Granada and La Alhambra

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Greetings, fellow Steemians!

Granada, Spain, in the autonomous region of Andalusia, is home to one of Spain's greatest cultural sites. The Alhambra and its grounds are beautiful and a glimpse into the lives of the wealthy Moors and later Berbers that called it home. Alhambra was a citadel, or fortified city, and includes a defensive wall, palaces, and beautiful gardens. While living in southern Spain for several years, I was fortunate enough to visit a couple times.

View from La Alhambra

Alhambra is elaborately decorated and incredibly beautiful. From the elaborate floor mosaics to magnificently carved ceilings (and everything in between), the builders and residents spared no detail. The above image is an example of windows in the summer palace. Look through to the background and you can see the fortifications at the top of the hill.

Palace windows

In this image, the beauty of the interior decor is plain to see. The photo would have made a great post card, if not for the ropes! Not only colored, the walls are actually carved. This next image shows the texture well.

Wall detail from my Flickr

Of all the sights within the Alhambra, the courtyard of the lion fountain is arguably the most famous. It shows up on many post cards and is usually packed with people taking photos. Getting a photograph without other people in it is almost impossible. Almost! A photographer with a plan and an idea of the layout can pull it off. I took the night tour and the first day tour the following day. The night tour is less expensive and an amazing experience in itself. Tripods aren't allowed, and my old 7D, along with the inferior lenses I had at that time, weren't able to cope with the low light well. The following day, I was one of the first in and knew where I was headed. Skipping the first couple rooms, I was able to take many photos without other visitors in them. As it was the first tour, the shadows within the courtyard cast a blue hue.

Lion fountain in the morning

Looking up from my Flickr

If you visit the Alhambra, plan on at least a couple hours to walk through and enjoy it. The early tours are more desirable in the summer months, as the days get hot. My first tour of the day experience was in the early spring, and it was cold!

Old Moorish gate

Granada, itself, is a beautiful city. Most of my images of it were lost in an unfortunate misunderstanding with an older version of Lightroom, but I had a couple saved elsewhere.

Night walk in Granada

There are many hostels and hotels in Granada, of course. I stayed at the Hospedaje Almohada, which was very inexpensive, but actually had individual rooms. Obviously, it is a hostel and geared for young travelers. The rooms generally face inward to a tiny, covered courtyard with a common area below. In the cold winter months, they keep a wood-fired stove going. There's nothing like a wood fire on a cold day! After exploring the city one day, I sat down there and spoke to several of the other guests, stoking the fire until well after midnight.

There are many museums and, of course, a cathedral to explore. The cathedral is beautiful, but to me they're like sunsets. After a few, they start to look the same.

Cathedral exterior, looking up!

Cathedral image from my Flickr

I'd love to go back and take some more photos of the city, to replace those that were lost and because it's a wonderful place to visit. An upgrade to my current camera would also help, but that'll have to wait until after this master's program and an a little earned income...

Long shadows from rejas in Granada

Here is one of the images I was able to salvage of the early morning light on the old part of Granada, as seen from just outside the Alhambra front gates. That area, on the adjacent hill, is fun to explore. Winding, narrow streets and staircases provide a great view and there are some nice places to eat over there. At the bottom of the hill, there are even some caves that were inhabited in the past and can be visited.

city panorama

Alhambra from below

It's kind of fun to look at some of these. It's only been a few years, but the lenses I use now and the progress I've made as a photographer are really evident. If I ever manage to get back, it'll be interesting to compare the photos I take to those from before.

Tourists at the Alhambra

Puerta — a door somewhere in the winding streets of Granada