The Commonwealth Games in Delhi, its associated chaos, vacations in schools and colleges for two weeks and a speaking assignment in Spain, led us to plan a trip to this country. My fascination with Spain is largely due to its Moorish past, its rich history, a mixed culture and architectural styles. Naturally, we will begin with Andalucia, the southern part of Spain.
Here is the itinerary that we plan to follow.
Here is the itinerary that we plan to follow.
 |
| Our itinerary in Spain 1. Arrive in Madrid; proceed to Granada (Oct 2) 2. Granada to Cordoba and back (Oct 4) 3. Granada to Seville (Oct 6) 4. Seville to Barcelona (Oct 7) 5. Barcelona to Madrid (Oct 13) |
I will try to write this diary as we go along. But I will also keep updating it with pictures and facts as and when I get more time from the travels.
Oct 2, 2010
Our journey began with Qatar Airways QR233 leaving Delhi at 4:50 am. The 4 hr flight was uneventful, the plane was nice and movie selections were good. We reached Doha at about 6:45 local time and connected quickly to QR071 to Madrid. A group of Pakistanis traveling together were quite excited and always wanted to use toilets when food trolleys were in the alley. The coolest one was a Sikh from Quetta, who kept reading an Urdu novel through the flight to Spain. Cannot get any more cross-cultural than that. I again met this group two days later in Granada. They worked for a Spanish fertilizer company in Pakistan and were on a company-organized pleasure trip.
Our journey began with Qatar Airways QR233 leaving Delhi at 4:50 am. The 4 hr flight was uneventful, the plane was nice and movie selections were good. We reached Doha at about 6:45 local time and connected quickly to QR071 to Madrid. A group of Pakistanis traveling together were quite excited and always wanted to use toilets when food trolleys were in the alley. The coolest one was a Sikh from Quetta, who kept reading an Urdu novel through the flight to Spain. Cannot get any more cross-cultural than that. I again met this group two days later in Granada. They worked for a Spanish fertilizer company in Pakistan and were on a company-organized pleasure trip.
Bajaras Airport in Madrid is quite large but did not have as much traffic, at least when we arrived. It is Spain's busiest and the world's 11th busiest airport. The new Terminal 4, which opened in 2006, was designed by Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers. According to a Madrid travel site, "the award-winning design attempts to use its sweeping visual effects to psychologically create a stress-free feeling among passengers prior to their journey". I wonder why they overlooked the stressed-out arriving passengers. There were three sets of stairways to cross to get from the aircraft to the arrival hall, which was not very convenient. But the immigration was efficient and luggage arrived quickly. The lady at the information counter was helpful, telling us exactly how to get to the bus station (Estacion del Sur) for the next leg of our trip to Granada.
 |
| Arrival Hall, Terminal 4, Bajaras Airport, Madrid |
The taxi from airport to Estacion del Sur was expensive; a 15-min ride cost us 30 euros. The landscape and vegetation reminded me of the dry hilly terrain of Denver (USA) where we lived for a few years and have visited often. Estacion del Sur is like most bus stations in Europe. Lots of ticket windows, sitting areas, lots of vending machines and places to eat. We catch the 5:30 pm ALSA bus to Granada, the trip costing 16.20 euros per head.
The trip from Madrid to Granada took 5 hours, which included a 30 min stop midway. The café (possibly owned by the bus company) offered cold and soggy sandwiches, stale donuts, coffee and soft drinks. The terrain from Madrid started with dry rolling hills but later changed into rich agricultural land with olive plantations. Alternative energy was prominent in modern windmills and farms of solar panels.
We arrive in Granada around 10:30 pm and take a taxi to our hotel - Pension San Joaquin, which we booked through the internet. It is along a cobblestone alley, just off the Gran via de Colon, close to the old part of town. Our triple room is basic, but is clean and functional. Best of all, internet is free and there is WiFi in our room. Pension San Joaquin is designed like an Andalucian home, around a decorated central courtyard. The housekeeping service is good and the reception staff is helpful, even though they can speak very little English. There is no breakfast, but there are plenty of restaurants, and cafes near the hotel. Further, the hotel's coin-operated coffee machine serves decent coffees for only 0.5 euros. Those have made parts of this blog possible.
