Granada Grawnahduh

 

The Ford Granada (That’s pronounced Gra  na da) was only around for eight years, Granada, (That’s pronounced Graw nah duh) the city, has been around for 1200 years.

The city started out as a small Jewish community in the 8^th Century that surprise, surprise was massacred by a Muslim mob in 11^th Century.

 

The area around Granada was under Muslim control from early in the 8^th Century till the last few years of the 15^th Century.  It was the last area of present day Spain to be ceded back to the Christians from the Muslim rulers.  

After a four and one half hour drive, our first stop of the day was the mountains above Granada. There was a magnificent view of the city, snow capped mountains and our next stop the Alhambra Fortress.

 

Constructed in the 9^th Century by Muslims as a fortress, it was then enlarged and renovated into a palace for Badis Ben Hadus, the Berber king of the Kingdom of Granada. After the Christians returned, King Charles the V, The Holy Roman Emperor built his own palace on the grounds of the Alhambra in the 16^th Century. Restorations were started in the 19^th Century and continue today. 

 

 

It has now been overrun by tourists who arrive by the bus loads from all over southern Spain.  Unlike the Muslim and Christian conquerors, we come in peace, for the most part and with our pockets heavy with Euros.  But after an almost five hour ride on a bus with no bathroom, some of us were itching for a fight if we weren’t otherwise occupied soon after getting off the bus.

 

The grounds around the fortress are called Generalife (pronounced Genera lee fay), the Garden of Architects. They beautifully connect the various buildings of the Alhambra.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the tour, we were dropped off downtown to fend for ourselves.  We had time for a little lunch and some wandering around before locating the right bus among the hundreds that prowl Granada and our 4 and one half hour, bathroom free ride to Fuengirola.

 

 

 

I was feeling a bit grumpy or perhaps it was the lack of Sangria, talking, but with no bathroom on the return trip, I didn’t want to take any chances.