Granada, Spain

I´m a little behind because I didn´t have much internet access on our trip through southern Spain. Now that I´m back in Madrid, I should have a little more time. We were in Granada on June 30 - July 2. While there, we got to see the famous cathedral that was built by los Reyes Catolicos Fernando y Isabel (Ferdinand and Isabella). They are credited with completing the Reconquest of Spain by driving the Jews and Muslims out in 1492 and thereby creating the nation of Spain by uniting the various provinces under the Catholic church. There was no separation of church and state at that time; thus, one of their first acts was to tear down the local mosque and build the cathedral. There is a central chapel located on a raised platform with a backdrop, and there are open chapels surrounding the main room, but the only area that can be closed off from the rest of the cathedral is the vestibulario which was used by the catholic priests to change into their robes. There is a sign over the door (in Latin) which advises the priests to remember that they are removing their street clothing and putting on the robes of Christ. The cathedral doors, walls, and chapels are adorned with Renaissance style paintings and carvings representing the various saints and heavenly figures related to various historical episodes of Christian history. Next to the cathedral is the Royal Chapel. Inside is the sepulchre of Fernando and Isabel. Evidently, they chose Granada as their final resting place because they felt that the reconquest of the city and thus uniting the various provinces under one kingdom was their greatest legacy. Inside the chapel is a small museum that houses the sword of Fernando and the crown and scepter of Isabel.
The other great building we saw was La Alhambra. It is a series of palaces, gardens, and fortifications on top of a large hill in the center of the city. The fort, a mosque, the gardens, fountains, and palaces were built by the Arab Muslims that ruled Southern Spain for about 800 years. Since Islam prohibits the adoration of inanimate objects, they didn´t use any representations of living beings in their artwork. Instead, they used intricate geometric patterns to decorate their buildings. The arches, columns, ceilings, fountains, and gardens are awesome works of art. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died halfway through and my extras wouldn´t work, so I´ll have to get some copies from the other teachers. After the reconquest, Carlos V, grandson of the Catholic kings, built himself his own palace with an amphitheatre in the middle on the site where the mosque had stood.
Granada was amazing! I bought a book if anyone is interested in looking through it later. I´ve got to go. Hasta luego!