Granada (1912) by John Singer SargentAfter writing so much about Cartagena, you could probably guess the length of this entry!
Drive from Cartagena to Granada was about 3 hours. On the way, we wanted to stop at Gaudix where the cave dwellings in the Barrio Troglodyte (underground housings that are still in use) are located, but by the time we reached there around 8 pm, it was already dark, so we did not bother - maybe another time.
The city that inspired great artists like Federico Garcia Lorca (who both loved and loathed the city - he called it a "miser's paradise," yet it was the source of his finest work), Manuel de Falla, Jose Guerrero, and John Singer Sargent.
Granada means pomegranate in Spanish - hence, was heralded on Granada's official flag. The city is the capital of the province of Granada, which is a part of the autonomous region of Andalusia where Seville, Cordoba and Cadiz are also located. It is situated at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the convergence of two rivers, Darro and Genil (elevation of 773 m (2536 ft) above sea level and 400 ft higher than Coeur d’Alene!). This confluence of river beds and protection of mountains seem to make this area very fertile for vegetation to flourish.
Only 32 km away is the Sierra Nevada ski resort where the Spain's top skier Maria Jose Rienda Contreras, with a women's giant slalom 2005 World Cup title, trains. The resort village, Pradollano, is evidently equipped with a four-storey underground parking complex (2,880 vehicles capacity), a new medical centre, child day-care centre, supermarkets, sports and fashion boutiques, ski rental, photo-developing services, hairdressers, car rental, taxi service, pharmacy, church services, etc. The village includes alpine-style buildings, the environmental embellishment program, numerous 3 to 4-star hotels, restaurants, night clubs, pubs and bars, discotheques and apartments for sale and rent. On the internet, I saw a 3-storey town house, with a covered garage and 3 bedrooms, on the slopes for sale of $485,000. No wonder why British frequent these slopes... the close proximity to Granada and summer resorts makes this resort a pretty attractive place.
The view of the mountains (with the snow!) behind the Alhambra was stunningly beautiful. Thanks to these mountains and the distance from the sea (''Granada, which sighs for the sea" as Lorca puts it), evidently summers are hot and dry in Granada; however, the beach resorts of Salobrena and Almunecar are only about one hour away (about 45 and 55 miles).
Alhambra and Sierra Nevada Mountains from Mirador de San Nicolas (I remember seeing Maria Contreras' picture in a news article right at this spot!)
By the 2005 census, the population of the city of Granada proper was 237,000 and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 473,000 (similar in size to Spokane but more compact), ranking as the 13th-largest urban area in Spain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granada. We noticed a large population of South Americans in Granada and Cordoba. According to the Wikipedia, about 31% of 3.3% of the Granada’s population who did not hold Spanish citizenship apparently came from South America. All the Latin Americans, whom I met, were from Peru (if you find someone in service sector who speaks good English, the chances are she is from South America), but I hear the largest population comes from Ecuador and Columbia. I think I will have another entry on this topic because coming from US, where the immigration is a major discussion issue in every political debate, it seems pretty fascinating and relevant area to explore and gain a different in-depth perspective.
Here we stayed at Hotel Alixares Generalife. Following Rachel’s advice, I arranged our hotel-stays for our trip through a local travel agency, Viajes Gandia. The price for this 4-star hotel was only 32 euros per room ($102 on the internet) including breakfast - tax is always included in any listed price in Spain! Quality of food and rooms were pretty good for the price and the hotel staff was very friendly and helpful – I highly recommend it. The location of the hotel also proved to be a good choice for it was right across from the Alhambra’s parking lot. Close proximity to the Alhambra makes the hotel several kilometers away from the city center, but there is an excellent bus service to anywhere in the city so this was not a problem.
To secure your entry to the Nasrid Palaces (which is only a limited part of the Alhambra), it is best to make a reservation earlier because they only allow limited number of people each time and you beat the line at the ticket counter – it seems pretty busy throughout the year. You need to be at the palace entry, not at the Alhambra entrance where you pick up your tickets, at the time printed on your ticket. We thought reservation was for the whole tour.
The price for the food at the hotel was OK for breakfast but for dinner or lunch it was too expensive. So after our Alhambra visit, we ate at a little cafeteria on the way to our hotel. Since Haluk also discovered the bocadillo, he likes to eat it whenever he gets a chance. Consequently, we all had French fries and bocadillos - Haluk and the kids with salami and cheese, I with ensalada Russo (Russian salad). In addition to its good price, this kind of meal is very light but satisfying because they do not stuff the sandwiches with so much meat and other things here. The bread used also makes it incredibly delicious. No wonder I see many young kids eating bocadillos all the time.
We also tried a Turkish doner café at the Plaza Nuevo close by the Cathedral, but the food was not impressive. The person in charge of the restaurant (not the owner) came from Eastern Turkey four years ago. He asked me where I found that foreigner “adam” (man in slang Turkish) referring to Haluk! In a very deep Eastern Turkish dialect, “He found you in Turkey, didn’t he?” he remarked. We get these kinds of comments in Turkey often. Taxi drivers would mostly talk only to me in Turkish assuming Haluk is my foreigner husband who cannot speak Turkish.
