Granada Travel guide

The major achievements of the Nasrid Dynasty reflect a fabulous sense of sophistication; this is expressed even more in the city's decor and perspective views than in its architecture and its gardens. Other monuments dating to the same period are spread throughout the Albayzµn quarter; these include Casa de la Reina, Corral del Carbsn, the court of the mosque, which has become the San Salvador College and the first hermitage, which was converted into the Church of San Sebastana. Adding to these monuments, houses with walled gardens make up the domestic architecture of this historic quarter

Walk through beautiful gardens, charming narrow streets filled with flowers, sit down in one of those typical taverns to have some of that famous "Trevlez" ham and local wine, and breath the centuries of history around you anywhere. There are gypsies singing "Flamenco", and don't miss to visit their famous "Cuevas" - caves - in the mountain of the monastery of Sacromonte where some of them really live still nowadays making magnificent artisan. Granada's popular festivals, based as well on Moorish as Christian tradition, are most attractive.

The city is located at the foot of the "Sierre Nevada", Spain's highest mountain-massif with great possibilities for winter sports. The highest peak, "Mulhacn" arrives to 3478 meters. On the other hand it is not far from the Mediterranean Sea, so Granada is a great place to visit in any season.

The palace of Mexuar, originally built by Ismael I for the juridical administration and later restructured by Muhammad V. Under King Charles V the building was changed to be a Christian chapel. Main attraction is the splendid Golden Room with its Renaissance ceiling.

The Palace of Comares, built under Muhammad V, is said to be the masterpiece of the Alhambra and was the king's residence. Its Ambassador's Room is the largest in all the complex. Its ceiling, a wonderful work made of cedar wood, represents the seven heavens of Islamic religion. The dimensions allow having nine adjoining rooms worked into the walls, which are ornamented with epigraphs from the Koran. Another attraction is the palace's Patio de los Arrayanes a large court with columns of marble and a beautiful central fountain.

The Palace of Muhammad V was the private residence of this Moorish king and is another highlight of the visit. Four great halls enclose the famous Patio de los Leones, the "lions' court". The figures of lions that carry the fountain is a curiosity in Arabian art, as the figurative representation of animals (as well as humans) is forbidden by the Koran. Remarkable are as well the verses of poet Ibn Zamrak, which explain the function of the palace's very advanced irrigation plants.

The Hall of the Mozarabes got its name after the Christian architects of the time of the recon quest from the Moors, which were they strongly influenced by Moorish style. In the case of this hall, they changed the original cupola for a baroque ceiling. The Hall of the Abencerrajes got its name from an Arabian noble family, who was murdered in here. In the King's Hall we find paintings of the Arabian royal family. For the reasons mentioned above scientists doubt if those paintings are original or were made, after the recon quest, by Christians. The most splendid hall is the Sala de las dos Hermanas, ("hall of the two sisters"). The beautifully worked-out ceilings show verses of Ibn Zamrak and are ornamented with gold and lapis lazuli.

Finally, we arrive to the Hall of the Ajimences and the Mirador de Daraxa, a view point, the view from which was obstructed lateron by the palace built by Charles V.

The Alhambra after the re-conquest
The Palace of Charles V, reminds astonishingly to buildings of Italian renaissance. The reason is that its architect, Pedro Machuca, has been a student of Michelangelo in Florence. Today there are several museums inside of this palace: the National Museum of Spanish-Moorish Art, where you can see among many other important objects the famous seven jars of the Alhambra, works of glass-ceramics, and the Museum of Arts, mainly with works of the Granada school from the 15th to 20th century.

At the end of our tour we arrive to the Church of Santa Maria, at the place where, in the past, there has been the Mosque of the Alhambra, and the Convent of San Francisco, built in 1495 over an Arabian prince's palace. Here Spain's catholic kings were buried up to 1521.

The gardens of the Generalife: Those marvelous gardens, bordering on the Alhambra, were made in early 14th century and conserve their original shaping. They inspired many important musicians and authors, among them Washington Irving ("Tales of the Alhambra").

