RUN OUT OF ADJECTIVES FOR L'ALHAMBRA
Granada, Spain
21 de Mayo

A pair of early birds left the Bumblebee to go to L'Alhambra around 9am, only to find the whole complex beyond description. The 3 main attractions in L'Alhambra are the Alcazaba, the Nazrid Palace and the Generalife which dated back from the 14-15th century. The Alhambra is the main reason most people come to Granada, and it is definitely the reason why I came. It is the remains of the glorious Islamic Empire and its struggle to keep foot against the Christian rule. The result was magnificent combination of artworks and skillful craftmanship from Islamic architecture and Christian architecture. Nothing could ever prepared me for what I was about to see. No words could ever do it justice.

The fortress of Alcazaba - the walls that secured the city many centuries ago stood tall and grand as far as the eyes could see. One can only imagine the dwellings of a normal peasant in the days of the Sultans and also in the days of the Christian kings. Think Lord of The Rings battle of Helm´s Deep... The Bell Tower is at the highest point of Alhambra and ordinary people can go there and ring the bells at a designated time in the year. Amazing.

The Nazrid Palace created lots of wow and ooh and aah from my behalf. The walls of the place was decorated with Arabic poetry engraved in plaster, colorful geometrical mosaics, and engraved wood. The works are so intricate! It was a very advanced culture and architecture. I think landscape architecture must have been founded by the Moor. The Nazrid Palace, just like the Generalife, applied the concept of water as a source of life as an underlying concept for the structure. This resulted in not just beautiful fountains but also an advanced irrigation system well integrated.

The roof in some of the Palace´s room have glass tiles to utilise the play of light to illuminate the room in various ways. Some rooms have stalactite-like roof. Everything screamed advanced civilization and great minds.

The Generalife is the Sultan´s private garden. The audio guide said that it´s not as intricate in details as the Nazrid Palace but it´s still pretty damn good. The gardens are filled with flowers and water sounds created a serene-calming effect. The place is build on hills, so the steps were many. Which got me thinking this: the Sultan couldn´t be that fit of a person right? The royal cuisine must have done something to his general built. There must be some kind of 'Royal Carriers' whose specific role was to transport the Sultan around the garden. I was thinking gigantic blacks imported from Africa??

If there's one place you can go - you should come here.
The Audio Guide kept us company the whole of 6 hours in L'Alhambra and 48 stops later, it was 3€ well spent.

Looking at L'Alhambra at night