Last Week at the Alhambra

Sorry for the lack of updates!! My excuse is that we had three quizzes and a paper due last week, as well as almost no WiFi this past weekend. This week, however, I'll have three presentations, two quizzes, and an oral exam, so there'll be even more to do!

We have done A LOT this past week (then again, we do a lot every week). Within four days, we managed to visit the Alhambra, the Cathedral and Alcazar Palace in Seville, the famous Mosque/Cathedral in Cordoba, and the Cathedral and Royal Chapel of Granada. I'm personally really glad that we have had so many trips planned for us. I would not have planned to do most of what we have done, but I have enjoyed every tour, and they have sparked, in me, a love for history.

The Alhambra is a castle in Granada that was built hundreds of years ago by the Muslim Moors. The Alhambra contains three parts, the defensive third, the palaces, and the gardens. It was very cool to see, especially with tour guides that explained so much and could answer any questions from overly enthusiastic students...like me. I was blown away before we even entered the building. As we were walking towards the entrance, our guide told us that "al" means "the" in Arabic, so words starting with "al" usually originate from Arabic. Some of these words include alcohol and algebra. How cool is that?! And Alhambra means "The Red" because the colors of the walls were like the red color of the Earth. She then explained all of the symbolism on the walls of the entrance, and we later realized that every design on the inside of the walls were also extremely symbolic. Then we entered. The defensive third was very cool because you were walking through what really looked and felt like a castle! We saw the ramparts, the Canon balls, the dungeons, the Arab baths. We saw a beautiful view of the city from there as well.

Then we entered the second part: the palaces. As we went further into the palaces, the walls became more and more decorated, more and more intricate, and more and more breath-taking. Our guide did not tell us the significance of every design because there were so many, but she did explain to us that all the designs incorporated three components: geometry, nature, and Arabic writings. We also saw beautiful pools and fountains. Seriously, Spain has SO MANY fountains. I love them. The palaces were my favorite part of the castle. I had never seen anything like it in my life.

The third and final part of the Alhambra was the gardens. It had very cool, large designs that are great to just walk through on a nice afternoon. Unfortunately, considering that it is Winter time here, there were not many flowers blooming, but there was still another beautiful view of the city.

We learned that the Alhambra castle was kept standing to be a symbol of the power of the Christians who defeated the Moors, and I'm glad it was because it is truly stunning.