Yesterday morning we got up early to be at breakfast for 7:30. Having been warned by other tourists and guidebooks of the long walk and delays getting in to the Alhambra, we left our hotel by 8:35 for the 30 minute walk up the hill. We were at the gate 17 minutes later. It was a steep walk but really not as far as we were told. We had also been warned to have our passports and be ready for tight security. As we walked through the gate into the Alhambra grounds, no-one even looked at us. We had bought tickets online with a 10 am time slot to get into the Palacios Nazaries, reputed to be the finest Moorish palace in Spain. The Moors ruled the Iberian peninsula (present day Spain and Portugal) for nearly 800 years from the 700s until finally completely defeated at Granada in the Christian Reconquest in 1492. The Alhambra was a Moorish fortress that had a town of 2,000 people within its walls. The top sights in the Alhambra are the Palacios Nazaries, The Alcazaba, Charles V’s palace and the Genaralife gardens.
We were so early, we first went to the Alcazaba, the first fortress overlooking the present day city. It was originally a Roman fort. After a 1/2 hour there, we lined up to get into the Palacios Nazaries at about 9:20, since we had been told it might take an hour to get our tickets stamped and get through security. The people with tickets for 9:30 went in but we were held back. We chatted with a British couple for 1/2 hour and finally were allowed in. No-one checked our passports nor did we go through any metal detectors or anything. However, while we were in line we saw a couple come up with tickets for 8:30. After much arguing, they were still turned away because they were more than 30 minutes late. Their tickets were useless. Over 6,000 people per day are allowed into the Palacios Nazaries and the timing is strict.
It was worth going in though. The palace was beautiful, with many rooms and much Moorish design on ceilings and walls, based on mathematical geometric patterns. There were many striking inlaid wood ceilings, plaster “stalactite” ceilings, fountains, pools and ceramic tile wall patterns.
After the palace, we toured the extensive gardens and the square, uninteresting palace built by Charles V, one of the first Christian kings after the Reconquest.
We finally walked back down the hill to our hotel where we felt we deserved a drink on the terrace outside our room, with the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background. Another great day.
We were so early, we first went to the Alcazaba, the first fortress overlooking the present day city. It was originally a Roman fort. After a 1/2 hour there, we lined up to get into the Palacios Nazaries at about 9:20, since we had been told it might take an hour to get our tickets stamped and get through security. The people with tickets for 9:30 went in but we were held back. We chatted with a British couple for 1/2 hour and finally were allowed in. No-one checked our passports nor did we go through any metal detectors or anything. However, while we were in line we saw a couple come up with tickets for 8:30. After much arguing, they were still turned away because they were more than 30 minutes late. Their tickets were useless. Over 6,000 people per day are allowed into the Palacios Nazaries and the timing is strict.
It was worth going in though. The palace was beautiful, with many rooms and much Moorish design on ceilings and walls, based on mathematical geometric patterns. There were many striking inlaid wood ceilings, plaster “stalactite” ceilings, fountains, pools and ceramic tile wall patterns.
After the palace, we toured the extensive gardens and the square, uninteresting palace built by Charles V, one of the first Christian kings after the Reconquest.
We finally walked back down the hill to our hotel where we felt we deserved a drink on the terrace outside our room, with the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background. Another great day.
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