San Nicolas Mirador - Viewpoint . . .
a hefty climb into the
old Moorish quarter ( Spain's best ) . . called the Albaizin ( or Albayzin )
The reason for the climb . . .
the bird's eye view across the valley . . to the . .
ALHAMBRA
. . ( Granada's . . UNESCO World Heritage Site )
We find a seat at
El Huerto de Juan Ranas
. . & order one small item at a time
. . hoping to still be here for Sunset . . and for the night time View
of the place that once housed
2,000 people . 30 towers . 7 palaces . in 150 years
all within a 1.5 mile walled zone.
Our long skinny patio clings to the slope of this steep bank.
There are 2 rows of tables . . stair - stepped . . so everyone can see . .
Since we're against the wall the trick is to
capture the
Alhambra's reflection in the mirror
. . aren't the Spanish clever ?
. . ( people in this region refer to themselves as "Andalusians" . .
no small matter . . in their minds !! )
The 'after dark' scene . . of the last and greatest Moorish palace
. . One of Europe's top sights
While having a meal in Plaza Nueva
. . who should appear . . but a couple . . Gypsy Dancers
With a negative connotation they prefer to call themselves . . Romas.
Both words, gypsy and gitano,
are related to the . . inference . . that they came from . . Egypt
. . but it's now believed they originated in . . India
We headed uphill again, this time even further . .
with stairs . cobblestones . twists . more steps and more turns . .
into
Sacramonte's
gypsy cave dwellings
from as far back as the 15th century.
The facades have been re-configured to 'look like' homes
but the interiors extend into the hill itself . . warm in winter . . cool in summer.
Romas / gypsies make . Baskets . Pottery . Metal Art . Woven Goods.
They're probably best known for their . . Music and . . Dance . . and . . Thievery
We're happy to find a ' bench - with - a - view ' . . and a . . counter
so we refresh with a couple . . ice teas
The descent again takes us along the meandering Darro River
. . back to Plaza Nueva
Surviving that trek . . we head back up . . past our 3rd floor ( stairs only ) hotel room
. . this time into the Alhambra itself
( the great "Moor"ish palace of the bounced out North African Muslims )
Thru the 'keyhole' . .
A very lush walk through a tunnel of green . . ( We're headed UP . . not down ! )
Through several gateways and steps to many panorama levels
we look across to where we have been . .
the Albayzin and . . the Roma residential location of Sacromonte
Zeroing in we find the . .
San Nicolas ( church ) Terrace - Lookout
. . still lined with 'lookers'
And we find the Eatery just below . .
where we waited for day to turn night and
the gradual lighting up of the palaces of many kings
. . and just above the lookout in the distant . . Albayzin . .
is the gypsy cave community ( Sacromonte ) of nearly 50,000
Their flamenco dancing gets going late each evening . . about 10 pm.
There's a lot of story telling related to this famous Alhambra place . .
too much for a blog, to be sure.
We don't remember
being in
Carlos V palace
when we were here
in about 1991.
Little by little it is becoming a museum ( potentially a spectacular one ) . . and . .
A backdrop for Wedding Photography
( more than one shoot going on here today ! )
Time to leave this historic topic of many textbooks . .
( numerous buildings . haunts of Artists . Poets . Romantics . Movie - Makers . . )
Back down in the Central district,
walking among the many newly planted ginkgo trees lining Gran Via de Colon . .
we move toward the train station where we'll buy tickets
for tomorrow's departure to Córdoba
And . . we continue about another mile
thru a pedestrian park sandwiched between multiple lanes of traffic . .
. . asking ourselves . .
"So . . WHY are ( Catholic Monarchs )
Ferdinand and Isabel
revered as the
greatest King and Queen of Spain ??"
. . Being from 2 different regions
☆ Their Marriage . . "UNITED" 2 Kingdoms: Aragon and Castile . .
☆ Inspiring "Christian (Sacred) & Spanish (Secular)" BIG PUSH into the South
resulting in . . the Final
☆☆ Taking Back - from Arab Muslim rulers - the "last" city Granada 1492
now . . "crediting" . . Ferdinand and Isabel . . as
☆☆ Victors . . . of Christianity over Islam . . for . . ALL of Europe
an enormous achievement . . naming them . .
☆ The two people who . . created . . 'SPAIN'
_____
And so . .
What does "Columbus" have to do with all of . . this ??
"Ottoman Empire" ( Muslims ) had cut off Spain's usual trade routes to the Orient.
Columbus, as navy admiral,
was being . . commanded and commissioned . . to chart a 'new' route
Isabel died thinking he . . had found . . India or (Orient) China . .
when in fact . . he had landed on the . . "West INDIES" . . ( Bahamas )
( . . so - named . . because . . HE "thought" he HAD arrived in . . INDIA !
Wealth . . brought back to Spain . . came from . . Central and South America
_____
It's fun to wonder if . .
Ferdinand didn't question Columbus's . . 'estimate' of
. . the 'size' of the globe and therefore
. . the 'cost' of the voyage.
And it's also fun to think about . .
Isabel . . maybe advising him to
. . "pack light"
. . and "wear a money belt" . . ( to 'safeguard this bundle . . I'm entrusting to you' ) !
So much history !! So little time . . and . . space !!
Was it Bugs Bunny ( ? ) who said . . "That's All, Folks !" Rusty and Wrinkles
____________________
Did you join the Gypsy dancer?
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