Granada

I remember as a child reading one of the ‘What Katy Did’ books where she referred to ‘the corrigodors of the Alhambra’. I eventually worked out that she meant ‘corridors’ but what stuck in my mind for years was the name ‘Alhambra’ and its association with beauty and splendour. I never dreamt that one day I would have the opportunity to see it for myself.

I had originally planned to book a ship’s excursion to Granada and the Alhambra, but realised that I would be very disappointed if I got on the ship and found that all the excursions were full (as ended up happening with Gibraltar). That meant I had the choice of paying £144 up front for the ship’s excursion (which included a lunch that I would have considered a waste of time) or €92 for the same excursion (minus the lunch) with Spain Day Tours, a local company found through the Cruise Critic internet group. I opted for the latter, but was almost too late to get on this tour! I was originally waitlisted, but phoned them on the Friday before leaving and found they had room for me.

I think our group must have been first off the ship, but unfortunately our bus had to wait for the 20 ship’s buses to pull in. Our bus driver had argued to no avail, having been told that Oceania had only docked at Motril on the assurance that their buses would be given priority over any others. However, it only delayed us by 10 minutes, and we still beat half of their buses away.

We had a good group of people, probably the more adventurous ones on the cruise. I teamed up with Pam, whose husband and other friends had not been interested in going. It took about 45 minutes to get to the Alhambra (a UNESCO recognised site), where we were split into groups of 14, each with a guide.

The Alhambra is an incredible example of Moorish architecture (from the period when the African Muslims ruled Spain), with very detailed moulding showing Arabic writing on the walls (and other more ancient writing that does not survive in book form as the Christians burned all the books when they reconquered Spain), and wonderful tesselated patterns. 

Much of the decoration is unfortunately too ornate for my limited camera and photographic skills.

The rooms are arranged around central courtyards, all with flowing water. It is a wonder of shade and greenery among the surrounding hot bare hills.

 This was possibly the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.

The summer palace is situated in such a position that it catches the breeze. The architecture is simple but the decoration is ornate. The windows are set low down, so the view can be seen while seated on the ground.

Ferdinand and Isabella took over the complex, as did subsequent Spanish monarchs, and changed parts of it, but it still retains much of the Moorish splendour.

The Alhambra is such a popular site that the number of people allowed through per day is restricted to about 7,500, and one goes in with timed tickets so that not too many people are in the palaces at any one time. During the peak tourist season, there are long queues for those who have not booked ahead or booked with a tour company, and some people miss out on getting in. The last thousand people are only allowed tickets for the gardens, which are modern.

I had not realised before how bare and barren the hills of Spain are. Places with springs and streams must have been valued down through the centuries.

From the Alhambra, our bus took us to Granada. Pam and I had lunch near the drop-off point and then explored briefly and found the start of the old town. It would have been better to explore that first and eat at a cafe in an old square. Next time!

The drive back showed us some of the ways Spain has benefited from being in the EU. Our guide (British, now living in Spain) reminded us that it was not too long ago that Spain was under the rule of a dictator, and the people are still struggling to develop the mindset of a modern, democratic country. The highway we travelled along was only built about ten years ago with EU money; before that, we would have been on narrow winding roads. The reservoir we passed was also an EU project. Some of the hilltop towns we passed looked more like those you see in Morocco than towns in Europe, and she felt that much of the way of thinking was also similar.

I ate dinner that night with Pam, her husband, and her two friends. We were amused to find that we were in next-door staterooms on the ship!