When we inquired about our car for a city excursion, the staff at the hotel reception suggested that we leave the car and take the bus because driving and parking in the narrow streets would be a pain - which was an advice Maria had also given after her visit to Granada the previous week. So we took the bus to Mirador de San Nicolas in Albaicin district (historical Arab quarters and a World Heritage site) to catch the panoramic view of the Alhambra from the highest point in town. The bus drove along the river Darro passing Inglesia Santa Ana (a mosque converted into a church in 16th century) and Museo Arqueologico at the footsteps of the Alhambra. In fact, Albaicin used to be a suburb of Alcazaba, the Moorish citadel in the Alhambra, and the walls of the fortress extended all the way passing Albaicin on the west.
Sadly, Albaicin was also the area where inquisitions and prosecutions for religious beliefs were carried out. Because of a treaty signed between Spanish and Nasrid royalties after the fall of the city in 1492, the Muslims were allowed to practice their religion (until a squeamish in 1499) while many Jewish residents were prosecuted. I don’t know the details of historical progress, but it sounds odd that Moors did not include Jews’ protection in the treaty for the Jewish inhabitants of the region were instrumental in Moors’ gaining power in Spain – well, when you are the sore loser, it is hard to ask for more than what is offered, ey?! The fall of Nasrid Dynasty reminded me of the fall of Ottoman Empire with its incompetent rulers and capitulations.
In the mean time, the majority of Muslims converted to Christianity while some elites moved to Morocco. Muslim converts were called Moriscos and Jewish ones were conversos or marranos. Since then, there have been many discussions of whether the Spanish Inquisitions were as bad as it was publicized. I found a good discussion on Stanford’s World Association of International Studies website about this subject. As always, there is more to this story than what meets the eye! Romantic Lorca called Spain's Inquisition-era exclusion ''disastrous." He wrote that the Albaicin carried an ''infinite anguish, an Oriental curse that has fallen on these streets."
From San Nicola, we walked along the historical irregularly formed, narrow and steep side streets. These streets, in most parts, have no sidewalks and lined with decorative doorways opening into small houses. Walking on these streets untouched by the legacy of modern world, we felt like taken back to the days of Moorish dynasties. I was expecting a Muslim woman in her traditional Moorish custom to appear anytime. Of course, only the façade was old; with parked motorbikes, barking dogs, satellite dishes and telephone lines, the current residents seemed to have already moved on.
Night stroll at the Albaicin
We shopped for few souvenirs at the Plaza Nuevo, where the streets were lined with similar looking shops selling known suspects: scarves, knick-knacks, reproduction paintings of the Alhambra, African and Islam art, t-shirts, Flamenco paraphernalia and aprons of Flamenco costumes! Here you don’t buy the first item you see. If you walk around long enough, you will appreciate the differences in price asked for the same item by different shops. We also found many marquetry items similar to the box we purchased at the Alhambra. However, none of these specimens were as good quality as ours for they were made of plastic veneer in stead of wood. In the Alhambra, there was a shop made furniture and other items inlaid with ivory and colored woods in the Moorish design. The owner, who came from the generations of marquetry artisans, explained to us what made a good quality product - en English vale!
A fine example of marquet art
Extending from the Plaza Nuevo near Cathedral is a small replica of historical Alcaicería (Al-Caiceria, literally Caesar’s Place, a term coined after Caesar to show gratitude to him for allowing Moors to sell silk after his conquering Moorish lands in Africa - I wonder if Iraqis will coin any terms after Bush), Grand Bazaar of Granada. The original one apparently was burnt down by a fire started in a match shop - a costly way to learn its potential to start a fire!!
Crossing the street Grand Via de Colon, the world transforms into a different one with modern shops and eateries. We walked around the bustling busy streets of old city and found all the expected store names: El Cortes Ingles, Zara, Lacoste, Women’s Secret (Spanish version of Victoria), McDonalds, Burger King, Haagen Dazs, etc.
A beautiful building with some historical importance was standing at the Plaza del Carmen. When I asked the security at the door about the building, they told me it was the City Hall (Ayuntamiento). The security guards allowed Dilara and me to enter into its garden through a side way with total disregard to the security belt in spite of my huge backpack and suspicious activity of digging into it to pull out my camera! It was refreshing to see the initiative they took to trust some tourists.
Other than these oddities of the two different cultures living under the same roof (which I know so well from Istanbul), Granada as a city is not much different than Valencia and Barcelona with its statue marked and treed plazas, endless supply of historical cathedrals and buildings and, of course, tapas bars.
Granada is also well-known for its prestigious University of Granada with its campuses in Granada, Ceuta and Melilla. Interestingly, the last two are the only European cities on the African continent, Ceuta on the North African part of Gibraltar and Melilla in Northeastern part of Morocco. Through the ERASMUS Programme (established in 1987 and part of EU Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013), about 1,600 European students (including Turkish) attend the University every year, making it the program’s most popular destination. We passed by the University campus on our way from the Flamenco excursion. Similar to many European universities, this one was also set in a cluster of historical buildings.
