Granada and Seville - Day 6

We had a morning tour of the Albayzin, the old Muslim quarter of Granada located on the hillside across from the Alhambra. This was where those who were not part of the palace or fortress used to live. It is characterised by narrow laneways and tightly integrated houses with walled gardens.

The tour included a visit to Alcaicería, which was once the Great Bazaar of Granada, a series of streets bursting with stalls selling Arabic silks, spices and other precious goods. Nowadays only a section of it remains but it is an area rich with history and local culture, and while it is home to Granada's souvenir stalls it is still packed with interesting, exotic things to buy. For sale is a variety of Arabic craftwork, such as the fajalauza (traditional local painted ceramics), taracea (wooden inlay), granadino farolas (stained-glass lamps), ethnic clothing, knick-knacks, and souvenir memorabilia.

At noon we headed off in the bus towards Seville, or Sevilla (pronounced Seviya) as it is called within Spain, passing fields of olive trees along the way that stretched as far as the eye could see.

In Sevilla we went to a restaurant to see a flamenco show with dinner. This was our first experience of the passionate flamenco music and singing and the exotic dancing. A truly fantastic show with very talented dancers.Read more