The Alhambra

Wednesday was just as busy!

I went to the Alhambra at 2 pm.
My favorite parts were:

• The side garden right beside the old military fort and the views from its towers.


• The gardens behind the Nazarith Palace. Especially there was an elegant reflecting pool, and you felt like you could get lost in among all of the flower beds.


• I returned to the Generalife and was able to get some great photos, and see more of the palace. There are some elegant terraced gardens behind the palace, on the hill. The whisteria smelled so sweetly and there were hidden nooks with fountains, which added to the sense of timeless mystery.

The highlight was definitely the Nazarith Palace though! I was entranced by the elegant patterns and filigree windows and the ceilings. One ceiling was an interpretation of the starry sky, and used to be mimicked in tile on the floor. A small portion of the original floor is left, becuase the Christians had put a rug over it for a throne. The best part though was finding my friend, the guard, again at the fountain of the lions. Unfortunately, the fountain was under restoration, but it was still amazing. Also, the 12 lions represent the 12 seasons and the 4 channels are the cardinal directions. One of the quarters to the side was the daughter (princess´s room) and later her son´s. it´s the only place in the palace with a Moorish stain glass, but interestingly its a roof and not used for the windows itself. It was amazing. On the opposite side were the wives quarters. The fountain was a gift to the sultan originally.

I got a tour of some of the off-limit portions of the site. I saw the bathroom, and the guard explained how water used to flow underneath and it never smelled. I also saw the baths and he explained how the water would flow throughout. Down below, many of the colors were still quite vivid. Unfortunately, since it was about to close for the day, we had to run through to see it all, but it was still lots of fun! It was truly a unique experience!

FLAMANCO DANCING:

That night I went to the gypsy caves and enjoyed an evening of flamenco dancing. To be exact, it was a local interpretation of flamenco, that´s specific to the Salemanca caves that developed from Flamenco, Indian dancing, and gypsy dancing. It was quite the spectacle, and it was lots of fun!