More on Granada as we start exploring it. We have a date with Alhmabra tomorrow.
A civil war between 1009 and 1013 led to a collapse of the Cordoba Caliphate. Al-Andalus broke up into small independent states called taifas, which came under threat from Christian kingdoms to their north. The taifa rulers sought help from the Almoravids, the Islamic rulers of Maghreb to their south. In 1086 the Almovarid ruler of Morocco, Yusuf bin Tashfin, defeated the Christian armies and by 1094 he annexed all the muslim taifas. The Almovarids were followed by another Berber Muslim dynasty, the Almohads in the 12th century, who were defeated by the Castilian Alfonso VIII in 1212 at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. The final Muslim threat to Christians on the Iberian peninsula came from the Marinids in Morocco who took control of Granada and surrounding areas during the 14th century. The Marinids were defeated at the Battle of Salado in 1340 and Gibralta, till then under the control of Granada fell in 1350. Thereafter, rebellions and wars among Chritian states ensured the survival of Granada for almost 150 years. King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castille were married in 1469 and this union marked the final assault on Granada. The Pope declared their war a crusade. In January 1492 after a long siege, Mohammad XII, the Moorish sultan, surrendered the magnificent fortress palace Alhambra, bringing to an end the Muslim rule in Al-Andalus.
Oct 3, 2010
We spent the day exploring Granada, a majority of it being spent in Alhambra, the fortress palace built by the Moors, which takes architectural finesse to new heights. The Nasirid Palace within this complex is a beauty. I have seen Topkapi, the palace of Ottomans in Istanbul, which would be contemporary to this building, and the Red Fort in Delhi, which was about two centuries later. Neither of these buildings come close in the finesse and detailing seen in the Nasirid Palace. The Taj Mahal in Agra, again about 200 years later, would be a close competitor.
 |
| Nasirid Palace, Alhambra, Granada |
Granada cannot be appreciated without a bit of history. You find it around every corner in this city. If the Muslims built Alhambra, the Christians who followed went on to build with a vengeance, dotting the city with many fine churches in the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque style. The Granada of today is a young and vibrant city with about a quarter of its population being students; its university and medical school are highly rated.
Granada is the gem of present day Andalusia province in Southern Spain. Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation governed by Muslims at various times between 711-1492. The Moors, as the Arabs who ruled Al-Andalus were called in general, were not part of one continuous dynasty. The Umayyads who ruled present-day Syria and Iraq till the middle of the 8th century, conquered the Iberian peninsula when Tariq ibn Ziyad led Muslim forces on the orders of the Caliph Al-Walid I to Gibraltar in 711. The word “Gibraltar” itself is derived from Jabl-al-Tariq (The Mountain of Tariq), designating that famous geological formation in the Strait of Gibraltar at the entrance to the Mediterranean between Spain on the European continent and Morocco on the African continent. In a seven-year campaign, which was followed by some reverses, almost the entire Iberian peninsula was brought under Muslim control. Al-Andalus became part of the expanding Ummayad empire. The Caliph in Baghdad ruled Al-Andalus through a governor.
In 750, when the Abbasids defeated the Umayyads, the exiled Umayyad prince Abd-ar-Rahman took control of Al-Andalus by 756 and established himself as the Emir of Cordoba. For the next 150 years, his descendants ruled as emirs of Cordoba, with vacillating control over Al-Andalus, sometimes not extending beyond Cordoba. Abd-al-Rahman III who took control in 912 restored Umayyad power and expanded his dominion over the entire Al-Andalus and parts of Northern Africa. In 929 he elevated the emirate to a Caliphate, competing in prestige and power with the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad and the Shi’ite caliph in Tunis. This was the golden period of Al-Andalus.
No comments:
Post a Comment