Granada - Spain day 7

Our last day in Spain we headed over to Granada.  I was really excited about this one because I heard from so many different people about the Alhambra.  Granada is the capital of the province of Granada.  We decided to go there first.  We ended up arriving a little later than we had planned, so David and I made a run for it down to the town to get the tickets into Alhambra.  We barely made it in time, but we did.  After that we were able to take it slow through it.  You have a certain time to get in to the Palaios Nazaries and if you aren't there, you don't get in.

The Palacios Nazaries was built mostly in the 14th century.  The whole place was painted with bright colors, many suggested by the Quran - red (blood), blue (heaven), green (oasis), and gold (wealth).  

This is the ceiling in the Ship Room.  People think that it is named that because of this ceiling, which looks like an upside-down-hull shape.  It's name is actually derived from the Arab word baraka, meaning "divine blessing and luck."

Don't the kids look so excited to be on another tour.  My boys should be used to it by now.  :-)

Throughout the palace, wall, ceilings, vases, carpets, and tiles were covered with decorative patterns, mostly poems and verses of praise from the Quran written in calligraphy and from local poets.  Much of what is known about the Alhambra is known simply from reading the inscriptions that decorate its walls.

A view from one of the  windows in Alhambra of the labyrinthine Albayzin - the old Moorish town on the opposite hillside.  Still circling old Granada is the Moorish wall (built in 1400s to protect the city's population, swollen by Muslim refugees driven south by the Reconquista).

Here is more of the inscriptions, you can see how it is all over the wall.

This is a little closer look, that detail is amazing and it is ALL over the palace.

It is amazing, even the roof is decorated in such detail.

Dad in the Courtyard of the Myrtles.   The standard palace design included a central courtyard like this, the Moors loved their patios - with a garden and water, under the sky.  In accordance with medieval Moorish mores, women rarely went out, so they stayed in touch with nature in courtyards like the Courtyard of the Myrtles - named for the two fragrant myrtle hedges.

They have a lot of these ceilings around as well with the stalactite ceilings.  They are really cool looking, but just like the ones in the caves, you can't touch these because of the oil in your hands.

Their doors are amazing as well.  You can't tell the massive size from picture, but the picture on the right where you see the smaller door, that is about six feet tall.

In the Arabic script, Muslims avoided making images of living creatures - that was God's work.  One phrase - "only Allah is victorious" - is repeated 9,000 times throughout the palace.

Michael in the middle of the Courtyard of the Mrytles.  You can see the two hedges along the edges.

Al, Julie, Gabby and Kaitlyn in the courtyard, such a great looking family!

These two crack me up!  I love their poses!!!

This is the ceiling of the Grand Hall of the Ambassadors.  This is the palace's largest room that functioned as the throne room.  The room is a perfect cube from top to bottom.  The star-studded, domed wooden ceiling (made from 8,017 inlaid pieces like a giant jigsaw puzzle) suggest the complexity of Allah's infinite universe.

This is a square of one of the few original tiles left in the palace.   In 1492, two historic events likely took place in this room.  Culminating a 700-year-long battle, the Reconquista was completed here as the last Moorish king, Boabdil, signed the terms of his surrender before eventually leaving for Africa.  And it was here that Columbus made one of his final pitches to Isabel and Ferdinand to finance a sea voyage to the Orient.

I just love this picture of my brother and my  niece!!

Me and my boys - love them all and they are all sooooo handsome!!!

Look at the massive columns and how many there are!!

Next we headed into the Courtyard of the Lions.  600 years ago only the royal family and servants could enter here,.  It was named for the famous fountain ringed with 12 lions.  Since the fountain was a gift from a Jewish leader celebrating good relations with the sultan, the lions probably represent the 12 tribes of Israel.

From the center, four streams went out - figuratively to the corners of the earth and literally to various more private apartments of the royal family.