During our Flamenco trip, we met an American student with her family. She apparently took a year of exchange program in Spain from her studies at the Williams College in MA. She said that her program took the students to another university in Morocco staying with a family and that was a grand experience. She recommended that we should definitely visit Morocco. Another American (from Vermont) in the group had a daughter also in a university exchange program. These programs must be a good way to visit foreign countries.
The lavishness of this cathedral seems to outcry the intentions of its inceptors: victory of Christianity over Muslim rule. A Latin inscription at the Pardon Door reads:
Holy Trinity
Stained glass window behind Chapel of Nuestra Senora de las Angustias
Francisco Hurtado Izquierdo: altarpiece of St. James, carved by Juan de la Torre in 1707
Navas Parejo: Tabernacle of beaten silver on the High Altar (on the back). Main Chapel
The Sacristy
The Main Church
One of the Chapels in the main Church
One of the great organs of the nave
Flamenco (Baile Flamenco)….
At the hotel as expected from every good ordinary tourist, we inquired about catching a Flamenco show - as one does for belly dancing in Turkey. The concierge, equipped with a stack of tickets, was ready to sign us up for a 10:00 pm show with La Rocio the next day for price of 25 euros for adults and 12.50 for kids (7-14 up to legal drinking age!). The show organizers came and picked us up from the hotel at 9:30 pm. By the time we left our hotel, they were loading the second bus. The bus collected more people throughout the city stops and other hotels ending up with a mixture of nationalities (German, Japanese, American, Spanish, English and Turkish!) and arrived at Sacromonte around 9:45 pm.
The Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamenco) has a very extensive entry on Flamenco dance, music and art roots, so I will not elaborate on it here, but if you are curious, you should check it out.
The setting for the performance was a replica of gypsy caves in Sacromonte. The walls were painted white, and copper cooking pots and pans were hanging from the ceilings. The walls were decorated with Flamenco paraphernalia and pictures of earlier and current dancers (some with seemingly celebrities that we did not recognize). The guests were served drinks (most people tried southern Spain specialty Sangria, a bad wine infused with fruits and sweets to make it drinkable) prior to the show.
Sangria
Opening Dance
Colorfully dressed in traditional flamenco costumes, beautiful ladies (bailaoras) came to the room dancing followed by a male flamenco singer and a guitar player. There was also an older dancer whom I could recognize from the pictures on the walls; she must be some celebrity in her good old days and performed a dance with agility unexpected from her age. These people were supposed to be gypsies from the same family. All dancers were in pretty good shape. If I had performed this dance every night, I would most likely be in good shape, too!
We were informed that this was Zambra Gitana style Flamenco, a form of visceral Flamenco which dated back to Moorish wedding dances in Granada - maybe to make sure that we did not expect a Spanish ballet performance! I obviously did not know enough to compare different forms of Flamenco and throughly enjoyed this one.
Elderly Flamenco Dancer
With the wows and bravos from the spectators, the performance lasted about two hours - including a short session of involving unsuspecting and unwilling audience participation! Afterwards, the group was taken to San Nicolas to catch the night glimps of Alhambra before heading back to hotel.
A Brief History
Drive from Cartagena to Granada was about 3 hours. On the way, we wanted to stop at Gaudix where the cave dwellings in the Barrio Troglodyte (underground housings that are still in use) are located, but by the time we reached there around 8 pm, it was already dark, so we did not bother - maybe another time.
GRANADA
The city that inspired great artists like Federico Garcia Lorca (who both loved and loathed the city - he called it a "miser's paradise," yet it was the source of his finest work), Manuel de Falla, Jose Guerrero, and John Singer Sargent.
Granada means pomegranate in Spanish - hence, was heralded on Granada's official flag. The city is the capital of the province of Granada, which is a part of the autonomous region of Andalusia where Seville, Cordoba and Cadiz are also located. It is situated at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the convergence of two rivers, Darro and Genil (elevation of 773 m (2536 ft) above sea level and 400 ft higher than Coeur d’Alene!). This confluence of river beds and protection of mountains seem to make this area very fertile for vegetation to flourish.
Only 32 km away is the Sierra Nevada ski resort where the Spain's top skier Maria Jose Rienda Contreras, with a women's giant slalom 2005 World Cup title, trains. The resort village, Pradollano, is evidently equipped with a four-storey underground parking complex (2,880 vehicles capacity), a new medical centre, child day-care centre, supermarkets, sports and fashion boutiques, ski rental, photo-developing services, hairdressers, car rental, taxi service, pharmacy, church services, etc. The village includes alpine-style buildings, the environmental embellishment program, numerous 3 to 4-star hotels, restaurants, night clubs, pubs and bars, discotheques and apartments for sale and rent. On the internet, I saw a 3-storey town house, with a covered garage and 3 bedrooms, on the slopes for sale of $485,000. No wonder why British frequent these slopes... the close proximity to Granada and summer resorts makes this resort a pretty attractive place.
On Google, I have placed a table comparing Schweitzer Mt. and Sierra Nevada ski resorts' mountain stats. If you are interested, you may check it at http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dd6sj43s_1fhpgws.
The view of the mountains (with the snow!) behind the Alhambra was stunningly beautiful. Thanks to these mountains and the distance from the sea (''Granada, which sighs for the sea" as Lorca puts it), evidently summers are hot and dry in Granada; however, the beach resorts of Salobrena and Almunecar are only about one hour away (about 45 and 55 miles).
