Home to the Alhambra

There were two main parts to the palaces. One was Muslim and the other Christian. This was a courtyard in the Muslim part.
see all photos »

Granada is probably best known for the Alhambra, a castle initially built by Islamic rulers, though parts of it were later destroyed and rebuilt to suit the Christian monarchs. Granada I learned, was the last bastion of Islamic culture in Europe.  Alhambra has three main parts, the fortress, the castle and the royal gardens (Generalife). This was our first real exposure to a great Islamic heritage and the magnificence of the architecture and the designs almost brought tears to my eyes. Islamic religion does not allow representation of figures so rhomboid designs and calligraphic elements dominate. It reminded me that once upon a time the Islamic culture dominated in more than one field including science.

Another courtyard in the same area with more than 100 pillars!
see all photos »

We also explored the Albaicin, the formerly Arab quarters. Personally I thought it was a little overrated as it was more of narrow streets and whitewashed quaint houses and yards.

Granada itself is a pretty small town though you wouldn't really know it because of the usual European propensity for density, thus you have a good public transport network, supermarkets everywhere and all other sorts of shopping. We did a tapas bar crawl as apparently Granada is one of the last places in Spain that gives you a free tapas when you get a drink. We had sangria at the first place, yes that includes Korak who is actually attempting to increase his normally teetotal taste buds (so far they have been introduced to caipirinha (Brazil), grappa con miel (Uruguay)and now sangria. This is a major stride for him (those who know Korak are aware his peculiar drinking (AND eating) habits that are limited to diet coke, OJ and water. The tapas being free weren't particularly exciting but given that a glass of wine cost us €1.60 how can I complain!

The interiors of the Muslim section were ornately carved in marble and stone. The level of detail and skill really was incredible. The pictures really dont do it justice.
see all photos »

We stayed for three nights which is longer than it probably deserved but we couldn't make up our minds on the next destination, Seville or Ibiza via Valencia, we ended up going to Barcelona (or Barthelona as the Spaniards call it, they all talk with a permanent lithp).