A Whole New World
As I prepare for my first midterm in Spanish Culture and Civilization and return from my trip to Cordoba & Granada in Southern Spain, I can’t help but notice the Aladdin-esque foundations that Spain has risen out of. In the 8th century, the Iberian Peninsula was occupied by the Moors, and in the United States, we usually focus on the importance of the Christian’s Reconquest in the 11th century when learning about the Iberian, completing skipping over the amazing influence and works of art and culture that the Moors have left behind in Spain; the Moors who have to a large extent, shaped the unique Spanish (and Catholic) culture and civilization that you’ll find in Spain today! Granada being the last Muslim stronghold on the Iberian sported a TON of that Islamic influence.
Before making our way down to beautiful Granada, we made a quick stop in Cordoba, also a city with immense Islamic influence. Other then having what was the most disgusting meal I’ve had yet in Spain, I couldn’t even look at the fried turkey & chorizo hot dogs, we did a walking tour of Cordoba experiencing the old town inside the city walls and La Mezquita, which is now a Cathedral, and altogether an overwhelming clash of Catholic and Muslim culture. Inside the walls of this Muslim masterpiece is one of the most beautiful Catholic altars I’ve ever seen, and because it has been transformed into a Cathedral, the Muslims are forbidden to practice their religion there….irony? Cryptically confused, we cleared our palates with some gelato and headed back to our “classic bus” for a little more quality motor coach time. 3 hours later, and 8 pm on Friday, we finally arrived in Granada! After making a quick shower and change, we headed out to get the first of too many Kebaps we would enjoy last weekend, before continuing on our way to, where else, an Irish pub! In honor of St Patrick’s Day, the fact that we will be studying for a midterm on the REAL St. Patrick’s day, and our genuine love for Irish pubs in any city, we were drawn to Hannigan’s. When we drank them dry, we headed to the river to catch a peek of the Alhambra, the Sultan’s historic palace, at night before we were truly able to experience it the next morning.
Saturday, our 9 am alarm went off about 3 hour too early, and we headed out for a 3 and a half hour tour of the Alhambra. Highlights included our British tour guide who was a hysterical, walking American flag, the unbelievable view of the Sierra Nevada’s from the top of the watch tower, the stunning gardens that would have been an amazing place to get married, the reflecting pool in the Nazaries Palaces, and Generalife, the Sultan’s summer-day-retreat mansion just outside of the Alhambra walls. It was like a dune road summer house, but different. After being wowed by the Muslim mosaic, art, architecture, calligraphy, and basically anything they touched, we headed back to the patio of our favorite Kebap place for a lunch time fix, before heading to the Arab baths. This was by far my favorite part of the trip. There were 8 different temperature Jacuzzi-like pools, and you went from cold to hot, to warm, to cold and just closed your eyes and relaxed to the soothing music, before you were called for your massage. We had the entire place to ourselves, for an hour and a half; it was a slice of heaven. That was SO my scene. Since it was upwards of 75 degrees the entire time we were there and I packed jeans, I made a quick stop in Zara on the way home to grab a pair of shorts for Sunday before heading back to our 3 star hotel for a quick nap.
Saturday night we did about a 20 minute hike up to a little mountain town where we watched a Flamenco show with the lit up Alhambra as the backdrop. The view was breathtaking; I kept forgetting to watch the show. Although I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t a traditional Flamenco show, but an interpretation of ALADDIN through Flamenco, it was funny all the same hearing A Whole New World and Arabian Nights sang in Spanish and being able to follow along. I did my best to carry the spirit through the rest of the night, by starting A Whole New World sing along anywhere we went. After doing the famous “buy a drink get a tapa” Granada thing, we headed out to experience Botellon at its finest. Botellon is literally drinking in the streets, and is a Spanish past time when it’s warm outside (despite the fact that it’s illegal, there’s strength in numbers). We were taken to the packed Hiper Cor plaza, where there were hundreds of people & bottles of wine, and it may have been one of the best nights since I’ve been in Spain. Not only did I spend almost no money, but it was really fun to be doing something I would probably never again do in my life.
The 2 hour walking tour of Granada’s old town was a little rough Sunday morning, but we did manage to get a group shot in front of the Alhambra at a beautiful lookout. There is actually no flat ground in Granada, you’re either going uphill or downhill, talk about miserable. After making our way down from the lookout, we headed to the Capilla Real, adjacent to Granada’s cathedral, where the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabel are, yes we went down in the crypt and saw their caskets and yes it was freaky.
After one last Kebap and some gelato, it was back on the bus for a 5 hour ride back to Madrid, reality and miserable Mondays.
Granada was great! Partly because everything was planned out for us and we didn’t waste anytime figuring out what we wanted to do and partly because we were all together. All 40 BC kids were in the same hotel, did the same things, and spent the whole weekend together. It was like a big family and was really great spending time with everyone! Better still, I’m already tan, it’s all natural and it’s MARCH! Jealous?! One short week after another, I just have to get through tomorrow morning’s midterm, before I head out for Ireland tomorrow night for 5 days! I’m taking it back to my roots, again. We have a bold itinerary of Dublin, Cork (&the blarney stone), and Galway (& the Cliff of Moher) all in 5 days. I think we can work it out; we have the luck of the Irish on our side!
