Granada

Granada . Is it named after a fruit, (Spanish "granada" = pomegranate, which is abundant hereabouts and appears on the city's coat of arms,) or from its Moorish name, Karnattah (Gharnatah), possibly meaning "hill of strangers" ?
In either case, it was originally called Elibyrge, (an Iberian 5th century BC settlement,) and Illiberis under the Romans
By the early 13th century, the founder of the great Nasrid Dynasty, Ibn al-Ahmar, had aligned himself with Castile's ruler and formed the Emirate of Granada, (Al-Andalus,) establishing its position on the Arab-African gold trading routes. The move ensured the city's prosperity and created vast wealth, enabling the creation of the city's magnificent Moorish architecture, much of which is still visible today and a continuing source of revenue from tourists .Weiterlesen