Um, why Cordoba?

Striped Archways
Originally uploaded by nerissa_atkinson.I knew Liorah and Nomes were wondering this, but they had unquestioningly let me book us in for a night there. Sitting midway between Granada and Seville, it broke up the 6 hour journey, and is also the site of the Mesquite, once an 11th century mosque and over the years expanded and finally converted into a Catholic cathedral. This renovation, while impressive, has unfortunately for me taken all of the soul and majesty out of this building, and it feels a little like a giant overdecorated carpark.

Cordoba is another thing entirely. Despite its raison d'etre being the Mesquite, it's a charming small andalusian town, with a fraction of the tourists of Granada. I've got in mind to go back and base myself there to spend a week or two visting the surrouding area. And with the fast train connecting to Seville in a little over half an hour, it's hardly a remote outpost at all.

The Money Shot

Money Shot
Originally uploaded by nerissa_atkinson.

You won't believe how many takes it took for us to finally get a nice shot of us and the Alhambra, with the assistance of an accommodating log. This was the culmination of a long uphill walk on a 30 degree day thanks to the unhappy combination of Naomi and a guidebook. Liorah and I are going to have to stop her buying them from now on...

Granada is most famous for the Alhambra palace, originally a Visigoth fortress on a hilltop overlooking Granada, which was developed and expanded dramatically over 600 years and was the base for the Moorish monarchs when Spain was part of the Islamic Empire.

You can feel this Moorish influence in the city itself as well - a strange but attractive combination with the later Spanish additions, and for the first time we have one eye on the fact that we will be in Morocco in a week's time.

I got up early one morning to get us tickets for the palace - after a 20 minute uphill climb I reached the front gates by 7am and stood in line in the cold for 2 hours - but the palace is completely worth the wait. Its walls are decorated with ornate carving, but the overall feeling is of calm and security, and I was left feeling very satisfied, unlike my visit to the Tokapi palace in Istanbul

There's not a lot else to do in Granada once you have taken in the Alhambra, but it's a nice city to spend a couple of days in, especially as it's about 10 degrees warmer than North Spain. Tomorrow we take the bus west to Cordoba.