Granada: History & Pomegranates

Granada is one of those places where one wanders and never quite sees it all. I'm certain, after a full week here, we will need to return again and again. Besides its incredible beauty, it is rich in a history that almost overwhelms.

Ruled by Iberians, Romans, and then Visigoths, it became the capital of the Emirate of Granada, under Nasrid rule, in the 13th century. It was the last Muslim-ruled stronghold in Spain. Granada was conquered in 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II and Isabella I, and progressively transformed into a Christian city over the course of the 16th century.

Moorish culture is evident everywhere. Our first stop was at the Corral del Carbón, originally al-Funduq al-Jadida, which is the only funduq or alhóndiga preserved from the Nasrid period (14th century).

Originally a caravanserai (of Silk Road fame), it was a protected place for merchants to rest their animals, spend the night, and to get a bite to eat'.

Continuing with our Moorish history, we visited the Alcaicería. Built as a silk market with 200 shops, the Alcaicería was filled with precious silver, spices, and silk. It had ten armed gates and its own guards. Silk was huge in Moorish times, and silkworm-friendly mulberry trees flourished in the countryside. It was such an important product that the sultans controlled and guarded it by constructing this fine, fortified market. After the Reconquista, the Christians realized this market was good for business and didn't mess with it. Later, the more zealous Philip II had it shut down. A terrible fire in 1850 destroyed what was left. Today's Alcaicería is an "authentic fake"... rebuilt in the late 1800s as a tourist souk (marketplace) to complement the romantic image of Granada popularized by the writings of Washington Irving.

A stroll brought us to the Albaicín, Spain's best old Moorish quarter. Here, in the 11th century, the Zirid dynasty constructed their royal palace, significant Islamic buildings, and temples encircled by a sumptuous fortress.

Wanting to know even more, we visited the grounds of the Great Mosque (2003) which "celebrates an historic reunion as it looks out in greeting towards the majestic silhouette of the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada."

This is the first mosque built in Granada since 1492.

The Albaicín reached its peak of splendour during the Nasrid dynasty, when it boasted a population of more than forty thousand inhabitants and thirty mosques. After the Conquest by the Catholic Monarchs, this was designated as a place of residence for the Muslims, and they gradually settled here.

Eventually, the neighborhood of mosques transformed into a neighborhood of churches. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Moors permanently vacated their houses in Albaicín. Over time, the Muslims have returned and strolling the narrow streets, with decorative façades, shares their unique culture for all who visit.

We then went, with the masses, to the Plaza San Nicolás to admire more of the Alhambra which we will visit on Thursday.

Granada, for those who don't know, means pomegranate. This beautiful, yet difficult fruit, is seen everywhere: in the foliage, street signs, passageway mosaics, and even the bollards which keep cars from running over pedestrians on the narrow streets.

Legend has it that it was a pomegranate tree growing in the fortress that gave the city its name; in Christian times the term Agranata began to be used, which evolved into the current name. Another version states that someone watching the sunset over the city once compared the image with that of an open pomegranate.

We were surprised by the lobbies of hotels in which we perused. The Hotel Palacio de Santa Inés consists of two small Mudejar buildings built in the first third of the 16th century and is located in our neighborhood.

The frescos were museum quality. What a find.

We pass this amazing building, the High Court of Justice of Andalusia. The seat of the high court is the former Royal Chancery of Granada. From 1505 to 1834, the Royal Chancery had jurisdiction over the Kingdom of Granada, over the three kingdoms that then made up Andalusia (Seville, Córdoba, and Jaén, as well as the Kingdom of Murcia, La Mancha, certain provinces of Extremadura, and the Canary Islands. The oldest parts of the present building were built around 1531. The present façade and staircase date from slightly later, during the reign of King Philip II; the façade was completed in 1587. The building contains numerous sculptures and paintings from roughly that era, as well is ironwork, tapestries, and so forth.

This monument to the Aguador pays homage to the water-carrier profession, a profession that lived on from the 11th to the mid-20th century. This itinerant wanderer sold water in the city, both to passersby and to houses that had no water. Interesting!

A brief pause in the Plaza Isabel la Católica showcases a monument which represents the moment when Christopher Columbus reached an agreement with Queen Isabella for his expedition to the Indies. It was completed in 1892 to commemorate the fourth centenary of the discovery of America.

After the little kiddos when to bed, the big kids went for a huge hike above the city. This photo was taken at 9:22 PM. It is staying daylight for so long. It really feels elsewhere.