Granada

I wandered the city with my friend Emily, who studied there as an undergraduate seven years ago. She says that nothing has changed and I believe her. Granada has an eternally mystical quality--it´s cobblestone streets, alabaster facades, castles, carmens and perfectly manicured gardens are remnants of an earlier time and walking the narrow streets of the Albayzin (a historically Muslim quarter during the 13th century located across the Darro River from the Alhambra), I felt like a different person. The Albayzin is one of the few barrios in the world where Jews and Muslims did and (I believe) still do coexist peacefully. After Granada was finally conquered for the Christian crown by Isabella and Ferdinand in 1492, riots began as more Catholics infiltrated the Albayzin and the rulers mandated religious conversions, public displays of faith and had forced pig-eating fests in the central plazas. The Treaty of Granada showed tolerance towards Muslims but many Jews during that time fled to Argentina and other parts of S. America. Others remained hidden in the hills of the Albayzin, and they live there still today. Despite the competing Moorish and Andalucian influences on architecture, despite the ubiquitous Bohemians (gypsies) who tried to force rosemary on us for outrageous prices, and despite its unquestionable status as one of the greatest touristic sites in Western Europe, I found Granada to be "true Spanish."
In English, granada means "pomegranate" and it is the sign of the city. In many cathedrals that I have visited, the shield of the 5 Christian kingdoms of Spain has a pomegranate fruit at the bottom, representing the final Moorish stronghold to fall to the Christian kings.
La Alhambra is a Moorish palace and fortress that overlooks the city, and on Saturday, we entered the gates of the old city to view what was once Granada proper. It reminded me a lot of India, because of the architecture. The gardens surrounding the palace were probably the best part: orange and pomegranate groves, thousands of roses and hibiscus shrubs, honeysuckle and thousands of other plants that I could not begin to name (Mom, you would´ve loved it!)
On Saturday night, I returned to the Albayzin for a gypsy flamenco show. Gypsies, or gitanos in Spanish, live in the caves of the Sierra Nevada mountains of Granada. Many of them dance flamenco for money, but they don´t have the distinctive looks that I was expecting. Almost 150 of us were cramped into a small room with a stage and served drinks while watching the show. The opening act was three women, with a singer and guitarist. Later, the main act--a man and woman--came out to dance, and were accompanied in addition by a flutist. The music was beautiful but it definitely had Islamic influences; the singing style reminded me of the wailing sound of Muslim prayer. I loved it and had my first Spanish sangria that night--delicious. On Sunday, we drove to Guadix, a small pueblo in the Sierra Nevadas, and got to see the cave home of a kindly lady named Maria. She sells pottery and ice cream in her "front yard," which is basically the street, quite the entrepreneur! It was a dead town, but it was Sunday and everything in Spain is closed. The lookout points were breathtaking, I got a picture of a little girl on her way to her communion and a random motorcyclist made kissy faces at me at the stoplight. All in a day´s work...