Alhambra in Granada

The Alhambra is a fortress and palace which is on a prominent hill in Granada. It is the most popular tourist destination in Spain. When we arrived at our hotel yesterday we were told all the tickets for the Alhambra were sold and the next available ticket was in about five days. We were told this waiting list was short because it is the heat of summer. In the autumn and spring the waiting periods can be five weeks. Not to be easily deterred, I got online yesterday evening and discovered a source for tickets for a tour for today. They were expensive but I wasn’t coming to Granada to miss out on seeing the Alhambra. So I bought them. I was very thankful we did. It is a very memorable tour. Don’t miss it if ever you are in this city.

The Alhambra began life as a fortress in Roman times, then began to develop as a citadel of large proportions during the Muslim rule. The Sultan built a citadel and a palace to impress visitors and create an impregnable fortress to withstand any invader. It served its purpose. The fortress was never taken. The Spanish king and queen Ferdinand and Isabella retook Granada from the Muslim ruler in 1492, the final city in Spain to return to Spanish rule, but they could not take the Alhambra despite besieging it, and only succeeded with a negotiated surrender of the city. The deal struck was that all citizens of the city, including Muslims and Jews, could continue to live peacefully in the city if the Muslim king surrendered the fortress and palace. The deal was struck. The Spanish honoured the agreement for a short time, then the Inquisition began its work and Jews and Muslims could only stay if they converted to Christianity.

The palace still retains its Muslim architecture combined with a renaissance palace built by Charles V, Isabella’ grandson. There isn’t just one palace, but a complex of palaces, a fortress with three levels of walls and Impregnable gates in medieval style, gardens, water pools, a complex system of bringing water from kilometres away which still flows through the palace, the gardens and to city today.

The tour went for three hours and we felt like we were only scratching the surface of this huge citadel. It was an amazing place that brought Granada’s fascinating history to life.Read more