Nestled below the snow-covered Sierra Nevada Mountains, Granada is one of the most spectacular cities in the world.  It is a city of great classical beauty with a unique heritage based on two great civilisations. 

The Arab Moors first arrived in 710 and soon controlled most of Spain.  A magnificent Islamic culture flourished here and left the area with many architectural marvels.  Granada itself was ruled by the great Nasrid dynasty from 1238 until 1492, when it became the last city to fall to the Christian Monarchs, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (who later that year met with Christopher Columbus in the largest hall in the Alhambra Palace and agreed to fund his first voyage to America)

The Alhambra Palace is one of the great wonders of the world and Spain’s most visited monument.  It occupies a hilly terrace on the south east edge of Granada looking down on the city and is enclosed by a strongly fortified wall, flanked by 13 towers.  It is currently a museum of Islamic art and architecture. 

Building was started by Ibn Nasr, the founder of the Nasrid Dynasty of Moorish Kings, in the mid-thirteenth century, and over the life of the dynasty it was transformed into the huge palace we see today.  After the city fell in 1492, much of the original Islamic art work was filled in or defaced.  Part of it was blown up in 1812 and it later survived an attempt by Napoleon’s troops to blow it up completely.  Restoration commenced in 1828 and the delicate craftsmanship now revealed is truly amazing.

Among the many highlights inside the Palace is the celebrated “Court of the Lions”.  This is a patio lined with arcades supported by 124 slender marble columns, in the centre of which is an alabaster fountain held up by 12 white marble lions, emblems of strength and courage.

The Palace is set in a large park, often overgrown with wild flowers and grass, and containing a dense wood of elm trees established by the Duke of Wellington.  The park contains a large number of nightingales.

Other highlights in Granada include the Albaicin, the old Arab quarter located on a hill opposite the Alhambra.  It is the sight of the ancient city of Elvira, dating from before the Romans, and is characterised by narrow cobbled streets.  It is the area that most closely represents the city’s Moorish ancestry and, at night, it provides the best views of the illuminated Alhambra.  A large number of Arab restaurants are located in this area.

Granada also has a large gypsy community who used to live in the caves above the city around Sacromonte.  The mix of Arabic influence and the gypsy lifestyle and temperament is said to have created Flamenco. 

The Christians later transformed Granada into one of the great cities of the Renaissance.  In the lower part of the city stands the magnificent cathedral, considered one of the finest in Christendom, and there are a number of other important Catholic architectural sites in the city.