Today I got to check off an item on my bucket list: Visiting the Alhambra palace in Granada. Let me give you the briefest history: The Alhambra is a palace and fortress, originally built by Moorish kings in the city of Granada. It eventually became a place of great beauty. When the Christian King and Queen Ferdinand and Isabel re-conquered Granada in 1492, they made the Alhambra their palace, changing little. They even received Christopher Columbus there as he made the ‘pitch’ for his exploration.
The grounds have been added to since and, sadly, much was destroyed by Napoleon’s troops in 1812. One of the reasons I came to Spain was to see some of the locations where Islam and Christianity came into conflict and view the aftermath. Let me show you some pictures of the palace and surroundings:
We also visited the old town section of Granada, around the cathedral. It is a beautiful city.
We are now in Seville, another city with Moorish influence and also the river port where Columbus left for what he thought would be India. Bad call, but it worked out OK for him and Spain.
Interestingly, two blocks down from the hotel is the city’s Soccer/Football stadium and tonight the two big Seville teams are playing each other. I can hear cheering and singing from the stadium and it was a zoo outside the hotel for a while.
