The origins
of Granada date back to the 5th Century when
it was known as Ilbyr, 500 years later the Romans
inhabited the area and called it Illibris. The
arrival of the Moors saw during the following
two and a half centuries a cultural, artistic
and economic boom and during the Nazrid period
the spectacular Alhambra was built.
The origins of Granada date back to the 5th
Century when it was known as Ilbyr, 500 years
later the Romans inhabited the area and called
it Illibris. The arrival of the Moors saw during
the following two and a half centuries a cultural,
artistic and economic boom and during the Nazrid
period the spectacular Alhambra was built.
Alhambra comes from the Arabic Al- qala’at
al-hamra meaning “the red fort”
and perched on top of La Sabika is like something
from a fairy tale, (Gerald Brenan refers to
it as a “glorified gazebo”, which
seems a bit harsh!). There are three distinct
groups of buildings on Alhambra hill (known
as Sabika by the Moors.) The Casa Real (Royal
Palace), the summer gardens of the Generalife
and the Alcazaba, the last fortress of the 11th
Century Ziridian rulers when the Nasrids made
Granada their capital.
It was the last Muslim city to fall to the
Christians and the Catholic monarchs Isobel
of Castile and Fernando of Aragón entered
Granada in 1492 and actually inhabited the Alhambra
for a time. They restored some rooms and converted
the mosque, but left the palace unaltered. By
the 18th Century the Casa Real was used as a
prison and in 1812 it was taken and occupied
by Napoleon’s forces. They looted and
damaged whole sections of the Palace and while
retreating tried to blow up the whole complex.
A wounded soldier who stayed behind and destroyed
the fuses and thwarted the destruction of one
of the most visited and admired monuments in
the world.
On the hill facing the Alhambra is the Albaicín
with its maize of narrow, hilly streets and
whitewashed houses with their secluded cármenes
(inner gardens). The Plaza de San Nicolas stands
at the highest point of the Albaicín
and is famous for its magnificent view of the
Moorish palace across the Darro valley. The
Sacromonte is the gitano (gypsy) quarter and
has been inhabited since the 18th Century. The
population live in caves that have been dug
in the hillside and from these clans many of
Spain’s best flamenco guitarists, singers
and dancers have evolved.
Many caves that lie on the far side of the
old Moorish wall have been deserted since severe
flooding in 1962. Granada a beautiful, romantic,
individual and distinctive city is an important
university town, a quarter of its inhabitants
studying or teaching at the illustrious and
very old university. Carlos I of Spain and V
of Germany founded the university, it was inherited
from the old Islamic University founded by Sultan
Yusef I several centuries before. |
