Granada, Spain

Granada! Fantastic. Our consensus favorite place in Spain. Today we awoke at 7am to get in line for tickets to the Alhambra. Only 7000 tickets are sold each day, and they are all gone by 9am, so we didn't want to get shut out. The Alhambra served as the palace and stronghold of the Muslim leaders of Spain from the 1300's to 1492. In 1492 the Catholic Monarchs Isabel and Ferdiand finally defeated the Muslims, and ended their 700 year reign over Spain. As the last Muslim ruler Boabdil reined in his horse and surveyed the Alhambra for last time and the green valley that spread below he burst into tears. "You do well," said his unsympathetic mother, "to weep like a woman for what you could not defend like a man."
Gee thanks Mom.
The Alhambra is a huge place with high walls, stunning views, and magnificent gardens and fountains. We spent a half a day here exploring. We couldnt help but wonder why it is that the Muslim world seems to have accomplished more before 1500 than in the 500 years since? A large percentage of the beautiful architecture in Andalucia is Islamic built. The geometric art shown above is filled with color and intricate detail.

Here we are on a cliff overlooking the Alhambra. This spot is especially popular among the large hippie population of Granada. Just to our left, out of the picture, are a couple dozen shirtless people playing guitar, drinking bottled beer, smoking weed, selling beads and necklaces, and juggling.

The fountains and pools in the Alhambra were the high point for us. The Islamic use of water in their architecture is unparalelled. We decided we wanted to recreate this at our house. Now if we just had the mountain of gold and unlimited slave labor that Boabdil had....