Tales of the Alhambra

Granada, Saturday 17 October

I was shattered when we arrived in Granada, the early start got the better of me and I had a couple of things I needed to do before bed when we arrived, including finishing my report on our fabulous guide Angel. He has been playing with me all through the trip and there has been a lot of laughter. However since he calls me either Nightmare or Trouble and every little bit of non-scheduled activity that crops up has me mixed in it somewhere (of course I am completely innocent) I have now decided it is time for revenge. I have, with help, been acquiring (tinkered with) photographic evidence of abandonment of duties and wanted to formulate a letter to his employer to deliver to him on our last day. It is appropriate then to be writing about myths and legends.

Irving was inspired to write the mythical stories of the Alhambra Palace during a visit in 1829. It is easy to see how anyone with imagination would be drawn to the Tales, the Palace is very beautiful. We are early and have to wait our tour time so walk through the surrounding gardens first (…and it is freezing compared to Morocco so we try and do that as fast as possible just to keep warm – it is probably about 15 degrees). We enter the palace through the original 12th century building, the first portal is called the Gates of Justice and is where trials for petty crimes were held. It provides a slice of what is to come but as we move through the palace we walk through elegant fretted galleries which become more and more intricate. Arabic characters are in high relief on the walls and the mouldings, mostly white, but which carry splashes of their original blue and green, and are very detailed, best way I can describe it is like a layered filigree. It leaves a stunning impression. There are fountains in the centre of some of the rooms and courtyards and remnants of Moorish baths, all were/are supplied by water sourced from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and circulated only through the magic of gravity. In all its palatial glory it is still an intimate place, and while some won’t agree with me I think it has a feminine feel, a tribute perhaps to the 20 wives and all the other women who lived in the harem here. I am inspired to buy the book so I can understand more about the stories and to flex my own over active imagination further.

Pic is inside the Alhambra Palace.