March 30 - Granada

The Alhambra was built when the Nasrid dynasty ruled Granada. This huge complex consisted of the Nasrid palace, Generalife (gardens & country palace) & Alcazaba (military fort). For conservation reasons, entry to the Nasrid palace was restricted to 300 persons every half hour. Therefore, when visitors bought a ticket, it had a "time of entry" (half hour interval) on it - and one can choose either a morning visit or an evening visit. 

Getting a ticket wasn't a problem for us. According to our ticket, our entry time was 0930 to 1000. So after a leisurely breakfast, we sauntered over to the entrance where we stood in line to enter the palace, all excited to see what grand palace looked like. Only to be told minutes later that we weren't allowed in 'cos it was past our entry time. Huh? I pointed to my watch. My friend pointed to her watch and looked at mine. The gatekeeper pointed to his watch and we all looked at his. Why does it say 10:30 am? Then it occurred to me. Daylight saving time change. Arghs! Time has sprung forward by an hour. Double arghs! I was under the impression that the time change had already occurred before I arrived in Spain. 

So the clueless tourists (i.e. us & quite a few others) apologized for being clueless and asked if there was any way we could enter at the next timeslot instead. Nope. We'd have to buy another ticket. This annoying bureaucratic answer was given to us by 3 different parties, each with varying levels of fluency in English. But the message was clear. So that was our 12 Euro mistake.

We could, however, visit the Generalife and Alcazaba (military fort) at any time, so we did. This is the latter.

Now let's skip the Generalife for the moment and proceed to the Nasrid palace. Our "new" tickets were for an evening visit. Just as guidebooks and past visitors have claimed, the palace was a grand sight indeed. This was my first (of many later in the trip) encounter with such extensive Islamic architecture. (Previous doses were small, like in Dubai.) 

To me, the Islamic style of decoration was geometric, colorful (mosaics) & ornate. Almost too much at times. It would seem as if no surface was spared. The idea behind the Alhambra was a paradise created on Earth. Space, light, water and decoration were manipulated to create such an effect.

Heh. If you lived in the palace, this would be one of your (many) views.

Now on to the Generalife. The lush gardens. I don't quite know how to describe the huge gardens, which were made up of fountains, "sculpted" hedges, citrus trees and lots of other plants. I can, however, imagine how calming it was to walk the paths on a fine day, away from the stress and pressure of having to rule a country.

This would be an ideal place to sit and contemplate life. Or just think about what to have for dinner. 

Water is an essential element in Islam. It is also the essence of the gardens of Paradise. Thus, water features, such as fountains big and small, pools, are common in palaces built by Muslim rulers.

Looking out at the gardens. 

Again, the intricate carvings.