The Alhambra--Finally

We’ve been in Granada for 3 months and one of the first questions any Granadino asks us is “Have you been to the Alhambra yet?”.  Sheepishly we shake our heads and respond no. At first we thought we might go with my aunt, but they had toured it before. Then Tom left for 3 weeks. In between, we took many weekend trips to places around Andalucía. So, with a scant 2 weeks left, we decided we had to go.  We kept an eye on the weather forecast so we could pick the best day. Granada’s weather is like San Francisco: mostly it’s in the 50s, but some days it drops down into the 40s.  Based on the forecast, we decided on Tuesday, and arranged to have the kids leave school early.

The Alhambra is the single most visited site in Spain, with over 3 million tickets sold each year. I am sure the number would be higher, but they limit the number of visitor each day to minimize the crowding. Many of the courtyards, rooms and corridors are quite narrow. Ticket pricing in Spain is generally child- friendly, so the kids were free. Our visit was very affordable, with the audio guides costing as much as our tickets.

The Alhambra is not a single building, but rather a palace and fortress complex built by the Nasrid kings. Apparently recent excavations show evidence of Roman ruins, but mostly the historical record starts in the 700s. A succession of Arab kings built various parts. The location at the top of a steep hill insured its safety. The complex is a self-contained city, with houses, baths, orchards (olive, pomegranate, persimmons, oranges were all in evidence), and many gardens. Some of the gardens are ornamental while others were for growing food. The palace was designed to create a paradise on earth, thus in addition to the lovely gardens, there are several tranquil courtyards with reflecting pools, other courtyards with fountains designed to produce soothing sounds and still others for the baths.  The arches, stucco filigree and tile patterns which are all very characteristic of Arab building were stunning.

Of course, when the Christians conquered the Arabs in the 1400s, the Spanish kings, most notably King Carlos V in the mid-1500s put their own mark on the palace. While their additions are impressive in their own right some of them are quite different from the Arab style and a bit jarring in their contrast. Apparently in the 1600s, the palace complex fell into a long period of neglect until the Europeans took a renewed interest in the buildings in the late 1800s and began the long process of restoring the site.

Despite our planning, the day turned out colder than we anticipated and was overcast as well. While the kids were incredibly engaged, JT finally ran out of batteries after 2.5 hours. So he and Tom headed home, while Zoe and I took a quick turn through the Generalife or the summer palace before quitting the place ourselves. In retrospect, we probably would have enjoyed the experience more had it been warmer or when the gardens were in full bloom.  On the plus side, we had the good fortune to visit on a quiet day, so we could take pictures at our leisure in front of the best spots.  Ultimately, the overcast sky made photographing the palace a bit easier. Ultimately, we were glad we made the trip.