Islamic Remains in Spain

It is clear to anyone travelling in southern Spain and Portugal that the Moorish past has left its mark on the present-day. This mark is the most obvious in the Islamic buildings that remain, as well as the architecture that they have inspired in Spanish buildings to this day.

We started our tour of Islamic architecture in Sevilla, with a visit to the Alcázar (see post below).

Following on from this, we visited the Mezquita mosque in Córdoba. This mosque was the largest in the West, and was built in a city which was once the seat of power in Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). The mosque, amazingly preserved despite the Reconquista (although converted to a cathedral in the 16th Century), still retains much of its former grandeur (including the beautifully restored mihrab).

Finally, and most importantly, we toured the Alhambra in Granada this morning. A monument that attracts more than 2 million visitors each year, the Alhambra is a beautiful citadel, set atop a hill overlooking Granada, containing gardens, a palace and a fortress.

Our first brush with the Alhambra came two days ago, when we decided to take the bus there in order to pick up our pre-reserved tickets early. What followed was possibly the most hair-raising trip ever (rivalled only by the bus trip to Sacromonte), through narrow winding streets that ought to have been one-way but were, much to our dismay, not. Luckily, we made it back in one piece, although the result was that we were told that we had to pick up our tickets on the morning of our visit.

Braving the bus yet again, we visited the Alhambra this morning and managed to take photos of most of its most beautiful parts before our camera went on the blink (see post below), thanks be to Allah!

Apart from affording us great views of the city and its surrounds, the Nasrid Palaces in particular featured extremely detailed engravings and azelejo tiling.

The gardens were also amazing, although our camera died before we were able to take many photos of them.

Amazing as it has been, in all likelihood this has been a mere taste of what we are about to experience in Morocco.