This is the Hall of the Abencerrajes, it was the sultan's living room, with an exquisite ceiling based on the eight-sided Muslim star.  This room has a sad history.  The father of Boabdil took a new wife and wanted to disinherit the children of his first marriage - one of whom was Boabdil.  In order to deny power to Boabdil and his siblings, the sultan killed nearly all of the pre-Baobdil Abencrraje family members.  He thought he would pave the way for the son of his new wife to be the next sulatn.  He stacked 36 Abencerraje heads in the pool.

Dad and David taking in the rooms of the palace, sometimes the ceilings are more beautiful than the walls.

You can see that they are trying to make sure the palace stays together with the metal rods that weren't there when it was first built.

Here you can see them restoring part of the palace, she was very intent on her work.  Al is checking out the restoration.

This is the only remaining original stain glass in the palace.

This is looking into the Partal Gardens which are built upon the ruins of the Partal Palace

This is the baths of the royal family.  They were closed for reconstruction while we were there.

This is the Washington Irving room.  He wrote Tales of the Alhambra in this room.  While living in Spain in 1829, Irving stayed in the Alhambra.

There were little benches throughout the palace, this one was hidden away.

We of course had to stop for a photo op.

The family taking a break after going through the palace in front of a beautiful pond.  It is the start of the Generalife Gardens.

The sultan's vegetable and fruit orchards and summer garden retreat was outside the protection of the Alhambra wall.  The thousand or so residents of the Alhambra enjoyed fresh fruit and veggies grown here.

The family walking through the gardens and enjoying our time together.

So Michael was told not to walk much with his knee, so Daddy was great and carried him part of the way.  He is getting almost to big for this, but thankfully David has been lifting heavy weights!

Kaitlyn and AJ relaxing in the beautiful garden.

This is looking back over the orchards.

It was such a beautiful day and nice to be able to take a few breaks and enjoy the scenery.

They truly love their water and ponds.  I too also find this peaceful and calm.

They had some beautiful flowers in the garden and some that I am not sure what they are.

Al taking photos of the beautiful flowers!!!

They had animals all over this garden in the stone work.

Looking back at the Palacios Nazaries - I could get used to this view.

You can see some people on top of the wall by the flags.  We didn't head over there, the view was great where we were.

The Moorish liked ponds, but not the fountains, those were put in after the Moorish were taken out of power.

A lion statue - this is for my boys!!!  We love our lions!!!

I just love this view - the architecture, blue sky......  gorgeous!

They had pathways like these throughout Alhambra to keep the sultan shaded.

This is where they had plays, concerts and now many children run around and play.

We saw this cute squirrel running around as we were headed out.  Then we went and caught the bus to head down into town.

This is Plaza Isabel La Catolica.  This statue shows Columbus unfurling a long contract with Isabel.  It lists the terms of Columbus voyage. n This shows the big event in Granada of 1492: Isabel and Ferdinand  accepting Columbus' proposal and a stirring battle scene (which never happened) at the walls of the Alhambra.

Next we headed to the Royal Chapel.  

Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand were the "Catholic Monarchs" and were all about the Reconquista.  Their marriage united the Aragon and Castile kingdoms, allowing an acceleration of the Christian and Spanish push south.

I have never seen an instrument quite like this, but I LOVED the sound!!!  So much that we bought one of his CDs.  It is a very relaxing and soothing sound.

Since AJ was able to do the coin in Gibraltar, it was Michael's turn.

This last Moorish capital - symbolic of their victory - was King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel's chosen burial place.

This is not as big as the one in Seville - but still beautifully made and majestic!

After the chapel we finally decided to let the kids eat.  :-)  We found a great little restaurant where we could sit outside.

Unfortunately they didn't have a big enough table for all of us to sit together so we had to split up to three tables.

Mom and Dad decided after a week, they were OK with sitting by themselves for a meal..  ;-)  LOL

Some beautiful lamp posts in the square.  We had a great day in Granada and we had to head home to pack.  After a wonderful week in Spain it was time to head back to reality and the cold of Germany.  It was so great to have all the family together and to be able to enjoy each other!