A view of Granada from the Cuesta de los Chinos beneath the Alhambra.
Looking up to the Alhambra from the Plaza de los Tristes.
The Alhambra Parador.
A view of Granada from the Alhambra.
In April 2000 I made my first ever visit to Spain for an observing trip to the IRAM Granada telescope. After the hard work, I spent a couple of days in the nearby city of Granada. More information about Granada is available on-line here.
Granada is a city of about 250,000 people in the Spanish region of Andalucia. It lies about 650m above sea-level, and some 130km away from the coastal resort of Malaga.
Granada is undoubtedly most famous for the Alhambra. The Alhambra was the last stronghold of the Moors in Spain until they were defeated in 1492. One site giving information about the Alhambra is here .
Infuriatingly, despite turning up at 8.30 in the morning when the ticket office opened, I failed to get a ticket before they sold out for the day. Well, it was just after Easter... Still, it gives me a good excuse to have to go back. Next time, I think I'll buy my ticket in advance! For this reason, I'm afraid the photos are just of the outside. Still, this is also fairly impressive! More information about the Alhambra is available from the Great Buildings website.
The poet Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936) was born near Granada. One of his works is the "Somnambular Ballad" (Romance Sonambulo), which begins:
Green green how much I want you green.
Green wind. Green branches.
The ship on the sea and the horse on the mountain.
With darkness at her waist
she dreams on her balcony.
Green flesh, green hair
and eyes of cold silver.
Green, how I love you green.
Under the gypsy moon
things are looking at her
and she cannot look at them.
The beauty of Granada has passed into saying:
Back to photographs index.
Back to main page.