Updated: Apr 11, 2022
"how lazily the sun goes down in Granada, it hides beneath the water, it conceals in the Alhambra" - Ernest Hemingway
We were lucky enough to have a day trip to Granada, the beautiful historic city is a sight to behold with legends tied to every brick that was layed.
Below is one of the gates that were used to guard the city, there is a crazy amount of dept and strategy that went into these gates, they were build on steep slopes with steps along to way, making attacking this location extremely difficult - to break down the heavy metal door, battering rams would have been used, paired with the slope and steps, one the soldiers would meet the door, there were little openings from atop the door where hot oil could be poured down onto attackers. Even if the soldiers were able to get through the gate, thye would be met with a right-angled turn forcing the soldiers into a choke point that made it difficult to fight ( soldiers had their sword in their right hand and shield in their left, they would be unable to swing their swords.) The hand symbol on the door paired with the key was important to Muslims. The hand represents the hamsa - which is essentially things their religion requires of them. -They must believe that there is one god "Allah" -They must pray 5 times a day -They must perform the Hajj (trip to mecca atleast once in their lifetime) -They must partake in Ramadan -Help and give charity to the poor If Muslims follow these 5 things they would be granted "Entry into paradise"
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Safe to say the views were stunning. Many of the buildings below are painted white - reason being they are attempting to battle a common enemy, the sun! As a bonus there was a colony of cats near the fortress :)
Bask in the culture and history of Granada, a must-visit on any trip.
Make sure to grab some tapas after exploring and shopping