Pomegranate

   So I translated the title for everybody.  In Spanish it would be "Granada", and this past weekend I took a bite.  I must say that I think this has been my favorite Spanish city so far.  I love Alicante, but I secretly wish I'd picked Granada to study in.  Don't tell anybody.

   This trip was coordinated by the lovely folks over at CC-CS, so at a complete headcount, we in the program were shuttled four and a half hours southwest into Andalusia, Spain's southernmost autonomous community.  Until we arrived, I didn't realize that the city would have such an Islamic cultural influence.  Everywhere you go there are storefronts full of hookahs and téterias full of tea (and hookahs), not to mention it has NYC easily beat for felafel per capita.  A few blocks from our hotel was a shopping district full of tiny stores selling tapestries, tea sets, statuettes, ornate boxes, and a whole host of trinkets that ring of Middle Eastern culture.  And there's la Alhambra, the old Islamic palace.

   The story is that from the years 711 to 1492, the Iberian Peninsula was called Al-andalus and it was ruled by the Muslim Caliphate, which came from North Africa.  On January 2nd, 1492, the Granada War ended when the city was surrendered back to the Catholic monarchs, marking the finalization of the Reconquista and the end of Al-andalus.  And yes, the year Spain became Spain, she accomplished what is perhaps still her greatest feat: giving Christopher Colombus the thumbs up.  So anyway Granada and its environs were under Islamic rule longer than any other part of the country, and the city's culture proves it.

Gardens at la Alhambra - Granada

   I mentioned la Alhambra, the Moorish citadel.  In Arabic, 'al hambra' means "the red one", as it is made of red clay bricks, though since it was built the color has faded to a dull shade of salmon.  Despite the salmon, la Alhambra is one of the most scenic sites I've yet to see in Spain.  It exists of many towers, courtyards, and gardens connected by stone pathways.  There is almost always a stunning vista of the Sierra Nevada mountains.  And the buildings are constructed with stars painted on the ceilings, prayers inscribed decoratively along the walls, and color patterns that utilize gold and silver leaf.  But I was most impressed by the gardens, where exotic foliage lines several patios that look out toward the mountains and pathways lead you past plain buildings, strange flowers, and long pools of water.  The pressurized fountains are a relatively recent addition, as are the tourists, and while both reduce the tranquility that I imagine once existed, they don't detract from the skillful make and upkeep of the gardens.  At times the walls and hedges made the area into something of a maze, and with new discoveries around every corner and through every green, growing archway, I felt like it was Lewis Carol who put me there.

   Then just around the time my feet felt like taking a break and my stomach felt like cradling a kebob, we left la Alhambra and went to the center of town to grab a bite.  Then we returned to the hotel for a much needed siesta before going to see two famous churches.  The first was Capilla Real (the Royal Chapel), which is no bigger than the average catholic church, though the interior is quite grand.  Past the "FOTOS NO" signs, you find yourself in the dimly lit main hall, set in blues and golds, and before a massive iron gate that stretches from ceiling to floor and wall to wall.  Through the gate, the lights from the alter make the place come more alive.  The alter piece, which also stretches from ceiling to floor, depicts in sculpture several scenes from the Bible, the most notable being the last stories to tell of John the Evangelist and John the Baptist, to whom the church is dedicated.  The Evangelist had his head chopped off, while the Baptist, rather ironically, was boiled in a big pot.  But the best decor in the chapel has to be the 500 year old sarcophagi of los reyes catolicos, Isabella I and Fernando I, the same couple of monarchs who gave Chris Columbus the go-ahead.  To see their tombs, one must get in line, walk down a set of stairs in front of the alter, look to the right, nod appreciatively, and continue back up the stairs.  In a separate room, they also have the king's sword and both crowns among several royal tomes and robes.  Isabella and Fernando had commissioned the church to be built in eleven years, a short amount of time considering the technology of the time and the intricacy of the work, though unfortunately it wasn't completed until the 20th century when the gift shop was added at the exit.

Behind the Alter - Catedral de Granada

   Next we went to Catedral de Grenada.  This cathedral, the second largest in Spain, blew me away and made me feel small.  White and gold overtones grace the architecture, which shoots up the open space to a ceiling in the sky.  Because of the situation of the pillars and the organ, the center is the only place you can see the entire room, giving the illusion from the perimeter that the place could go on and on.  All along the walls, there are some ten greatly impressive murals consisting of biblical sculpture and paintings.  The gilded alter piece is even taller, overlooking the pews as does the centuries old (still functioning) organ.  It is a very pensive environment, so I sat down on one of the pews for a good think. I thought, "Art and architecture today is simply not done with such patience these days," shortly before we got up to leave.

   Okay we're taking a quick detour.  As I write, I am on a flight from a layover in Germany headed to Florence, Italy, and I'm currently witnessing the Alps for the first time.  Looking ahead out the window, the foothills are backset by a range of enormous summits, some of which stand out tall among the rest, until they disappear into the clouds in the distance.  Each summit is snow capped, making me want to jump on my snowboard and conquer them all.  There are dark green valleys bearing empty roads and sparsely placed houses, between the blue and white stretches of peaks.  I see a series of lakes that rise in a staircase pattern up the side of a ridge, one of which is frozen and the largest of which is at the top with an elevated road winding around the side.  Julie Andrews and seven children are running around dressed in window drapes, singing jolly songs.  Just kidding.  I'm now reentering foothill territory, but I can still see the expansive range curve off into the distance and disappear into the horizon.  Pretty.

   Anyway, we went out for dinner that night at a traditional tapas restaurant, where they serve dishes at random family style, in rounds.  Each round costs two euros per person.  It's like playing an arcade game.  Then a group of us marched thirty minutes to a club that overlooks la Alhambra, which is quite beautifully lit at night.  The place had two stories, an open air patio on top, several laser lit dance floors, two bars, and probably some rest rooms.  There is no place quite like this in Alicante, and to boot, they varied slightly from the usual list of Spanish club songs.  [Side note - They literally play the same ten electro-pop songs in most bars and clubs in Spain.]  So it was a good time worth the walk.

   The next morning, I went with four amigos on one last téteria run for tea and kebobs before heading to the trinket shopping district.  There I bought a big yellow tapestry with elephants on it, so to the residents of 509 South Aurora: I hope you don't mind sharing the first floor living room with a herd of happy pachyderms.  Then at 3pm, we met in the hotel lobby and filed into the bus back to Alicante.  It had been an enchanting visit, and I hope to one day return to Granada, though hopefully for more than just one weekend.

   Legal disclaimer: When I first tried to upload this piece, it failed and erased itself to the half finished version, then my mom was here so I didn't make time to rewrite the entry until now.  For this reason, "this past weekend" really means two weekends ago, and the airplane scene is a recreation.  Hope you got a kick out of it anyway.  Stay tuned.