Granada, Spain
Today I finally got to see La Alhambra. (Which, side note, is technically redundant. All Spanish words beginning with “al” are Arabic, and “al” is Arabic for “el” and “la”, so saying La Alhambra is saying “the” twice. OK I’m done.) The Alhambra is absolutely amazing.
Carlos I of Spain (But V of Austria, if you’re keeping track. He’s also son of Felipe and Juana la loca, and grandson of Fernando and Isabel). Anyway, Carlos I began its construction, and Felipe II had a second level put on. No one lives here because to this day, it isn’t “finished”, although plays and concerts are held in its auditorium. It was created in an italian rennaissance style with wide staircases, as opposed to the narrow ones typical of the middle ages.
The Alhambra is more of a city than a palace. It is that huge. The water in the fountains is natural water, flowing from the Sierra Nevada. To have running water (as opposed to having to take a pail and go get some from a river) was a sure sign of richness.
The entranceway has two doors. One from the outside leading to a waiting room, the other from the waiting room to the real inside. Uninvited or unwelcome guests never made it past the waiting room into the palace.
The designwork frequently utilized octagons, symbolizing the seven levels of heaven (with the eighth side being god himself). The hand sign Americans use to say OK is the same sign they used to symbolize Allah. Incidentally, I also learned that it’s very American to say “oh”. The Spanish say “ah”. I wonder how many other signs we throw off that we’re not even aware of!
Next I got to visit the beautiful Generalife gardens (Not “General Life” – say it like a Spaniard: hen er ah LEE fay). These are right next to the Alhambra and absolutely gorgeous.
