Spain and Dubai Day 11. Granada Spain. 5 Oct 25

OK stand back everyone, believe it or not, but we started our day with two consecutive church services!! Things you do on holiday.
Our day started with a 10am service in Capilla Real (Royal Chapel). Long story short, there are two ways to see this Chapel, go in as a tourist or go in to attend a service. You cannot take photos either way, so we opted for the service so we could experience it as a working Chapel. The chapel itself is a Renaissance style building and was built to house the sanctuary the tombs of Queen Isabella, Ferdinand III, Alfonso X, and other Castilian royalty, along with a venerated image of the Virgen de los Reyes, built in the years 1512 to 1517. The Gothic Cathedral was then built around the chapel in the second half of the 16th century. We were very lucky, we entered the chapel at sat towards the back, a bit before 10am they opened the gates into the sanctuary, the highly ornate part of the chapel that contains the tombs and alter. As everyone started to move inside we followed and got seats at the back. The service was performed by 5 priests assisted by alter buys (apparently alter boys these days are 40 to 50 year old men!). The music and singing for the service was pre-recorded, but it still added to the atmosphere. We both enjoyed the opportunity to see the chapel, without it being full of tourists.
We left the Royal Chapel at the end of the service, 11am, and walked around to the Cathedral, the service there started at 11am. We got in passed security no problem, and got a seat at the back. That put us about 75m from the alter, such a long way back. They had a woman leading the congregation in singing and we could see someone was actually playing the organ. The Cathedral is massive, it has many huge columns supporting the roof. The Gothic section has a length of 126 m, a width of 76 m, and a central nave height of 36 m, 40 m at the crossing). The total height of the Giralda tower from the ground to the weather vane is 104.5 m. At the time is was built is surpassed the Hagia Sophia as the largest Cathedral in the world. We both enjoyed the singing and music, in such a big chamber it resonated. We left the service about halfway through, enough religion for one day!
From here we went back to our hotel to take stock before our tour in the afternoon.
Our tour in the afternoon took us to the 13th century Alhambra, a complex palace with breathtaking Islamic decor and beautifully landscaped gardens that literally took centuries and the input of 5 distinct historical influences to shape it into what we see today, an extraordinary palace complex that is unmistakably Islamic in design with subtle changes by Christian rules over the years.
Its most earliest fortifications date back to the 9th century, but its was the Islamic Nasrid Dynasty that made it into the Palace / Fortress we see today. Between the 9th and 15th century it was transformed into a Palace and palatine city. The Court of the Lions, Sala de los Abencerrajes, and Sala de las Dos Hermanas were all added in this time period. The Nasrid design was all about power, subtle but ever present, from the Mexuar (audience hall) to the Palacio de Comares (home to the Hall of Ambassadors) to the Palacio de los Leones with its centrepiece the Court of the Lions.
The entire complex is a tribute to Islamic design and art, with its ceramic tiling, woodwork and decoration. There are manicured gardens throughout and water is a common feature whether it be ponds, fountains, running water in open streams and the ever present sound of water everywhere. The gardens added the atmosphere of Moorish culture by providing a background of perfume. It was interesting to see how the Nazari monarchs moved the daily lives and living areas through the buildings dependent on the weather.
In 1492 the Nasrid dynasty was overthrown by the Christian Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, ending Muslim rule of Granada. The Alhambra became their Royal Court, and it is where Christopher Columbus was given their sponsorship for his voyage to the Americas. (it was actually for him to sail west to India, but he ran into the Americas instead). It became the Palace of Charles V in 1526, and he commissioned a Renaissance styled Palace, that was never completed, within the complex.
The Alhambra fell into disrepair in the 18th and 19th centuries. Napoleon’s forces damaged parts of it in 1812. A Romantic Revival attributed to the works of Washington Irving, specifically his “Tales of the Alhambra” that drew international attention to it and the start of restorative works.
The Alhambra received UNESCO World Heritage Site designation in 1984.
We have found a new interest/liking of Moorish Islamic buildings, they are much more conservative in design than the Christian churches and cathedrals of the same periods. The clean lines and symmetry are more relaxing than the busy intricacies of the Christian structures.
We moved from the buildings to the gardens, Deb’s special place. All of the gardens had formal design, and water was an intricate part. Hedges, archways, avenues, ponds and flower beds. You could feel the coolness the gardens added, and a sense of calm from the combination of gardens and water. A very relaxing way to finish our tour.
We walked back down the hill through forests to the city, it was about a 1.5km walk, and we enjoyed it. At the bottom of the hill we found a stated of Columbus being given his commission by the King, an interesting way to finish our explorations for the day.