Granada in the Sun...worth waiting for

March 9th:

The forecast for today is terrible so we headed out for Coffee and Churros, our favourite breakfast. Chocolate for breakfast is growing on me.


Our first stop today was the Capilla Real or Royal Chapel, commissioned as a mausoleum by Isabelle and Ferdinand it was not completed until 1521 after their deaths. It is actually attached to the Cathedral which was built later...of course on the site of an old Mosque! It is very beautiful inside as befit such important monarchs. All through Spain they are referenced simply as the "Catholic Monarchs" They united Spain under a Christian God pretty much getting rid of the Muslims (infidels) at the same time.









Both these monarchs and their daughter, Juana la Loca and her husband Philip are buried in this chapel which is attached to Granada's famous cathedral. It was Isabelle and Ferdinand who conquered the Moors, took the Alhambra and sent Christopher Columbus off to discover America. It is pretty chilling to see their tombs, a lot of history here.






This is a close up of the monument to Queen Juana. It rests over her tomb in the crypt and her husband lies beside her. Strangely she is facing way from him. It is believed that she was crazy and that she carried her dead husband all around Spain because she would not part from him. They had an arranged marriage but fell in love on the day they actually met and insisted on being married immediately they were in such a hurry to consummate their marriage. Now historians are questioning whether she was really mad or that her Father and husband kept her as a mad woman to steal her throne.

The Cathedral is huge. Construction began in 1521 and it wasn't completed until years later so it is something of a mishmash of style Gothic, baroque, renaissance. There are seven beautiful paintings by Alonso Cano which were designed to hang behind the alter but are now down where you can see them. They are so much lighter than most of the religious art you see in Spain and we both really liked them.


Each of these columns are actually four and they are made of marble. The cathedral is immense but not as large as the one in Toledo. It is quite bright inside with all the white stone. Around the perimeter there are chapels dedicated to various saints. They were cleaning and tuning the organ while we were in there. Quite a sound it can make. I bet it is even better when it is working properly. In every church we have been in they are cleaning, fixing and restoring. I bet they are getting ready for Semana Santa.

This is a picture of one of the two organs in the cathedral. There were two men working away on them while we were in the cathedral. The horn pipes are horizontal which is typical in many Spanish cathedrals.

Semana Santa (Holy Week) is a big thing here in Spain. We will miss it but we planned it that way. too many people and the prices go up quite drastically for everything. We have come to enjoy travelling without having to book too far ahead. We like the freedom which you don't get when there are crowds of people all looking for hotels at the same time.


This is the main alter. Kind of hard to get in one picture. It is a bit dark because you are not allowed to use a flash. Bob's camera takes very good photos under these conditions.

When we came out of the cathedral the sun was shining! Unbelievable! After all that rain! Although I was a reluctant Nancy talked me into taking a bus up into the Albaycin Quarter again (was she right again). We took the bus up to the top where you can look across at the Alhambra, a fantastic place to take pictures. We could see the snow capped Sierra Nevada Mountains behind the Alhambra. Two pretty amazing sights in one.

The view from the restaurant where we had lunch. You would not think we would be happy to see snow!

We had lunch in a restaurant where we could sit gazing on the Alhambra in the sun and sipping a glass of wine. The food was good too, we shared a lamb couscous which was appropriate for the neighbourhood.

Granada's new modern Mosque has been built on the top of this hill. There is a lovely courtyard from where you can look down at the city and straight across to the Alhambra. While we stood there staring in awe the Muezzin gave the call for prayer from the minaret. We felt quite clearly that Islamic culture is still very much present in this part of Spain. One of those moments when you feel lost in time.

In the minaret (shown below) you can see the Muezzin making the call to prayer.

The view from the Albaycin. You can see the cathedral quite well from here.


Looking down a very narrow street in the Albaycin. This is the area of Granada where the Muslims were pushed to after the Catholic Monarchs took the city. They were allowed to practice their religion for only a few years and then the bishops instigated the Inquisition.