Alhambra

Going to Alhambra

Today could be considered the highlight of our trip to Spain as we will visit Alhambra, the Moorish palace and fortress complex.  After breakfast, we bought a sandwich to take along for the uphill hike to Alhambra.

We entered through the wrong entrance which gave access to the free-of-charge areas.  As we had booked our tickets to all areas, we were re-directed to the correct entrance to collect our tickets.

Pre-booked tickets for entrance at set times, are highly advisable as it may not be possible to get a ticket when one just turns up.  Demand can be high in peak season!

Royal Complex

Once inside, we first made our way to the Palacio Nazaries or Royal Complex of the Nazari Monarchs.  We paused briefly so we could tail the Holland America group and benefit from their guide.

The complex consists of several palaces built by different sultans through the generations.  It had very ornate carved walls with minimal use of colours. The garden was tranquil with its extensive use of water features.

Water in this part of the world is precious is drawn from a river some 6km away by aqueduct.  Having plentiful access to water for water features is one sure indicator of wealth.

Some areas of significance include the Court of the Myrtles with a pool, often for its cooling effect and high intricate latticed windows in the adjacent buildings.

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Also significant was the Court of the Lions with 124 marble columns.  The centrepiece of the courtyard was a white marble fountain supported by 12 lions.

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We continued downstairs to a large garden area, the Partal, before exiting to continue our walk to Generalife.

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Generalife

This is an outlying building connected to the main part of the Alhambra which we had just visited.  It has a mix of palaces and pooled-gardens as well.  While I could say it was more of the same, it was actually more of the same awesomeness.

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Palace of Charles V

The walking route took us back to the Royal Complex where we made a stop at the Palace of Charles V.  This Christian-era addition is square on the outside but has a circular courtyard in the middle.

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Alcazaba

The nearby church of Santa Maria was closed for restoration.  We proceeded to Alcazaba, the fortified area on the way out.  Our stop there gave us an unbeatable viewpoint of the city including the cathedral and Plaza Nueva.

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Back in town

Walking back down to town by foot, we were pleased to be away from the crowds of the Alhambra.  But it was short-lived.  Being a Sunday, Plaza Nueva was bustling with visitors.  We grabbed a mayo-filled chicken shwarma before resting in our room.

In the evening, we walked to Plaza Trinidad to a place we had noticed before.  We ordered two drinks and three tapas.  When the tapas came they were mini-sized sandwiches with the indicated filling.  Yes, that’s what tapas are.

Kim was extremely pissed-off and got quite grumpy as he had different expectations. He felt completely ripped-off.  Next the smoking couple at the next table set him off further.  Fortunately, he was better after dinner.