Spain Day 10d - Walk up the Albaisin

We arrived early enough that we decided to take a stroll up to the Albaisin district of Granada. It has a wonderful view of the Alcazar. Granada has been settled since 5500 BCE and has been a Roman colony. The Albaisin was a mostly Jewish settlement during the Umayyads from the 8th to 10th centuries and the Zirids and Nasrids until the Reconquista. After the Christian betrayal of the treaties with the conquered Muslims, this district was mostly abandoned until the 19th century.

When the streets of the Gran via de Colon and Reyes Catolicos were made, seen below, it pushed the residents there deeper into the Albaisin. Crowding occurred until the 1970's when living here became attractive to the wealthy and started moving in. the streets and building have not changed much since the middle ages and has become recognized as an important cultural and architectural area.

The road gets thinner as you go, with the stream/river to the right. 

You start to get a glimpse of the Alhambra on the right bank. We got a much better view later.

There are charming and thin alleys on the left hand side, as we walked.

In behind a building, on the edge of the stream/river, is very tall making the best use of the available room.

We had gotten to the point where we had to walk up a steep incline. Fortunately there were ready made stairs!

One of the many courtyards we passed.

There is a mosque at the top of the walk with very good views to the Alhambra. It was the first mosque in Grenada, in 2003, built since 1492 after the Reconquista. They had nice pastries and sweet tea for two euros. Visitors are asked to keep voices low. They also offer tours on specific days and times.

This is a view from the mosque. It shows the Generalife on the left and the edge of the Alcazar on the left with majestic mountains in the distance. More on that in a future post.

Now for the main reason for being here, amongst others...the Alcazar at sunset. The setting sun showcases the colour of the stonework in the overall structure. Magical. We spent a healthy amount of time just looking at the views from here.

This is the view looking up at Saint Nicolas square, which is also another viewpoint besides the many restaurants with exclusive views. Very crowded. Very rowdy. 

It is so rowdy a building looking onto the square has locked up a little someone. Sad.