Alhambra and Sierra Nevada Mountains from Mirador de San Nicolas (I remember seeing Maria Contreras' picture in a news article right at this spot!)Here we stayed at Hotel Alixares Generalife. Following Rachel’s advice, I arranged our hotel-stays for our trip through a local travel agency, Viajes Gandia. The price for this 4-star hotel was only 32 euros per room ($102 on the internet) including breakfast - tax is always included in any listed price in Spain! Quality of food and rooms were pretty good for the price and the hotel staff was very friendly and helpful – I highly recommend it. The location of the hotel also proved to be a good choice for it was right across from the Alhambra’s parking lot. Close proximity to the Alhambra makes the hotel several kilometers away from the city center, but there is an excellent bus service to anywhere in the city so this was not a problem.
To secure your entry to the Nasrid Palaces (which is only a limited part of the Alhambra), it is best to make a reservation earlier because they only allow limited number of people each time and you beat the line at the ticket counter – it seems pretty busy throughout the year. You need to be at the palace entry, not at the Alhambra entrance where you pick up your tickets, at the time printed on your ticket. We thought reservation was for the whole tour.
The price for the food at the hotel was OK for breakfast but for dinner or lunch it was too expensive. So after our Alhambra visit, we ate at a little cafeteria on the way to our hotel. Since Haluk also discovered the bocadillo, he likes to eat it whenever he gets a chance. Consequently, we all had French fries and bocadillos - Haluk and the kids with salami and cheese, I with ensalada Russo (Russian salad). In addition to its good price, this kind of meal is very light but satisfying because they do not stuff the sandwiches with so much meat and other things here. The bread used also makes it incredibly delicious. No wonder I see many young kids eating bocadillos all the time.
We also tried a Turkish doner café at the Plaza Nuevo close by the Cathedral, but the food was not impressive. The person in charge of the restaurant (not the owner) came from Eastern Turkey four years ago. He asked me where I found that foreigner “adam” (man in slang Turkish) referring to Haluk! In a very deep Eastern Turkish dialect, “He found you in Turkey, didn’t he?” he remarked. We get these kinds of comments in Turkey often. Taxi drivers would mostly talk only to me in Turkish assuming Haluk is my foreigner husband who cannot speak Turkish.
When we inquired about our car for a city excursion, the staff at the hotel reception suggested that we leave the car and take the bus because driving and parking in the narrow streets would be a pain - which was an advice Maria had also given after her visit to Granada the previous week. So we took the bus to Mirador de San Nicolas in Albaicin district (historical Arab quarters and a World Heritage site) to catch the panoramic view of the Alhambra from the highest point in town. The bus drove along the river Darro passing Inglesia Santa Ana (a mosque converted into a church in 16th century) and Museo Arqueologico at the footsteps of the Alhambra. In fact, Albaicin used to be a suburb of Alcazaba, the Moorish citadel in the Alhambra, and the walls of the fortress extended all the way passing Albaicin on the west.
On the way, we passed some university extensions and school for Arabic studies. The square in front of the Church San Nicolas was busy with tourists catching sunset over the Alhambra – and yes, it is as majestic as Ibn Zamrak, a Muslim poet, described it: “the Sabikah is Granada’s crown and the Alhambra (may Allah protect her) is the ruby at the top of this crown.” If you can take your eyes of off the Alhambra, you enjoy the beautiful scenery of Sierra Nevada Mountains in the backdrops and the convoluted Arab streets and houses of Albaicin all the way down to various plazas – we could see a woman dancing Flamenco at one of the plazas. I could appreciate why this sight would inspire so many artists (and non-artists like me).
People at the Plaza San Nicolas
People at the Plaza San NicolasSadly, Albaicin was also the area where inquisitions and prosecutions for religious beliefs were carried out. Because of a treaty signed between Spanish and Nasrid royalties after the fall of the city in 1492, the Muslims were allowed to practice their religion (until a squeamish in 1499) while many Jewish residents were prosecuted. I don’t know the details of historical progress, but it sounds odd that Moors did not include Jews’ protection in the treaty for the Jewish inhabitants of the region were instrumental in Moors’ gaining power in Spain – well, when you are the sore loser, it is hard to ask for more than what is offered, ey?! The fall of Nasrid Dynasty reminded me of the fall of Ottoman Empire with its incompetent rulers and capitulations.
In the mean time, the majority of Muslims converted to Christianity while some elites moved to Morocco. Muslim converts were called Moriscos and Jewish ones were conversos or marranos. Since then, there have been many discussions of whether the Spanish Inquisitions were as bad as it was publicized. I found a good discussion on Stanford’s World Association of International Studies website about this subject. As always, there is more to this story than what meets the eye! Romantic Lorca called Spain's Inquisition-era exclusion ''disastrous." He wrote that the Albaicin carried an ''infinite anguish, an Oriental curse that has fallen on these streets."
Continuing along the road, you end up in the famous Sacromonte district with its gypsy cave dwellings. This zone is protected cultural endowment under the auspices of the Centro de Interpretación del Sacromonte, a cultural center dedicated to the preservation of Gitano cultural forms. The current living quarters are no different than the ones in Albaicin (in fact, we wouldn't know the difference if weren't told), but the actual cave dwellings are now museum and we did not pay a visit into the area for we were scheduled to see a Flamenco show in a replica cave that night.
