We are still in Spain, and will be for one more day after
this. Today we are in Malaga. It is located on the Costa del Sol (coast of the
Sun) f the Mediterranean Sea about 60 miles east of the Strait of Gibraltar. It
sits as Europe’s southern most city and the fifth largest in Spain. Malaga
dates back to 770 BC as one of the oldest cities in the world and now has the
second busiest cruise port on the Iberian Peninsula.
Málaga is a city and a municipality, capital of the Province of
Málaga, in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of
568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia. It was
founded by the Phoenicians as Malaka about 770 BC, and from the 6th century BC
was under the hegemony of Ancient Carthage. Then from 218 BC it was ruled by
the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire as Malaca (Latin). After the fall
of the empire it was under Islamic domination as Mālaqah (مالقة) for 800 years,
but in 1487 it again came under Christian rule in the Reconquista. The
archaeological remains and monuments from the Phoenician, Roman, Arabic and
Christian eras make the historic center of the city an "open museum",
displaying its rich history of more than 3,000 years.
This important cultural infrastructure and the rich artistic
heritage have culminated in the nomination of Málaga as a candidate for the 2016
European Capital of Culture. The internationally acclaimed painter and sculptor
Pablo Picasso and actor Antonio Banderas were born in Málaga. The magnum opus
of Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona, "Malagueña", is named for the
music of this region of Spain.
Here we took a private tour to the city of Granada. We
drove for two hours through the Andalusia countryside going from Malaga to
Granada. In Granada we visited the Muslin-Hispano complex; the14th century Alhambra
Palace and Generalife. The Generalife includes the lower gardens, the Palace of
the Generalife and the upper gardens. It was constructed to be the recreation
area of the Kings of Granada, where they escaped from the official routine. At
the Alhambra Palace we saw a maze of magnificent halls and intimate courtyards
decorated by rows of elegant arches, bubbling fountains and splendidly carved
decorations. We saw the Palace of Charles the 5th, an outstanding example of
Spanish Renaissance architecture, and the Alcazaba fortress with its Torre de la
Vela tower offering spectacular views of Granada. The Alhambra was built by
Arabs for Arabs and has a lot of mosaics and other tile work. It is amazing
that they could build these palaces so long ago.
They recommended that we read the book Tales of
the Alhambra by Julius Irving. It talks about his travels from Seville to
Granada.
1 – Santo Domingo Church – Malaga – used to be
a prison
2 – Rose Garden – soccer stadium – Malaga
3 - Botanical Gardens – Malaga
4 – Cemetery
5 – House on hill
6 – Vacated condos – Spain went through the
same housing foreclosures we do; however, here you do not turn in your keys and
walk away. It is your house till the mortgage is paid. So, no one else can move
in and they look like this.
7 – Monument as we came in to Granada
8 – Overlooking Granada
9-16 Old Granada – notice the beautiful flowers;
the blue pots on one of the balconies are called Fajalauza (?) pottery.
17-18 Entrance and map (zoom in and you might
be able to read it)
19 -22 Generalife
23-51 The rest of the Alhambra – notice all the
beautiful work
52 – Bull
53 – City Hall – Malaga
54 – Cathedral – Malaga
55 – Beach – Malaga (did not get to go)
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