My First Week in Granada Part 1

During my first week in Granada I did so much, that I had to break it into multiple posts. This one is about my time in the Albaicín, and the following posts will include the Alhambra and the Generalife, Hospicio Real, La Catedral de Granada, and the Monasterio de San Jerónimo. I look forward to telling you all about it!

The Albaicín

The Albaicín was built by the Muslims that lived in Granada (before it was Granada) in the 11th century. It is filled with narrow winding streets that may lead you to hidden plazas, churches, fountains, or simply dead-ends. One of the best ways to get to know the Albaicín is to arbitrarily pick a street and follow it; you never know where you might end up or what you might find!

There are fountains everywhere in the Albaicín, and so long as they do not say “no potable,” you can drink from them. Every neighborhood in this area had to have a mosque, a school, and a fountain in order to be considered a neighborhood. The fountain served a dual purpose: not only was it used to bring clean water to the townspeople, but it also provided the water necessary to perform ablutions before entering the mosque to pray. Ablution consists of washing your face, hands, and feet three times before each one of the five daily prayer times. (As opposed to the Christians who washed themselves twice a year -once on their birthday and again on the day of their patron saint.) All but two of the mosques were converted into churches after the Catholic Kings won Granada, but the architecture and fountains remain as reminders of the powerful Islamic history in this area.

The water system was incredibly well-engineered as well, evidenced by the fact that many of the pipes in the area are functioning originals from the 11th century. The Moorish people figured out the most efficient way to move the water was to only move it once from the river to the top of the highest hill. This way gravity does the rest of the work carrying the water down the mountain to each of the town’s fountains within the Albaicín.

Calle del Beso

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Another gem of the Albaicín is the Calle del Beso which is named after a cute legend that allegedly happened here. According to the story, the most beautiful girl in the town lived in this house, and everyone wanted to marry her. Eventually she fell in love with a man and planned to marry him, but on the day of her wedding, when her mother went in to see her, she was dead. The mother cried and the whole town transformed with sorrow at the sound of the news. When it came time for her body to be removed and taken to be buried, the mother gave her two kisses to say goodbye as she was carried through the doorway. With the second kiss the daughter awoke and opened her eyes! She was alive and well. She later went on to be married and led a normal life. Since then the street name has changed to Calle Del Beso or Street of the Kiss.

I’m excited to explore the Albaicín further to see what other gems I might find, and I’ll be here to tell you about it when I do. Check back soon to learn about my time at the Alhambra and Generalife!

Jennifer