Mezquita, catedral, y Alhambra / Mosque, Cathedral, and Alhambra

This past weekend ISA took us to Córdoba and Granada. These are two cities in southern Spain that were heavily influenced by the Moors. Granada is in fact the last place in Iberia that the Moors ruled; it was from Granada that Fernando e Isabel expelled them in 1492.

Friday morning we met up at Hotel Bécquer where ISA always has us meet. We got on the bus, where most people went to sleep but I as usual was much too excited about traveling to sleep. We got to Córdoba and walked over this old bridge right to the Mezquita (mosque). The mezquita in Córdoba is VERY old (built by the Moors) and when the Christians “reconquered” southern Spain they sort of turned it into a cathedral. This mosque isn’t really a mosque, but it’s not really a cathedral either. It has all the parts of both. Right next to each other. Everything was built on top of other parts. It’s REALLY cool to see. I enjoyed the contrast between Moorish and Christian architecture – the Christian stuff tends to look like they went crazy decorating every surface they could see. The Moorish stuff is simpler and more thoughtful…I like it better. After touring the mezquita/catedral our tour guide took us on a walking tour of the judería, the old Jewish neighborhood. So we got a good sense of all three religions…

We had free time for lunch, so we (me, Sarah F., Sarah B., Meseret, Lori, Katie, Alyssa, Lauren C.) ate our bocadillos in the courtyard of the mezquita/catedral and then wandered around the streets some more. We really only had 4 hours in Córdoba. Not very much, but enough to see the big stuff. Also enough time to find out that my prosthetic arm is a gypsy repellent. I was talking with some friends from another study abroad program who were also in Córdoba for the day (they are super cool people) when a gypsy came up and touch my left arm asking for money. Before I could turn to her to say no she jerked backward and looked super freaked out. Then she left – quickly.

We got back on the bus to head to Granada! During this bus ride Lauren C. and Meseret were awake also so it was fun. We had our own little dance party in the back of the bus. We arrived in Granada around 6 PM. Lori and I went to our room, and then she went exploring with Katie and Alyssa. Lauren C. came to our room and we played that card game where you predict each other’s love lives. I don’t think I had played since high school so that was a lot of fun! Then we got dressed for the flamenco show. We met in the lobby and ISA walked us up a giant hill so we could photos of the Alhambra at night. It was a BEAUTIFUL view, but my camera didn’t capture it very well. Eventually ISA walked us over to the flamenco place (in a cave!) where we saw a fantastic flamenco show. The second part of the show was better – there was a crazy old lady dancer who kept yelling “no video” at the crowd (I think she meant no cameras, but that confused us because we had all been taking pictures the whole time). Afterward I went for dinner with Ryan, Sarah H., Lauren P., Jenny, Jen, and Kelli. We ended up at a Burger King…I know, fail, but it was only because we were didn’t want to wander around a lot at that point. We decided to do tapas for lunch the next day instead. Most of the group went back to the hotel, but Ryan and Sarah H. and I stayed out. Granada is mostly a university town so we wanted to see what the nightlife was like. After a good bit of wandering around (Granada is pretty small so we saw a lot of it this way) we finally found a good spot, where we met up with Malia. The bar we found her at had free tapas when you bought a drink! They were legit food too, like a whole plate of it. Sadly I was too full to eat any of my tapa… We went to a couple more bars, just wandering around and enjoying the city at night. We ended the night at a great place where we danced and had a good time.

Saturday we had to get up early to eat breakfast (I love the hotel breakfasts I’ve had in Spain and Portugal – so sad that the only time I’ll be in a hotel after this is Morocco) and check out. I had breakfast with Katie, Alyssa, and Lori, and then we headed to the buses to see the Alhambra. The Alhambra is…ay Dios mío I can’t describe it. It’s incredible. The Moors really thought about what they were building. Rooms have 4 sides because of the 4 rivers in paradise – water, wine, milk, and honey. 4 windows in each wall for the same reason. 4 times 4 is 16. 1 plus 6 is 7. Why does this matter? Because there are 7 levels of heaven attainable by man (the 8th is only for the Almighty): 7th heaven. Everything was constructed with so much detail. Our tour guide was fantastic. His name was Ángel. He grew up in Germany and spoke 5 languages (Spanish, English, German, Danish, and Italian). His English was perfect. It was cool to hear too because it sometimes sounded British but with an Australian sound every now and then. I think he was supposed to give us the tour in Spanish, and he did do a lot of it in Spanish, but hearing his English was cooler. His Spanish was impeccable too though – his enunciation was very easy to understand. Anyway, he’s the one who told us all these cool things about the Alhambra. For instance, the “OK” hand sign we make? That comes from the Arabic symbol for Allah, because only Allah is perfect. Also, there’s a story of a sultan who found his preferred wife cheating on him (on a tree in a courtyard – more about the tree in a moment). He didn’t see who the man was, but he saw his family crest on his arm as he ran away. So that sultan got all the men in that family in one room and killed them all. Crazy. And the tree? Supposedly if you touch it you will find your one true love within a year. Sadly, it is blocked off so I couldn’t test this theory. But Ángel said he’s touched it 3000 times and it’s working all the time. So much of the Alhambra was about making the invisible visible. The way they hid 7th heaven in everything…the way the pools of water reflected what you couldn’t actually see yet…just stunning. Absolutely stunning. If you ever see anything in Spain, see the Alhambra.

After the Alhambra tour we walked back into town and did tapas with the same group as the night before (Malia, Ryan, Sarah H., Lauren P., Jenny, Jen, and Kelli). The first tapas place we went to was not very good, so we went back to the place from the night before and had excellent food for soooooooooo cheap. It was very crowded though so we ate standing up. It was an adventure. :-) Granada was wonderful. I slept on the bus ride back (and woke up with a hoarse voice – don’t know how that happened). Went home and continued with a normal sevillano weekend. Will write again this week before Morocco (the trip is coming up so soon!!!). ¡Besos!