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| Nazareth Palace |
Aaaaa the Alhambra.........I don't think anyone can describe this place with words. Even the pictures do not portray its magnificence and splendor. And we can only imagine what it looked like in its prime hundreds of years ago. At least it survived centuries and we can still marvel at its beauty.
This visit was my major planning for the trip. As I told you in the previous post I tried not to plan too much this time and just figure it out there. But I made sure that I had my ticket in advance -- very limited number of tickets per day and I heard stories of people lining up at 5-6am to get a ticket.
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| Ceiling in the baths |
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| Just look at the mosaic under my feet.... |
I went to Alhambra a little bit before noon and can tell you that not only did I spend the whole day there but could have gone a second day too. It is huge! To get inside the walls you have to walk through a great park with big trees, fountains and benches. It's up on a hill so it feels a bit like hiking. Once you are in you really have to orient yourself which way to go first because the complex has so many places to visit.
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| Granada behind me |
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| Snow and Sierra Nevada in the distance |
You have a special time on your ticket to the palace (Nazareth) as there are many people and you still want to enjoy without too many crowds. As my time was at 3pm, I decided to walk around first. The buildings, walls, and exquisite details that I saw amazed me. I definitely wasn't prepared for it. I kept thinking and trying to imagine what it was like during its heyday.
All the walls inside are decorated with Arabic writings -- in the marble and stone there are thousands of symbols so finely done that you almost have a feeling it's surreal. Nothing can prepare you for it. The details and the amazing artwork in front of your eyes are so beautiful that pictures seem frustratingly blunt.
I kept walking and looking and my mind could not really comprehend all the beauty that surrounded me. I kept thinking about the extremely hard work that went into building that magnificent place, the people who lived at that time and the life that they had and most of all the fact that all of this was created in the 14th century....
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| Part of the wall close up |
After the palace I walked more and visited the gardens. Magical! The flowers and the fountains just make you want to stay there forever. It is so beautiful and serene. At every step you are surrounded by history. And beauty. Did I say beauty?!?!
It was amazing! The Moors had a big influence in Andalucia and this is definitely a legacy which everyone should try to visit. I have hundreds of pictures from that place and it is very difficult to upload only a few. I strongly recommend you to make the trip if you have a chance!
I left speechless and forever charmed!
