cathedral of Granada. The Cathedral of Granada is shown above. In my opinion, the outside is the prettiest part. Unfortunately, the Cathedral was renovated back in the 18th century to be more "modern" (such a tragedy). So most of it is not original. Fun fact: It is still unfinished! Many cathedrals around Spain are unfinished because the Spanish government would give money and then revoke it for some other cause. For example, the Cathedral in Malaga is unfinished because the government revoked the money in order to financially support our revolution against Great Britain. Below is a picture of the alter inside the cathedral.
My favorite picture of the cathedral is of the dome. It is very pretty in a way that kind of reminds me of France and Mary Antoinette. As you can see, the pillars and walls throughout the cathedral are white with some gold accents. The best cathedral I've seen (so far) in Spain is in Toledo. Toledo is amazing.
Historically, the Albaicin is very interesting. It is the oldest barrio (neighborhood) in Granada. It is the original settlement of the moors. The moors came from northern Africa and were islamic. The pictures below are of the ruins of a mezquita (arabian bath house). Water in the mediterranean and middle east was a sign of wealth. Spain is very dry, so to have random fountains and pools in your house or governmental building is to show personal or communal wealth. Ablutions are also a huge part of the Islamic religion, hence, bath houses were central for their society.
These two pictures below are of the changing room. The Roman columns are from the 8th century. Many people do not know that not only was Spain part of the Ottoman Caliphate (hence why ISIS believes that there are islamic rights to it), but it was also a province of Rome. There are many Roman ruins throughout Spain. Back to the baths. men went at night to bathe while women went during the day. There was a cold and a warm room that you also entered once you had bathed. There was a hydraulic system that had a boiler to heat the water and a donkey pulling a wheel to transfer it. The boiler area can still be seen there today.
The pictures are below are in the heart of the Albaicin. The houses are all white washed buildings that line narrow streets in order to keep them cool and secure. Back in the day, it made it easier for soldiers to catch thieves if there was less space for them to escape. They are VERY expensive. Only the wealthy can live here. The starting price for a carmen is about 1 million euros (keep in mind they're small as well). This barrio predates the Alhambra, and the construction of the Alhambra began in the 9th century.
This is a typical carmen in the Albaicin. Carmenes are white washed houses which have jardínes (gardens). These are some of the houses history nerds dream of having. The word carmen comes from the root of grapevine, referring to their gardens.
It seems that in much of the western world, you can get water for free (NEVER order just "agua" at a restaurant in Spain, say "agua del grifo" and they'll give you the free tap water…which is good here since they have so many mountains.) Anyways, below is one of the many locked cisterns that housed the collection of agua for the ancient Albaicin. You had to pay money for any water back then since there was very little rain in Granada (even now, still true).
Say you want to live it up when you come here, stay at a hotel in the ancient district. How about eat lunch gazing at the Alhambra and the mountains behind it? It only cost you about 100 euros a person. Enjoy! ;)
Though that seems outrageous, keep in mind a lot of the rich and famous/general wealthy desire to live here. It is a beautiful city nestled at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and full of historical relevance. The last picture I leave is of the most expensive house in the Albaicin with its overflowing garden. Notice, it is not huge, but it is beautiful and antiquated! The next post will be about the Alhambra (we saw it two days ago!)
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