Exploring Granada : Alhambra, Royal Cats, and Lebanese Gastronomy

Granada - Andalusian Spain

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Bus journey to El Dorado

The bus journey from Madrid to Andalusia was strangely inviting. Andalusia is the southernmost part of Spain, also known as the Iberian Peninsula. The bosky landscape around was wild and cultivated. Cultivated with fleeting patches of olive orchards, which at some places spread far into the horizon. Traversing the heart of Spain, and somewhere in the back of my mind, the landscape triggered the swashbuckling identity of the country's history. In search of El Dorado may be one of the reasons why the Moors from Africa invaded Andalusia after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar in the early 8^th century. They ruled this part of Spain till the 15^th century.

The charming town at the foot of Sierra Nevada

Spain’s heartland, known as the Meseta, is a large plateau with an average elevation of six hundred meter above sea level is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. Since Madrid lies on this plateau, most of the journey up to Granada was through this fascinating and partly arid landscape. There are several interesting places along the way, such as Aranjuez and Toledo. Granada is located in the southern region of Andalusia, with mostly lowlands, mountains, and valleys. This charming town is situated at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. There’s only one bus station in Granada, about three kilometres from the city centre. It serves both long distance and city buses. At the bus station, we boarded a city bus and got off at the Cathedral stop. Then walked down about three hundred metres to Hotel Atenas, where we stayed. A warm and cosy hotel situated right at the centre of the old city. On both sides of the main thoroughfare were mazes of lanes, bylanes well laid out perhaps from the Middle Ages, resembling a sort of matrix formation. A few steps from our hotel led to a T-junction. The narrow bylane bustled with tempting eateries, most of them Lebanese and Mediterranean cuisines, jostling at places with their Spanish counterparts and pubs.

We continued our refreshing stroll through the old city's cobblestone maze. Apart from eateries, there were small shops and street vendors selling souvenirs and handicrafts. We finally walked into a joint which was packed with diners. We prefer such packed-up joints. And yes, this time also we were right in our decision. Our appetite grew with a feeling of lingering Moorish Andalusia inside. At the entrance, the sight of a chicken dish caught my attention. This was ordered as one of the main dishes. The look, the aroma and the flavour of this Levantine classic, Djej w Roz, literally took me by storm. And lo, it turned out to be an addition to my list of 'Great Tastes'.

Tales of Alhambra

From the Cathedral stop (Plaza Isabel la Católica) to Alhambra, the public transport system runs buses in miniature, making it easy to negotiate steep curves while climbing uphill. Perhaps these were some of the idiosyncrasies of the place I observed. Buses are quite frequent; bus number C30, if I remember correctly. I was terribly excited when we boarded the bus the next morning. More so, because I had read a fascinating book, ‘Tales of Alhambra’ by Washington Irving, an American writer, diplomat and wanderer in the early nineteenth century who also authored the iconic short story ‘Rip Van Winkle’.

As the bus traversed the hilly terrain, a fleeting glimpse of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada was mesmerising. It gradually dawned upon me why the Moors were associated with romanticism. Perhaps the Moors exuded a similar allure of wild and windswept landscapes that captured the imagination of some great literary names, such as writer Emily Brontë in her ‘Wuthering Heights’, Conan Doyle in ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles ’, and poet Emily Dickinson. Even Washington Irving, about two hundred years back, found the flavour of a ‘dear old romantic Spain’ in this part of the ‘half-wild’ landscape of Granada. Recorded history identifies the Moors as ‘dark-skinned’ inhabitants of the southern portion of Europe as far back as the first century. But by the early fifteenth century, Europeans started referring to Moors as dark-skinned Arabs from North Africa, the Gulf, and the Mediterranean region. When the Moors crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco and Algeria and invaded the Iberian Peninsula in the first half of the eighth century, a European scholar wrote a vivid description of the invaders. ‘The reins of their (Moors) horses were as fire, their faces black as pitch, their eyes shone like burning candles, their horses were as swift as leopards, and the riders fiercer than a wolf in a sheepfold at night.’

Alhambra

Alhambra is derived from an Arabic term meaning ‘the red one’ and pronounced as ‘Al Hamra’. The Alhambra is yet another medieval city in Granada, built over centuries and covering an area of about 35 acres. The complex comprises medieval and Renaissance palaces, courtyards, gardens and fortresses. Today, the entire complex has been transformed into a UNESCO World Heritage site. The first king of the Nasid dynasty, King Mohammed Ibn Yusuf Ben (better known as Alhamar), founded the place where a military zone and fortress already existed. The place had also been home to earlier fortresses and the 11th-century palace of Samuel ibn Naghrillah. The fortresses were strategically located, overlooking the surrounding mountains, the Darro River, and the forests. Subsequent Nasrid rulers made significant modifications, particularly during the 14th century under the reigns of Yusuf I and Muhammad V.

