Thursday, December 15, 2011

Granada, Spain


Granada was one of the last moorish strongholds in Spain and has retained quite a bit of North African influence.  When mixed with traditional and modern Spanish culture, it truly is a unique type of beauty.  Also, hellllo awesome shopping.  

Something I keep noticing across Europe is the mixture of old and new.  Constantly seeing a cathedral from the 1400s or an ancient Roman amphitheater right in the middle of a modern city is so mind blowing to me, having grown up in what is technically a "new" country.  In Granada we visited the cathedral that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (among other Spanish royals) are buried in, as well as the Alhambra, an incredible Moorish fortress/palace.  



Our study abroad group surprised us with a private flamenco show!  The location we went to was obviously very old, very unique, and very Spanish.  Experiencing this Spanish tradition for the first time was actually really cool.  I couldn't stop taking pictures.



Below are pictures of the Alhambra, a moorish fortress that is still standing- and beautiful- today. Notice all the fountains- they were everywhere.  The guide told us that they try to maintain the palace's condition as close as possible to the original.  INCLUDING the fact that NONE of the fountains are automated.  All of them run on the ancient pressure/aqueduct system they were built with. 









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