Alhambra

I spent a few days outside the city last week. I really needed it, almost 6 years without any real holiday, OK, I know, I lived in Barcelona, went skying a few times and some long week-ends in and there but you know what I mean when I say real holiday : traveling outside the grey city where winter lasts forever and even when summer is officially open on your calendar, you don't really see the nose of it. The last years have been rich in events and emotions, met new people, lost some others, and my body started to say "hellooooo, I'm here, take care of me, have a rest" which means It is time and the limit should not be overpassed. I didn't have a big budget for the journey neither much time to organize the whole thing so I decided to wait and see until the last minute. Actually that was a good step because I had such a wonderful time, short but intense, in Spain, visiting the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. It's a place I wanted to visit since a very long time because everyone who went there told me It is worth it and frankly said, It is. Definitely. Incredible. beautiful. Amazing. But, my advice would be first, not to forget to protect yourself from the heat and sun if you go during the summer season and second (very important), book your ticket in advance or you will not get in. And I would recommend to book your entry early in the morning so you will not be too much disturbed by the heat (It reached 40°C that day), by the flow of tourists (which can be quite disturbing sometimes, especially in groups in the long corridor and small rooms) and you will have time to relax in the amazing gardens full of flowers and terrasses refreshed by water spots. The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex of the Moorish rulers (constructed during the mid 14th century), occupying a hilly terrace on the southeastern border of the city. Once the residence of the Muslim rulers of Granada and their court, the Alhambra is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions exhibiting the country's most famous Islami architecture, together with Christian 16th century and later interventions in buildings and gardens that marked its image as it can be seen today. This palace structure was started after the Reconquista, the reconquering of Spain performed by the Christian kings, started. This adds to its aura. While the illiterate Christians were advancing, Spain reached its highest cultural level ever, but under the Muslim rulers. The slender structure of Alhambra, the breathtaking details, the celebration of life, the mixture of nature in men's design, all underline what tragedy the return of Christianity in Spain was to be for centuries to come. Alhambra consists of palaces built by several rulers, each had his own. The carrying idea behind several of the buildings of Alhambra is nothing less than an attempt to create a duplica of Paradise on earth. The romantic design is made up of a mixture of slender columnar arcades, fountains, and light-reflecting water basins. Most prominent is the Lion Court. Granada was lost to the Christians in 1492, and when the Reyos Católicos, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella died some years later, Granada was chosen for their burial. Perhaps the Muslim dreams of Paradise moved even the cold hearts of the two. The Alhambra consists of 3 parts : The Royal Palace, which is the most famous, which in itself consists of 3 parts : The Mexuar, the Serallo and the Harem, where the Lions' Court is the centre. In addition to the Alhambra comes the gardens of Generalife and the fortress of Alcazaba.