Alcazaba (fortress), the oldest part of the complex, constructed in the 9^th century, was at the tail end of the Alhambra and made us walk a few kilometres from the entrance gate. But it was worth walking. It was like moving through different eras of the city called Alhambra. Palaces, residences, courtyards, gardens, and fountains reflected centuries of cultural and religious influences. The corridor showcased the beauty of Islamic architecture in Nasrid palaces; palaces with a unique blend of Muslim, Christian and Jewish influences after the Christians took over and expanded and modified the Alhambra; the residence and a grand Renaissance palace of Emperor Charles V (Carlos V), built in the early sixteenth century after the Moors left the complex; communal baths, gardens and reservoirs all within the medina. The Nasrid palaces displayed elements of Moorish beauty in frescoes adorning the walls, columns, arches, ornamented walls and Mashrabiya lattice windows. While moving around in this iconic complex, one sight that drew our attention was large cats, almost twice the size of the stray cats we see in our country. Unperturbed by the continual movement of tourists, these Royal Cats moved around freely in the open spaces, some settling down to relax at the poolside and in the courtyards, staring back at us with an air of majesty. Their great-grandparents must have been there since the Moorish era. The cats so impressed me that I started referring to them as the Alhambra cats.

One of the unique constructions we saw was the Patio of the Lions (or Courtyard of the Lions). This courtyard is so named because of a central fountain surrounded by twelve lions that spewed a jet of water. The Nasrid Palace complex that attracted me most was Generalife, located outside the old gate of the Alhambra. This independent palace complex was designed as a recreational zone for the Nasrid sultans. Surrounded by gardens, orchards, vegetable gardens, irrigation channels, fountains and paved pathways, the entire area exudes romanticism and looks like a piece of paradise on earth. Its charm is in its serenity. So well preserved that it is hard to believe this place was built some 600 years ago. Except for some ruins which resulted from destruction carried out by the invading army of Napoleon and strewn over the entire complex (particularly near the entry gate), there is absolutely no other mark to suggest damage to the palaces and royal residences. They still reflect the opulent opus of the Moorish sultanate.

The Royal Chapel & the Granada Cathedral

The Battle of Granada was the final battle of the Reconquista, when King Ferdinand and his wife, Isabella of Castile, vanquished the Moorish regime and brought Christian rule to Granada. Isabella, in particular, is regarded and hero-worshipped in the southern part of Spain mainly because of her contribution to the fall of the last Muslim stronghold in the region, bringing in cultural changes after 800 years of Moorish rule and also laying the groundwork for modern Spain. Isabella’s tomb, alongside Ferdinand's, is now located in the crypt of the Royal Chapel. This sepulchral chapel, known as Capilla Real, was established by Ferdinand and Isabella on the site of the old mosque of the city. Till the completion of the chapel in 1517 the remains of the monarchs rested in the convent of San Francisco de la Alhambra. After coming out of the Chapel, we took the walkway built of cobblestones, turned right and arrived at the courtyard and a flight of long steps leading to the magnificent Santa Maria Cathedral (known as Granada Cathedral). Renaissance and Baroque architecture combined to create a stunning façade facing a large courtyard surrounded by centuries-old buildings, some of which host small shops. It was our good fortune to listen to some classics and church songs belted out by a young singer with his own musical accompaniments. His voice echoed and re-echoed off the façade and the surrounding walls of the courtyard. The effect was stunningly beautiful under a clear, sunny afternoon sky. What mesmerised me was his strong voice and his performance on the soprano, which was something out of this world.

Basilica of San Juan de Dios

A further walk through the old quarters from the cathedral, which wind through marketplaces, tapas bars and cafes, took us to a thoroughfare where stood another beautiful church, the Basilica of San Juan de Dios. Built in the mid-1700s at the peak of the Spanish Baroque period, it also holds the remains of St John of God (San Juan de Dios). A baroque-style church boasting interiors where almost everything is covered in gold. My wife enjoyed the grand interiors.

As dusk was setting in and my energy started ebbing, I decided to skip the interiors and relax on a comfortable bench outside the church. I enjoyed observing the traffic movement, trying to feel the city's essence. The buildings blend romantic Muslim architecture, gracious Christian architecture, and modern Spanish architecture, most exuding a warm reddish hue to live up to the meaning of ‘Alhambra ’.

Photo credit: Arundhati Sengupta (Ruby)👇

The following videos were shot outside the famous Granada Cathedral

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