From San Nicola, we walked along the historical irregularly formed, narrow and steep side streets. These streets, in most parts, have no sidewalks and lined with decorative doorways opening into small houses. Walking on these streets untouched by the legacy of modern world, we felt like taken back to the days of Moorish dynasties. I was expecting a Muslim woman in her traditional Moorish custom to appear anytime. Of course, only the façade was old; with parked motorbikes, barking dogs, satellite dishes and telephone lines, the current residents seemed to have already moved on.
Night stroll at the AlbaicinA fine example of marquet artCrossing the street Grand Via de Colon, the world transforms into a different one with modern shops and eateries. We walked around the bustling busy streets of old city and found all the expected store names: El Cortes Ingles, Zara, Lacoste, Women’s Secret (Spanish version of Victoria), McDonalds, Burger King, Haagen Dazs, etc.
A beautiful building with some historical importance was standing at the Plaza del Carmen. When I asked the security at the door about the building, they told me it was the City Hall (Ayuntamiento). The security guards allowed Dilara and me to enter into its garden through a side way with total disregard to the security belt in spite of my huge backpack and suspicious activity of digging into it to pull out my camera! It was refreshing to see the initiative they took to trust some tourists.
Other than these oddities of the two different cultures living under the same roof (which I know so well from Istanbul), Granada as a city is not much different than Valencia and Barcelona with its statue marked and treed plazas, endless supply of historical cathedrals and buildings and, of course, tapas bars.
Granada is also well-known for its prestigious University of Granada with its campuses in Granada, Ceuta and Melilla. Interestingly, the last two are the only European cities on the African continent, Ceuta on the North African part of Gibraltar and Melilla in Northeastern part of Morocco. Through the ERASMUS Programme (established in 1987 and part of EU Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013), about 1,600 European students (including Turkish) attend the University every year, making it the program’s most popular destination. We passed by the University campus on our way from the Flamenco excursion. Similar to many European universities, this one was also set in a cluster of historical buildings.
During our Flamenco trip, we met an American student with her family. She apparently took a year of exchange program in Spain from her studies at the Williams College in MA. She said that her program took the students to another university in Morocco staying with a family and that was a grand experience. She recommended that we should definitely visit Morocco. Another American (from Vermont) in the group had a daughter also in a university exchange program. These programs must be a good way to visit foreign countries.
The Granada Cathedral
The front of the Cathedral from Plaza Pasiegas (picture borrowed from www.aboutgranada.com)
Replacing an existing mosque, building of this Gothic-Roman mixture cathedral evidently took about 180 years. Although the parts of it such as the funerary chapel was built before the main structure, the first stone for the main building was laid in 1523 with a design similar to Toledo Cathedral. The original Gothic design (Isabel's favorite style) was altered to incorporate Renaissance style while maintaining already completed Gothic groundplan. This Gothic influence appears again in the later structures such as vaults. Similar to every Cathedral I visited, this one also had many chapels (13) and door ways to other parts of the building in the main church. Not as impressive but it felt much brighter with its bright white and golden interior and the lights sipping through plentiful stained glass windows than Notre Dame - maybe because the days were cloudier in Paris.The lavishness of this cathedral seems to outcry the intentions of its inceptors: victory of Christianity over Muslim rule. A Latin inscription at the Pardon Door reads:
After seven hundred years of Muslim rule, both people acknowledged the Catholic Kings; we buried their bodies in this church and raised their souls to the sky, because they acted with justice and faith. The first priest was Fernando, a model of wisdom, custom and virtuous life."
When I visit these overdone religious institutions, I can't stop thinking why so much wealth had to be devoted into worldly possessions where commoners are advised to be devoid of them. What kind of spiritual comfort did these royal people feel by building such magnanimous dwellings - a place secured in heaven? In the museum section, there were many crowns and precious jewels for the religious leaders. Vanity is just in every speck of human nature whether you are a king, queen, pope or a Hollywood star!
Holy TrinityStained glass window behind Chapel of Nuestra Senora de las AngustiasFrancisco Hurtado Izquierdo: altarpiece of St. James, carved by Juan de la Torre in 1707Navas Parejo: Tabernacle of beaten silver on the High Altar (on the back). Main ChapelThe SacristyThe Main ChurchOne of the Chapels in the main ChurchOne of the great organs of the naveFlamenco (Baile Flamenco)….
At the hotel as expected from every good ordinary tourist, we inquired about catching a Flamenco show - as one does for belly dancing in Turkey. The concierge, equipped with a stack of tickets, was ready to sign us up for a 10:00 pm show with La Rocio the next day for price of 25 euros for adults and 12.50 for kids (7-14 up to legal drinking age!). The show organizers came and picked us up from the hotel at 9:30 pm. By the time we left our hotel, they were loading the second bus. The bus collected more people throughout the city stops and other hotels ending up with a mixture of nationalities (German, Japanese, American, Spanish, English and Turkish!) and arrived at Sacromonte around 9:45 pm.
The Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamenco) has a very extensive entry on Flamenco dance, music and art roots, so I will not elaborate on it here, but if you are curious, you should check it out.
The setting for the performance was a replica of gypsy caves in Sacromonte. The walls were painted white, and copper cooking pots and pans were hanging from the ceilings. The walls were decorated with Flamenco paraphernalia and pictures of earlier and current dancers (some with seemingly celebrities that we did not recognize). The guests were served drinks (most people tried southern Spain specialty Sangria, a bad wine infused with fruits and sweets to make it drinkable) prior to the show.
SangriaOpening DanceWe were informed that this was Zambra Gitana style Flamenco, a form of visceral Flamenco which dated back to Moorish wedding dances in Granada - maybe to make sure that we did not expect a Spanish ballet performance! I obviously did not know enough to compare different forms of Flamenco and throughly enjoyed this one.
Elderly Flamenco DancerAfter opening, all the performers sat on one side of the room and began clapping and singing. 
In the midst of their chanting, one of the dancers got up and began dancing. They did this throughout the show; what prompts them to start dancing I don’t know - maybe spontaneity. They must have some known cues because during the performance the dancer would look at the other dancers, guitarist or singer to lead the rhythm of the chanting and clapping. That and hollers of encouragements seemed to be synchronized with the dancer’s incessant footwork. Watching such a powerful but elegant dance with rapid wrenches and twists of the tensely percussive footwork and rapidly building of tension and passion took me to an unknown mystical world - and I was inspired to begin Flamenco lessons, a desire which lasted until the next morning!
About halfway into the show, a male dancer (bailaor) appeared and danced solo first and with another female dancer later.
The expression of agony and pain on the dancers’ face made me think of Lorca's linking Spanish arts of dance and bullfighting to duende. He explained duende as: ''There are neither maps nor exercises to help us find the duende. We only know that he burns the blood like a poultice of broken glass, that he exhausts, that he rejects all the sweet geometry we have learned, that he smashes styles, that he leans on human pain with no consolation. . . ."
The women’s body movements reminded me of the Northern African tribal dances. Because of its historical Andalusian Gitano origins, the most famous flamenco dancers of the past have apparently had some gypsy ties and probably started their careers as the ones we watched during our visit. I wonder if they have talent scouts going to these shows and discovering new proteges.
In the midst of their chanting, one of the dancers got up and began dancing. They did this throughout the show; what prompts them to start dancing I don’t know - maybe spontaneity. They must have some known cues because during the performance the dancer would look at the other dancers, guitarist or singer to lead the rhythm of the chanting and clapping. That and hollers of encouragements seemed to be synchronized with the dancer’s incessant footwork. Watching such a powerful but elegant dance with rapid wrenches and twists of the tensely percussive footwork and rapidly building of tension and passion took me to an unknown mystical world - and I was inspired to begin Flamenco lessons, a desire which lasted until the next morning!About halfway into the show, a male dancer (bailaor) appeared and danced solo first and with another female dancer later.The expression of agony and pain on the dancers’ face made me think of Lorca's linking Spanish arts of dance and bullfighting to duende. He explained duende as: ''There are neither maps nor exercises to help us find the duende. We only know that he burns the blood like a poultice of broken glass, that he exhausts, that he rejects all the sweet geometry we have learned, that he smashes styles, that he leans on human pain with no consolation. . . ."The women’s body movements reminded me of the Northern African tribal dances. Because of its historical Andalusian Gitano origins, the most famous flamenco dancers of the past have apparently had some gypsy ties and probably started their careers as the ones we watched during our visit. I wonder if they have talent scouts going to these shows and discovering new proteges.
With the wows and bravos from the spectators, the performance lasted about two hours - including a short session of involving unsuspecting and unwilling audience participation! Afterwards, the group was taken to San Nicolas to catch the night glimps of Alhambra before heading back to hotel.
A Brief History
Granada has been inhabited by Ibero-Celtics followed by Phoenicians, Carthagenians and Greeks. Interestingly however, the presence of these civilizations is not as evident as I noticed on the Mediterranean coast (i.e. in Alicante and Cartagena). Maybe to accentuate the mystic and to attract tourists, they deliberately emphasized the Moor-Christian contrast.
The Visigoths maintained the importance of the city as a centre of both religious and civil administration and a military stronghold. During the Roman rule in Spain, a Jewish community settled in a suburb of the city and called it "Gárnata" or "Gárnata al-yahud" (Granada of the Jews). This community helped Moorish forces under Tariq ibn-Ziyad in 711 to conquer the city from Visigoths – ironically, the Jews saw Moors as liberators! The city became the capital of a province of the Caliphate of Cordoba, which was destructed in 1010. During the rule of Zirid dynasty in 1013, Granada became an independent sultanate and the suburb of Gárnata was incorporated into the city – so is the name Granada. By the end of the 11th century, the city expanded across the river Darro to what is now the site of the Alhambra.
