After yesterday’s major outing the 6:30 alarm was not a
welcome noise. However there was only
one opportunity to visit the Alhambra and I wasn’t going to miss it.
It was still dark but the taxi pulled up spot on 7:30 am and
we were off. It was a very short ride
and with almost no traffic we were dropped off at the Alhambra only moments
later. I had booked tickets on line months
earlier however the booking process on the Spanish cites was unclear and what I
had actually booked was a big question mark. So finding the lineup was a bit of
a panic however we did get into the right line and spot on 8:00 am the gates
opened and we went in.
Alhambra was originally constructed on 889Ad as a small fortress
on top of an earlier Roman fortress. It was continually expanded and reinforced
by the 1333 was made into the royal palace by the Moorish Emir Yusuf I, Sultan
of Granada. When the Islamic kingdom fell to the Christians im the 14 th
century is was intended to be taken over by King Charles V of Spain and he
constructed a new palace on the same grounds but it was never finished and the
place fell into disrepair. Fortunately
it was recovered and has since become a world heritage site. The place is a beautiful example of Islamic architecture.
The tile and plaster work is beyond
belief. The huge carved panels and
engraving are incredibly beautiful. I
cannot imagine how the walls could have been carved with so much skill that
panel after panel is totally faultless.
Agnes and I were on a bit of a tie crunch as we had to be
back at the hotel by 12:00 so we hurried through and the 4 hours just flew
by. We jumped back in a taxi and pulled
up just as Liam finished loading the car and bikes. What timing!
In the car and down the road to Córdoba. We are staying here for the night before
heading back to Liams tomorrow morning.
Córdoba is a beautiful city on to itself. We are staying in an interesting hotel just
across the river from the old down town so we all walked into the town across
the Roman bridge. The Roman bridge has
been rebuilt several times and is now a modern walking bridge. In the old town we had a wonderful supper of
tapas and walked back to the hotel.
What a great day!
Terry
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