Spain: Day 10

June 19th, 2012

We drove to Granada which is where the Alhambra is located. The Alhambra consists of Alcazaba (The Fortress), The Nasarid Palaces, the Generalife Garden and the Medina (the town).

The Alhambra's Moorish palaces were built for the last Muslim Emirs in Spain and its court, of the Nasrid dynasty. After the reconquest by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, some portions were used by the Christian rulers.  After being allowed to fall into disrepair for centuries, the Alhambra was "discovered" in the 19th century by European scholars and travelers, with restorations commencing. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Walking to the Alhambra.  The landscaping was beautiful! Most of the tourist sites had these nifty audio-listening devices that gave us a self-guided tour experience.

Original entrance to the Alhambra built by Yusuf I in 1348

 

 

 

Alcazaba, the fortress and the military headquarters for the Nasrid dynasty, was built on the highest point of the hill. Hence, it got the positional advantage to defend the royal family. Though originally, the construction had 24 towers, but currently only a few remain.

Spain suffered enormously during the reclamation of Spanish soil. The Catholic kings, Isabel and Fernando had no "permanent royal residence." The Kings and the Spanish court took up residence in the Alhambra.

In the last weeks of 1491, Columbus was invited to the royal camp on the outskirts of Granada as the monarchs prepared for their final battle with the Muslims. However, when he asked for 10% of all the riches gained from his expedition, the rank of “Admiral of the Ocean”, and the position of “Viceroy and Governor of the Indies”, they flat out rejected his plans.

Legend has it that Columbus left the camp. But King Ferdinand’s Treasurer spoke to Ferdinand afterward and convinced him that the investment was insignificant compared to the potential reward. So, Ferdinand sent a court official to go after Columbus and bring him back.

Luckily for Columbus, on January 2^nd, 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella finally defeated the Muslim Iberians after nearly eight centuries of fighting. At last, the monarchs could “kick back”, relax, and think about investing in something other than the war.

The monarchs received Columbus in the “Hall of Ambassadors” of the Alhambra where Columbus once again made his pitch to Isabella and Ferdinand. Only, this time they were the conquerors of Spain and no doubt feeling pretty good about themselves. So, they handed Columbus the keys to three ships that would take him on a voyage that would change the world forever.

Hall of the Ambassadors

Patio de los Leones

The Generalife Gardens

16th century palace of Charles V built by Charles, Holy Roman Emperor in 1527.

Amazing picture Warren took from really high up :)

Spain: Day 9

June 18th, 2012

We took a day trip to Rhonda.  It is located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of the city of Málaga. The drive included incredibly windy, steep roads.  Its population is approximately 35,000.

Puente Neuvo

Ronda's 'new bridge' reaches across the 98m Tajo gorge. The bridge bisects Ronda into new town and old. The project was first proposed by King Felipe V in 1735, to improve an earlier and impossibly steep 16 th century bridge, the Puente Viejo. Parts of the span column interiors were used as a prison and, later, as a bar, but are now a museum. It is said that, during the Civil War, that captives were sometimes dispatched from the balconied windows to the rocks below.

Many Moorish towns and villages wasted away after the Christians put the final seal on the reconquest. Ronda was always too important for that.  Moorish buildings that had remained intact and appeared likely to stay that way barring deliberate demolition were simply commandeered and adapted by the incoming Christians.This was not the first attempt to build such a bridge. Records disagree on the actual dates, but in the early 1730s, one was knocked together in just eight months by Juan Camacho and José Garcia. Their hastily constructed and nail-bitingly perilous structure survived for only six years before collapsing with the loss of around fifty lives.Construction took 42 years, and the Puente Nuevo was finally ready for use in 1793.

We ate our mid-day meal on the balcony of one of those buildings! 

The Old Bridge

In Ronda, there is a bullfighting ring.  Completed in 1784, it is one of the oldest in Spain.

Nowadays, it is preserved and only used once a year for a special bullfight “corrida”. For the rest of the year, visitors can walk round the bullring itself, the stables and some backstage areas and study the history of bullfighting in the special museum.

 

Spain: Days 7&8

June 16-17, 2012

On Saturday we picked up a rental car and drove 600km to Malaga, Spain.  You can see Madrid with the * and Malaga is almost straight south on the Mediterranean Sea. On this map you can also see other places we visited on our trip.  These include Toledo, Cordoba, Ronda, Gilbraltar, Grenada and we even took the ferry over to Tangier, Morroco.

This was the rental car.  It was diesel and it got amazing gas mileage!

This picture was taken on our way to church.  I'm standing right outside of the timeshare - the Sea and beach is right behind me.  It was a 30 second walk to the beach.  Beside me are the beautiful gardens at the hotel. 

Can you tell that Warren did 99% of the picture taking??

On Sunday we found the local LDS church.  It was in a a residential neighborhood but there was a nice building and even a really small (10 people) English speaking branch.  The missionaries told us the Spanish  branch is growing rapidly.  When we were in Madrid, sitting at an outside table at a restaurant, we saw a pair of missionaries walking by.  We called them over to talk to them.   The one missionary said they were hesitant to come over as most people call them over to yell at them.  Spain is very catholic :) 

Later in the day, we drove the short distance to Marabella to walk on the boardwalk. 

Warren liked this car...alot.  I think it's a lamborghini or maybe a ferrari :)

People were flocked around this Hummer.  There aren't many around because of the narrow streets. 

Notice the Kuwait license plate.

Spain: Day 6

June 15th, 2012

On Day 6 we went to Toledo.  We toured the Alcazar, a stone fortification located in the highest part of Toledo. Once used as a Roman palace in the 3rd century.  Was also used as a fortress by Visigods, Arabs and Christian. It is now used as a huge Military Museum.  We weren't allowed to take pictures inside.

The cathedral of Toledo is one of the three 13th-century High Gothic cathedrals in Spain and is considered, in the opinion of some authorities, to be the magnum opus of the Gothic style in Spain. It was begun in 1226 under the rule of Ferdinand III.

Beautifully painted ceiling!



Monastery of San Juan do los Reyes was founded by King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile to commemorate both the birth of their son, Prince John, and their victory at the Battle of Toro (1476) over the army of Afonso V of Portugal.

On the walls hang the chains they took off the Christian prisoners when they liberated the city.

We couldn't believe vehicles drive down these roads!

If we lived here, we would drive one of these :)

Cambron gate to the Old City

The Puente de San Martín (English: San Martin Bridge) is a medievel bridge across the river Tagus in Toledo. The bridge was constructed in the late 14th century to provide access to the old town from the west. Both sides of the bridge were heavily fortified with towers, the more recent dating from the 16th century.