Ferdinand II and Isabella – The ExhaustNotes Blog

By Joe Berk

It doesn’t get more Spanish than the Alhambra. Until this visit if anyone had mentioned Alhambra I would have thought of our Alhambra here in California, but this was the real deal: The original Alhambra in Granada, Spain.

Walking the streets in and around the original Alhambra fortress. The red comes from iron in the clay brick construction. The walls aren’t really curved; the curvature here is from my Rokinon 8mm lens. It’s manual everything (f-stop, shutter speed, and focus) when mounted on my Nikon D3300 digital camera.

Alhambra translates from Arabic as “the red fortress.” The Moors controlled the Iberian peninsula from the early 8th to the 15th centuries, and many Spanish words and names include the syllable “al” (Alava, Alvarez, etc.). “Al” in Arabic means “the.” “Al” became “el” in Spanish; “al” remains the first syllable many Spanish words.

The foundations of an earlier structure show the area was first fortified in the 8th century by Visigoths (Germanic people who were part of the Roman Empire). The Arabs arrived next, and they hung around for 800 years. Our visit to the Iberian peninsula was a bit shorter (we were there for 15 days).

A wide angle photo of the Alcazaba (the Citadel) and its interior. This is the oldest part of the Alhambra.

The Alhambra’s ownership changed many times. Moorish rule ended in 1492 when the Emirate of Granada surrendered to King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella (she financed Christopher Columbus’s expedition to America). Ferdinand II and Isabella only lived in the Alhambra for a tumultuous few months. While there, old Ferdinand and Isabella expelled Spain’s Jews unless they converted to Christianity, and that started the horror known as the Spanish Inquisition. I didn’t know this when we visited the Alhambra; I learned it while writing this blog. I suppose that’s good; I might not have enjoyed the Alhambra as much if I knew this while I was there.

Inside the Palace of Charles V’s courtyard, an Italian-inspired building commissioned in 1527.

We walked the grounds of the Alhambra most of the morning. There were the fortress and palace buildings described above, the inevitable souvenir and trinket shops, and stunning gardens and courtyards.

One of several pools and gardens in the Alhambra. It was almost too much to take in on a single visit. I think I just decided a return is necessary.

A magnicently-framed photo of the Convent of St. Francis, also known as the Palacio del Convento de San Francisco. It was built over a Moorish building. Today, it is a hotel. I shot this photo with the Nikon kit 15-55mm lens, which is not a high end lens. The original photo doesn’t show the rich greens you see here (they were all very dark), but because I shot in RAW, Photoshop’s auto adjustment really made the picture come alive. The is the same structure and vantage point you see in the photo at the top of this blog.

After taking in the courtyards we entered the fortress area. The photo ops were phenomenal.

The view from the Alhambra overlooking Granada.

Another view of Granada from the Alhambra.

There’s a beautiful pathway that leads from the Alhambra to Granada. It has good shade, it was cool, and the walk was all downhill.

Fellow traveler Ibrahim seizing the moment. Ibrahim showed several of his photos to me from this and previous adventures; he is an exceptionally talented photographer.

Walking into Grenada from the Alhambra. The day was magnificent; the weather was perfect.

Granada is located at the base of Spain’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. It’s history and occupations parallel those of the Alhambra. The surrounding area is believed to have been populated since at least 5500 B.C. Nobody is certain what “Granada” means in either Spanish or Arabic. The city is the capital of the Spanish province of Granada.

A Granada sign explaining the Albaicin area, an historic area that retains its medieval look and streets.

One of many photogenic doorways in Granada.

Decorative borders for sale in a Granada shop.

Granada’s city center has a beautiful town square, bordered at one end by the Santa Iglesia Catedral Metropolitana de la Encarnación de Granada. We stopped to take it all in after we enjoyed a lunch in one of Granada’s many sidewalk cafe restaurants. The first hit of empanadas there was free, but our initial empenada serving was a seafood medley with little octopuses (octopi?) we didn’t like. Our waiter picked up on that, took them away, and returned with chicken empanadas. Lunch was great.

Anything for a few likes, I guess. These young gals staged an impromptu belly dance video in front of the *Santa Iglesia Catedral Metropolitana de la Encarnación de Granada*.

As was the case in every city we visited in Spain and Portugal, two-wheeled transportation is part of the culture. Our tour was by bus and high speed rail and it was great, but I missed being on a motorcycle. The traffic didn’t look too crazy and on previous motoadventures I made it through China and Colombia. I think I could handle Spain and Portugal on a motorcycle. Maybe next time.

Granada was great. That evening, we had a wild taxi ride to the top of a mountain to watch the Flamenco dancers. That’s coming up next, so stay tuned.