Mala10-30 Malaga, Spain

It was still dark when we left for our tour today around 7 a.m., so we didn’t see much of the city of Malaga until we came back at the end of the day.  However, it is mainly a pedestrian town that decided to take advantage of cruise ship travel, so the city put money into making it a desirable location for port stops.  We’d like to see it on another visit to southern Spain.

The whole southern area of Spain is called Andalusia.  This area was occupied by the Moors from 711 to 1492 (about 8 centuries.)  Muslims invaded the Iberian peninsula in 711.  It only took three years – an easy invasion – because the people weren’t happy with their leaders at the time.  The Moors named the area Andalusia which means “land of vandals.”

After 1492 the Christians re-conquered this area.  Malaga and Granada were the last areas the Moors left.  This was due to money only.  The Moors paid the Christians lots of money to be left alone.  That deal lasted 2 1/2 years.  In the 1400s four Christian kingdoms united under Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. They were a powerful royal couple known as the “Catholic Monarchs.” They were the ones who wanted the last kingdom to be part of their power (the Moors in Granada), so there was the Holy War of Granada which lasted 10 years.  In 1492, the last Muslim sultan gave the keys to the city to the Christians. 

The Muslims had two choices.  They could stay and convert, or they could leave.  The Jews were basically expelled.  However, the Spanish Inquisition finally expelled all the Muslims (whether or not they converted.) 

It was during this period that Christopher Columbus asked Queen Isabella for money for his project to explore the New World. (Isabelle was in charge of the Atlantic, while her husband Ferdinand had the Mediterranean.)  However, he had to wait until the surrender of Granada before Isabella would give him the funds.  That is why 1492 is the year of both the end of the Muslims in Granada and the beginnings of Columbus’ journey.

Our tour today was the most popular of the ship’s excursions – to Granada to see the Alhambra.   It was a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to get there.  Alhambra means "red place”, and it is an incredible Moorish royal city.  It sits on top of the hill of La Sabica and dominates the whole city of Granada.  Granada is a smaller city than Malaga with a population of 300,00 and is surrounded by the Sierra Nevada mountains, but close to the sea.  They say you can ski in the morning during the winter, and sunbathe on the beach in the afternoon!

Doug had been to Alhambra many, many years ago, and was so excited to show me and see it again.  He thought it was one of the most romantic places he had been.  However, after seeing it now, he was less impressed than he had been the first time.  I think the whole area has grown up so much, it lost part of its charm for him. 

The Alhambra was originally created for military purposes and was a fortress.  It was also a palace and a small city – all in one.  The Moorish architecture is reflected here.  However, after it became a Christian court under Isabella and Ferdinand, more Christian symbols and influence could be seen.  Emperor Charles V constructed a palace here bearing his name – but never lived there. [Today it is used as headquarters for two museums – the Museum of the Alhambra and the Museum of Fine Arts.]

We were able to see three parts of this complex – the Alcazaba (fortress area) from the outside only, the Palaces, and the gardens (called Generalife.)

We started in the gardens which were beautiful, but not like they were at the time of either the Muslims or the Christians.  They look more like English gardens – with beautifully manicured shrubs and colorful flowers.     Water features and lots of greenery were important to these Moors who left the hot, dusty desert of Africa to come to Spain. They wanted to build a paradise on earth.  This is evident in their gardens.  This picture shows the Court of the Long Pond.

The Alcazabe (fortress) and the tower, Torre de la Vela, can be seen in this picture.  The tower (is seen in the back with the bell) is the tallest tower of the walled enclosure and the bell is rung on special, festive occasions.  The city of Granada can be seen below. 

The Palace area is a bit confusing because it is really several palaces together.  Going through it so quickly, it was hard to really keep track which palace was which! 

The Alhambra contains three divisions usually found in a Muslim palace: the Mexaur (a reception hall devoted to the public and to the administration of justice), the Chamber of Comares (the official residence of the king), and the Chamber of the Lions or Harem (the intimate family apartments of the monarchs.)  This is just one example of how ornate most of the rooms were. 

They were all elaborate and beautiful.  Most of the Moorish rooms had three elements that were found in each.  There were ceramic tiles on the bottom third of the walls – to keep it cool in the summer heat.  The top parts of the walls were very elaborate with what looked like intricately designed wall carvings.  They used a technique for this which consisted of putting the plaster and marble combination into molds, hardened, and then glued to the walls.  The ceilings were ornate and usually made of different woods. 

After our tour of the part of the Alhambre we had time to see, we walked up a narrow street to the restaurant we were having lunch.  It was a buffet in the Alixares Hotel, and it was terrible.  It seemed they were unprepared for our arrival, and the food was not very good. 

Our pictures just can’t do justice to this royal city, so we bought a book with lots of wonderful pictures and more explanations of the complex itself. 

Our bus ride back and our evening back on the ship were uneventful, but we went to bed knowing we had seen something very special today – and also knowing we’d like to come back and see the actual city of Malaga.