Monday, April 11, 2011

The Warriors Den

The Alhambra of Grenada
Part 2 (Part 1 here)
Alxazaba/ Charles V. Palace


Walking to the fortress and the Narid Palace you have a view back up to the Generalife, we walked by the gorgeous Palace hotel in the center to where the burial place for the Catholic Ferdinand V and Isabella I is, in a Crypt in the Royal Chapel. The two were known to bring unification to Spain (15th Century). A continuos Golden time for Spain and the Catholics but turned in to a rather horrible time for the Jews and Muslims with the "inquisition". The Spanish inquisition was established in 1480 and meant in simple terms that you either had to convert or leave.


The ceiling of the Crypt

Burial Stone

Ferdinand V and Isabella I, conquered Granada in 1492 and then turned the mosque into a church.

The Palace of Charles V

With the later rule of Charles V. the Holy Roman Emperor continued the colonization of America and in Granada he decided to build a palace befitting an emperor. The Palace is built by Pedro Machuca (1527) in a mannerism style... and to be honest it seems directly insulting to the surroundings. A building with grandeur on the outside and empty on the inside, a building built to impress not for any particular stated use. Now though they have filled the empty spaces with gallery's and museums. 


Alcazaba

I walked to the Alcazaba with much lighter steps, here is the original fortress, presumably where the Nasrid people lived while they built their palace. Wonderfully situated on the peak of the mountain with a fantastic view.

The Warriors den

With the tension within the sultans, this fortress was built not only to  defend from the outside but also from within. Built so the sultans could defend themselves from their own guards. As a visitor one is always confronted by at least one wall forming a bend that one has to go round in order to penetrate into the interior. 

View to Granada


Few would understand the beauty of the inside of this fortress by seeing the facade.


After seeing the Fortress, I walked back to the timed slot (important to book in advance) for the Nasrid palace and the Partal Palace, the pearls of this place. Will write about these wonders next time as the last segment about the Alhambra of Granada. Until then enjoy:)

With Love
Kristin



16 comments:

  1. The Granada view is breathtaking. Such a beautiful place. Hope you had a great weekend, sweetie
    Kisses

    Ps: I’m hosting a super cute Ruche GIVEAWAY later today! Hope you’ll join in :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for the recap! It all looks grand and I love seeing even the ceiling of the crypt!

    xoxo,
    Chic 'n Cheap Living

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello:
    What an amazing place and, as for the views over Granada, positively spectacular. It is extraordinary that such places could be, and were, built without any of the mechanical aids employed today. We particularly were taken with your image of the wisteria in the garden - lovely! We are signing up as Followers now so as not to miss future posts.
    Thank you so much for visiting our blog and for leaving such a welcoming comment.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow Kristin! What a place. I've seen both parts now and I'm in awe. So beautiful.
    The photo of you and your man was also very sweet.
    Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kristin

    It had been a golden era for all of Spain before 1492, in science, medicine, philosophy, astronomy, architecture etc etc. Catholic to be sure, but with great respect for Jewish and Islamic citizens. Granada, Seville and Cordoba show that cooperation beautifully.

    Then Ferdinand and Isabella got their knickers in a knot and expelled their most talented citizens. What a tragic waste :(

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes, thank you Hels. Here I need to be more clear!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm dreaming! it's beautiful!!! (I hope I'll found a nice hotel ;)) Thanks! And thanks for your sweet comment.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very very pretty photos - it looks so interesting to soak in!

    ReplyDelete
  9. This all is so breathtaking. It just look drop dead gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  10. That view of Granada, it almost doesn't look real! Like someone painted it or something. So beautiful. ♥

    And that tree in the last photo - I want it! What colour!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow - What a interesting place to visit. I really liked the photos you shared.
    Cheers! =(^.^)=

    ReplyDelete
  12. such history! the purple flowering trees are so beautiful against the old buildings.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Must show this to the hubs. He's a total history buff!

    ReplyDelete
  14. oh the warriors lair sounds so interesting. it sounds like a kids dream palace to play in too! :)

    ReplyDelete