Federico Garcia Lorca, Granada's most luminous poet ( 1898-1936)

He was born in Fuente Vaqueros (Granada). His childhood in the town allowed him to know and to get involved with the rural world, nature and the popular tradition. His family moved to Granada and, in 1914, he got involved in what resulted in his race in the pursuance of Right and the one of Philosophy and Letters. He also studied music and he met the great composer Manuel de Falla, who contributed to his enthusiasm for flamenco songs.

From 1919 to 1928, he lived in the Residence of Students (Madrid) His friendship with the famous painter Dalí took him to visit Cadaqués and there he established a relation with the Catalan artistic vanguard. In 1926, he appeared in the "Revista de Occidente"("Magazine of the West") with his Ode to Salvador Dalí. In 1929, he traveled, as a scholarship holder, to New York, a city that left deep impressions on him, and in 1932, to Buenos Aires, where he took part in conferences and he directed the presentation of "La Dama Boba" (the Stupid Lady), of Lope de Vega's. Again in Spain, he continued his intense artistic work, in which the direction of the university theater group "La Barraca" ("the Barracks") received his main attention.

In 1936, he returned to Granada, where he was shot in the beginning of the Civil War. According to a student of Lorca, the first news of his death were published indeed in a newspaper of Albacete, "Diario de Albacete", on Sunday 30th of August, 1936 (a newspaper at the price of just 15 céntimos) with the following review:

"Lorca has been assassinated" Guadix.-According to rumors from the Cordovan front, to date not denied, the great poet Federico Garcia Lorca, by order of colonel Cascajo, has most probably been executed. Garcia Lorca, who is one of the most excellent figures of our contemporary Literature, is rumored to have been arrested in Cordova. During one of the last raids, which the fascists usually make after having undergone some setback, the great poet has been assassinated"

As we see it was just a rumor that later would be confirmed. In spite of his early death, though, (he was just 38 years old), he left the Spanish literature with a good number of important poems and plays. As we have previously said, during the short time he lived he got acquainted with many famous artists of the time. But without a doubt what influenced him most it was his native city Granada and his trip to New York.

His house in Granada has become a museum dedicated exclusively to him. It bears the name "Federico Garcia Lorca Foundation", and, besides his work, many poems dedicated to Lorca are on show, poems by people who wanted to contribute to his being remembered for what he really was: an important poet and writer. The museum is constantly enriched with poems sent to the foundation in which the sister of Lorca is still am active member and decides which poem is to be included in the museum exhibits.

Granada - History

· The erection, in the 8th century, of an Arab fortress on the site of the present-day Saint Nicholas Square marked the beginning of Granada's Moorish period.

· The decline of the caliphate of Cordoba between 1002 and 1031 led to the establishment of small independent Muslim states, including the Kingdom of Granada, founded by the Zirid Dynasty, which ruled from 1010 until 1090. Within this political framework, the city of Granada emerged and continued the artistic work of the caliphs.

· The kingdom was ruled by two Berber dynasties, the Almoravids and the Almohads, until the Nasrids came to power in 1236. Mohammed I, the founder of the Nasrid Dynasty, undertook the construction of the Alhambra in 1238. As an important centre of culture, the city provided a flourishing artistic environment.

· The Kingdom of Granada was the last refuge for Iberian Islam after the Christian victory of Las Navas of Tolosa in 1212; this was a turning point of the Reconquest.

· The takeover of Granada by the Catholic kings in 1492 put an end to the Nasrid reign and to the Muslim domination of Spain. Granada's new rulers constructed palaces, religious buildings and other monuments. In the 16th century, Diego de Silo, a pioneer of Plateresque architecture, enriched the city's artistic landscape by building a cathedral, the Patio de la Chancilleria, and numerous portals.

Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1984, the site of the Alhambra and the General life was extended to include the Albayzµn Quarter in 1994, in accordance with the existing criteria. The site includes unique artistic achievements. It is an exceptional testimony of 14th-century Muslim Spain. It offers an invaluable example of the royal Arab residences of the medieval period.