My education about Andalucia and the Moors of Spain came when I read about the beauty of the Alhambra. “Alhambra is the ‘Crown Jewel’ of Granada. In January 1492, King Boabdil of the Nasrid Dynasty surrendered the city of Granda and the Alhambra to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, ending the 800-year rule of the Moors in Spain. The reconquista was finally complete.” This was our guide Ana’s introduction about this World Heritage site.

As we started to walk the grounds of the Alhambra, we entered through one of the towers and suddenly we were in the middle of Palacio de Carlos V. It was a huge circular structure that had two floors surrounded by perfectly equidistant Doric columns. Sadly, despite its kept condition, it felt like an abandoned place. It was the only structure, in the whole complex that was Christian in design.

Leaving the palace, we made our way to the “real” entrance of the Alhambra. For those of you who are planning to visit this beautiful and historic site, please be mindful of the timed entrances. You cannot purchase a ticket and expect to walk in the grounds immediately after. So, to get the most of your visit, try to get the entrance tickets beforehand and make sure you are there a few minutes before your appointed time. The Alhambra is so huge that will take half a day to do just the basic tour. Or one can spend an unlimited amount of time just to admire the beauty and detail of every part of this amazing citadel.

“We are about to enter the Nasrid Palaces of the Alhambra. The Alhambra is made up of two major areas, the three palaces and the garden called Generalife (pronounced “heneralifeh”). The three palaces are: the Comares Palace, the Palace of the Lions and the Partal Palace, all Moorish in design,” Ana said. “The Comares Palace is the official residence of the King where he receives guests and dignitaries, while the Palace of the Lions is the personal residence where the wives, harem and baths are. The Partal Palace is the latest addition to the list.”

Once inside the palaces, I found it hard to easily absorb the many details Ana was discussing for each salon or room. The art and design were of overwhelming beauty that I had to surrender to its magic. It is no fault of Ana’s that half of what she said, and there were a lot of details, were lost on me despite having recorded much of it. The delicate lace traceries on the fascia, the geometric patterns made by the alicatado tiles, the ceilings that reminded me of beehives, stalactites, and stars of the galaxy, elegant arches and multi-lobe arches that connected the indoors to the outdoors, the quote “Only Allah is victorious,” on the walls – these are the details that will always remain with me. To say it was enchanting is an understatement. If ever you find yourself in Alhambra, I suggest you get a guide book because it will help you remember the immense beauty of the place.

After touring the palaces of the Alhambra, we crossed an open area and entered the gardens of Generalife. Moorish gardens are a great contrast to western gardens because of its intimate scale. I felt connected to the plants because they were all within arms-reach. This is exactly how Generalife was. But the reward of the Generalife came at the very end. The last open garden looked directly across the Alhambra. To see the terra-cotta walls and roofs of the citadel create multilevel sections interspersed by foliage, coming from the flawless cone-shaped cypress trees, was as perfect a picture as one can get. It made the Alhambra look like a city that was rising and floating from the ground. The last treat is the exit. Coming out of a long covered concave walk with a roof of foliage felt like the garden gave me life. The Alhambra was an experience of a lifetime I had waited for.

Sacramonte Caves and the Albaicin
If there are a couple more things that Granada is specially known for, it will have to be the flamenco and the Albaicin. Unfortunately, the night started out for us with a drizzle, as our minibus made its way into the hilly town of Albaicin. The streets were narrow, there were no sidewalks, it was pure cobblestone all over, pedestrians and vehicles had to give way to each other during tight turns with only their headlights as their beacon, and the cold breeze was no comfort to any of us. After a few minutes of navigating these passageways and missing the lighted Alhambra because the drizzle has gotten stronger, we were let out from the minibus and walked a very short distance to a restaurant. As we made our way in, we suddenly realized we were inside a cave. It looked like it was carved inside a rock in a concave manner, in a simple straight line with no windows, and in the middle is a piece of wood that was tacked to the floor.

In a couple of minutes, women and men in distinctly flamenco attire poured in. We were about to witness an Intangible Cultural Heritage. Then it started. The clapping began and in a raspy, almost off-tuned voice, a man without a guitar started singing. While all this was happening, they all started stomping their feet on the wood floor creating the rhythm of the music. A few minutes later, one of the four ladies stood up and proceeded to strut the flamenco. It was a combination of fast and slow music, while hand movements and feet stomping caught the attention of everyone in the audience. My favorite part was when the eldest member of the group stood up and all of a sudden, the sound of castanets started to fill the cave. It was pure Andalusian sensation. For twenty minutes, she was making the castanets sing. After the castanets, she suddenly produced a Manton de Manila, and was twirling and looping and curling it around the dance floor and on herself. The manton looked like it was dancing by itself.

Despite the heavy rains that accompanied our way back to the hotel, everyone was in high spirits. It was the perfect ending to this introduction to Granada, the last stronghold of the Moors, and now a living bastion of what it is to be Andalusian.