In 1228, Ibn al-Ahmar established the longest lasting Muslim dynasty on the Iberian peninsula - the Nasrids. During the Reconquista, the Nasrids aligned themselves with Ferdinand III of Castile (whose son Philip (1231–1274) was promised to the Church, but was so taken by the beauty of Christine, daughter of Haakon IV of Norway, who had been intended as a bride for one of his brothers, that he abandoned his holy vows and married her; she died childless in 1262 – here we go history as a gossip column again!). The state officially became the Kingdom of Granada in 1238. For the next 250 years, the Nasrid sultans and kings paid tribute to the Christian kings and cooperated with them in the battle against rebellious Muslims under Castilian rule. A bit convoluted relationship, no? Power of diplomacy…
The kingdom of Granada (whatever that means) linked the commercial routes from Europe with Northern Africa, particularly the gold trade with the sub-Saharan areas. This function (in addition to gain access to mercenary fighters from North Africa) might be one of the reasons why Castile left this symbolic kingdom in place. When Portugal discovered direct southern African trade routes by sailing around the coast of West Africa, Granada became less important for Castile. With the unification of Castile and Aragon in 1479, conquering Granada and Navarre became a plausible aspiration.
The territory of Nasrids constantly shrank, and by 1492 Granada controlled only a small territory on the Mediterranean coast. Arabic was the official language of the kingdom and was the mother tongue of the majority of the population.
In 1492, the last Muslim leader, Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil to the Spanish, surrendered complete control of Granada, to Ferdinand and Isabella, Los Reyes Católicos ("The Catholic Monarchs"). Boabdil was given the Alpujarras Mountains to the East of Granada to rule although he chose to leave for Tlemsen in Morocco – among fleeing elites who could afford to do so. When the city was reconquered, evidently Boabdil was seen by his mother, Ayse!, to weep as he left the Alhambra. The legend has it that she turned to him, showing the compassion that only a mother can, to say: "Do not weep like a woman for what you could not defend like a man." - hence the name of the Sierra Nevada mountain pass, to cross on the way to the Alpujarras Mountains, that has the last view of Alhambra: Suspiro del Moro (Pass of the Moor's Sigh)! After seeing the Alhambra, I can't help sympathizing with him.
These dates interestingly coincide with the times Ottoman Empire began their European campaigns. I wonder if there was a hope in Nasrid Dynasty for help coming from their Muslim counterparts on the east. Having the Moor historical background, how did the Spanish and Italian feel when Ottoman began invading the Northern Africa? How did this Nasrid relationship with the Christendom, who waged crusades against Turk, sit well? I wonder if the international relations were based on more military, territory and diplomacy than religious in those times, too, which feels counterintuitive given the historical perspective on wars in the name of religion.
The capture of Muslim Granada was the beginning of series of significant events in Granada's - and, of course, Spain's - history. It ended the eight hundred year-long Islamic presence in the Iberian Peninsula. When I think of it, this ruling is almost equivalent to the life of Ottoman Empire in Turkey! No wonder why one gets a completely different feeling of European in Spain. Isolated from the Continental Europe by the Pyrenees (except Catalonia with French influence) during the middle ages, Spain (especially south) must be overpowered by the Moorish culture and enjoyed the artistic and intellectual progress while Europe fighting the dark ages. The Muslim community in those times was experiencing the age of enlightenment. The scholars of science, medicine, philosophy and arts from all over the world would gather in Baghdad to learn and develop ideas and spread the knowledge to the rest of the world. This renaissance in Islamic world might have had something to do with the ingenious engineering artifacts, such as irrigation systems, we see today in Southern Spain from those times.
By 1499 growing frustrated with the slow conversion efforts, Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros undertook a program of forced baptisms, which violated the treaty between Los Reyes Catolicos and Nasrids and provoked an armed revolt centered in the Alpujarras. In response to the rebellion, in 1501 the Castilian Crown overturned the surrender treaty demanding that Granada's Muslims convert or emigrate. The majority of the city's Muslims converted to Christianity, becoming Moriscos, Catholics of Muslim descent. This unified Spain, combined with Isabel’s ambitions, embarked on a mission of expansion around the globe, which lead to Christopher Columbus’ discovery of Americas – maybe by then they had run out of the gold and silver mined in Cartagena and sought the possibilities elsewhere. This was the beginning of the Spanish Empire to become one of the largest empires of the world for its time – where the sun never set (as later for British Empire).
In the 16th century, Granada was progressively transformed to its Christian and Castilian character with immigrations from other parts of the country, conversion of mosques to churches and building new cathedrals and churches. The 1492 Alhambra decree (expelled Spain's Jewish population) also helped demolishing Granada's Jewish neighborhood to make way for new Christian and Castilian institutions such as the Cathedral.
Then came Napoleon's troops in the 19th century destroying some of the city's treasures as they left.
Well, not quite done with Granada yet! We still have the famous Alhambra…. but for now, it is enough.
Hasta en la Alhambra. Adios!
Ayse
The Visigoths maintained the importance of the city as a centre of both religious and civil administration and a military stronghold. During the Roman rule in Spain, a Jewish community settled in a suburb of the city and called it "Gárnata" or "Gárnata al-yahud" (Granada of the Jews). This community helped Moorish forces under Tariq ibn-Ziyad in 711 to conquer the city from Visigoths – ironically, the Jews saw Moors as liberators! The city became the capital of a province of the Caliphate of Cordoba, which was destructed in 1010. During the rule of Zirid dynasty in 1013, Granada became an independent sultanate and the suburb of Gárnata was incorporated into the city – so is the name Granada. By the end of the 11th century, the city expanded across the river Darro to what is now the site of the Alhambra.
