Granada

Brief information

The name Granada grew out of the name of the old district of Qalat Garnata, while the city’s own history reads as a succession of centers of power in one protected place among mountains and fertile lands. The city was known earlier as the ancient settlement of Iliberri, then became Moorish Granada, and by the end of the 15th century had become the last stronghold of Islam on the Iberian Peninsula.

This change of power left the city not with a single era, but with several standing side by side. Moorish monuments are especially important in Granada, but buildings from the Gothic period and the Renaissance stand alongside them. That is why the city is interesting not only for the Alhambra: in the center, the Renaissance cathedral stands next to the Royal Chapel, while beyond the palace image there remain residential quarters, walls, gardens, and cave houses.

What to notice first

The main principle when exploring Granada is to compare not separate “beautiful places,” but traces of different functions. The Alhambra was the residence of the Nasrids, but in the 16th century the Palace of Charles V appeared on its grounds; part of the original development was demolished for it. This detail changes how one sees the ensemble: it shows not only Moorish power, but also how the new power literally inserted itself into the earlier space.

It is worth noticing the medieval walls and the gardens of the Generalife: the gardens are named after the former summer residence of the emirs, while the walls recall the city as a fortified center. The Albaicín is important as an ancient Moorish residential quarter, that is, as another, everyday side of the same history. In neighboring Sacromonte, a separate trace of the former way of life is provided by the cuevas — caves where Roma people lived; according to the source text, some of them are still inhabited or adapted to modern conveniences.