Day 7: Grenada, the Alhambra and Flaminco dancing

Today was incredible!  When we arrived in Grenada, our EF guide Christine sent students on a scavenger hunt to find some points of interest in the city.  They competed in teams to find Puerta de La Justicia, Washington Irving's monument, Pilar del Toro, The Monument of Isabella the Catholic, Corral del Carbon, Silk Market, Saint Patroness of Granada, and Plaza de Carmen.  Along the way, students had to ask locals about different symbols, poems, and sayings of Granadians.  We had some time for lunch and cafe con leche.

Our scavenger hunt director, Christine 

Amy, Abhishek, Andrew, Tyler, Monay and Hannah next to the Puerta de La Justica 

Washington Irving's Monument

Pilar del Toro

The Monument of Queen Isabella and Colombus

Corral del Carbon

Silk Market

Sabrina and her NY friends at St. Patroness of Grenada

Sabrina and her group at Plaza de Carmen

And the winners of the scavenger hunt, The Dream Team: Sam, Christian, Emily, Denise, and Jayne!


The adults/chaperones strolled more leisurely through the streets of Grenada taking in the sights and sounds.  Taylor and I found our knight in shining armor!

Then, we went to the Alhambra to meet our tour guide Elisa.  The Alhambra is a massive palace and summer home that the Muslim sultan built in the 13th and 14th centuries.  Even though it was conquered by the Christians, they took care to preserve the beauty and dignity of the structure.  The materials used in the Alhambra are marble, plaster, wood, and ceramic and feature geometric designs, because people and animals are not featured in Muslim art.

The best view of the Alhambra according to Isis:

Materials used for the construction of Alhambra:

We started our tour at their summer home and garden:

Then, we proceeded to the main palace.  The first space was the public space where people would come to do business.

There was a prayer room off the main room and our Elisa pointed out that the Mihrab is always facing Mecca.  In the next room was a fountain so the faithful could wash their hands, feet and faces before prayer.

The next space was where officials would meet with the sultan 

These were at the thresholds of all entrances and were spaces for fresh daisies or other aromatic plants

Originally, almost all of the windows were covered with stained glass

 The sultan or king would sit in the area depicted above so that he was always in shadow, adding to his authority and mysteriousness.  This was the same room in which Columbus came to see Queen Isabella in 1492, the same year the Alhambra was conquered by Christians.

Muslims belive in a 7th heaven which is where Allah, prophets, and martyrs exist.  This was depicted on the ceiling

Part of the original floor from Alhambra

The next areas were the living quarters of the sultan, his wives, and concubines

The lions were a present from the Jews and represent the 12 tribes of Israel.

A sample of the stained glass 

The outside of the bathhouses.  The windows would've been covered with stained glass to create a hot steam room.  These weren't just bathhouses, but places were important events were discussed and decided.  This included topics such as politics and marriage, which of course were hand-in-hand.

 These rooms have ceilings with Latin carved into the woodwork because Charles V, the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella wanted the capital city to be in Grenada.  At that point in time, he had much of Europe under his command.  Unfortunately, he never made it back to live in Alhambra.  American writer, Washington Irving, occupied these rooms and gazed upon the view below for his inspiration.

We also learned how some of the geometrical designs were made and most of us bought something to remember Alhambra by:

In the evening, we went to a small gypsy neighborhood and watched flamenco dancing in a cave.  It was so much fun to see the dancers up close and personal!