In 1228, Ibn al-Ahmar established the longest lasting Muslim dynasty on the Iberian peninsula - the Nasrids. During the Reconquista, the Nasrids aligned themselves with Ferdinand III of Castile (whose son Philip (1231–1274) was promised to the Church, but was so taken by the beauty of Christine, daughter of Haakon IV of Norway, who had been intended as a bride for one of his brothers, that he abandoned his holy vows and married her; she died childless in 1262 – here we go history as a gossip column again!). The state officially became the Kingdom of Granada in 1238. For the next 250 years, the Nasrid sultans and kings paid tribute to the Christian kings and cooperated with them in the battle against rebellious Muslims under Castilian rule. A bit convoluted relationship, no? Power of diplomacy…
The kingdom of Granada (whatever that means) linked the commercial routes from Europe with Northern Africa, particularly the gold trade with the sub-Saharan areas. This function (in addition to gain access to mercenary fighters from North Africa) might be one of the reasons why Castile left this symbolic kingdom in place. When Portugal discovered direct southern African trade routes by sailing around the coast of West Africa, Granada became less important for Castile. With the unification of Castile and Aragon in 1479, conquering Granada and Navarre became a plausible aspiration.
The territory of Nasrids constantly shrank, and by 1492 Granada controlled only a small territory on the Mediterranean coast. Arabic was the official language of the kingdom and was the mother tongue of the majority of the population.
In 1492, the last Muslim leader, Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil to the Spanish, surrendered complete control of Granada, to Ferdinand and Isabella, Los Reyes Católicos ("The Catholic Monarchs"). Boabdil was given the Alpujarras Mountains to the East of Granada to rule although he chose to leave for Tlemsen in Morocco – among fleeing elites who could afford to do so. When the city was reconquered, evidently Boabdil was seen by his mother, Ayse!, to weep as he left the Alhambra. The legend has it that she turned to him, showing the compassion that only a mother can, to say: "Do not weep like a woman for what you could not defend like a man." - hence the name of the Sierra Nevada mountain pass, to cross on the way to the Alpujarras Mountains, that has the last view of Alhambra: Suspiro del Moro (Pass of the Moor's Sigh)! After seeing the Alhambra, I can't help sympathizing with him.
These dates interestingly coincide with the times Ottoman Empire began their European campaigns. I wonder if there was a hope in Nasrid Dynasty for help coming from their Muslim counterparts on the east. Having the Moor historical background, how did the Spanish and Italian feel when Ottoman began invading the Northern Africa? How did this Nasrid relationship with the Christendom, who waged crusades against Turk, sit well? I wonder if the international relations were based on more military, territory and diplomacy than religious in those times, too, which feels counterintuitive given the historical perspective on wars in the name of religion.
The capture of Muslim Granada was the beginning of series of significant events in Granada's - and, of course, Spain's - history. It ended the eight hundred year-long Islamic presence in the Iberian Peninsula. When I think of it, this ruling is almost equivalent to the life of Ottoman Empire in Turkey! No wonder why one gets a completely different feeling of European in Spain. Isolated from the Continental Europe by the Pyrenees (except Catalonia with French influence) during the middle ages, Spain (especially south) must be overpowered by the Moorish culture and enjoyed the artistic and intellectual progress while Europe fighting the dark ages. The Muslim community in those times was experiencing the age of enlightenment. The scholars of science, medicine, philosophy and arts from all over the world would gather in Baghdad to learn and develop ideas and spread the knowledge to the rest of the world. This renaissance in Islamic world might have had something to do with the ingenious engineering artifacts, such as irrigation systems, we see today in Southern Spain from those times.
By 1499 growing frustrated with the slow conversion efforts, Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros undertook a program of forced baptisms, which violated the treaty between Los Reyes Catolicos and Nasrids and provoked an armed revolt centered in the Alpujarras. In response to the rebellion, in 1501 the Castilian Crown overturned the surrender treaty demanding that Granada's Muslims convert or emigrate. The majority of the city's Muslims converted to Christianity, becoming Moriscos, Catholics of Muslim descent. This unified Spain, combined with Isabel’s ambitions, embarked on a mission of expansion around the globe, which lead to Christopher Columbus’ discovery of Americas – maybe by then they had run out of the gold and silver mined in Cartagena and sought the possibilities elsewhere. This was the beginning of the Spanish Empire to become one of the largest empires of the world for its time – where the sun never set (as later for British Empire).
In the 16th century, Granada was progressively transformed to its Christian and Castilian character with immigrations from other parts of the country, conversion of mosques to churches and building new cathedrals and churches. The 1492 Alhambra decree (expelled Spain's Jewish population) also helped demolishing Granada's Jewish neighborhood to make way for new Christian and Castilian institutions such as the Cathedral.
Then came Napoleon's troops in the 19th century destroying some of the city's treasures as they left.
Well, not quite done with Granada yet! We still have the famous Alhambra…. but for now, it is enough.
Hasta en la Alhambra. Adios!
Ayse
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