The Alhambra by moonlight

[April 24, Granada]

Though it is only April, we have been dismayed at the unexpectedly large crowds here in Spain and were not looking forward to sharing the Alhambra with massed formations of group tours. We had the happy idea to see the Alhambra at night, when most groups are being stuffed with Spain's notoriously late-hour dinners or treated to an "authentic" flamenco dinner/floor show. We had seen the palace of the Moors by day many years ago and a night visit offered a certain romantic charm.

Days in the Gardens of Spain

[April 24, Granada]

   Listen to Manuel de Falla as you look at these photos of the Generalife Gardens. Though part of the Alhambra complex, they well reward a visit in themselves, especially in spring. They spread up a steep hill across from the Alhambra and provide beautiful views of same. They, along with the lovely "summer palace" were built by Moorish rulers of Granada as a get-away from the business and summer heat of the main Alhambra palace. Today they give the visitor some sense of the luxury and elegance of the Moorish court.

Moor is more

[April 16, Ronda]

The Modragon Palace was the 14th c. home of the Moorish kings pre-reconquista, and gives some idea of the graceful lifestyle they enjoyed.

A church unmosqued

[April 16, Ronda]

The Christian reconquistas, after a good siege and sack of a Moorish stronghold, loved nothing more than to press home their point by building a cathedral on the ruins of a mosque. Santa Maria la Mayor shows something of its former occupant in its ground plan and tower (former minaret),

Saint James kicks butt

[April 9, Santiago de Compostela]



An armored warrior on horseback, wielding sword and hacking Moors, is not what normally comet to mind when one thinks of a saint. But Saint James, is not your typical contemplative. His remains were "discovered" in the 9th century, when the Christian forces were at a low ebb against the occupying Moors. His role at the time was to rally men at arms rather than souls.

Today, his martial image is somewhat embarrassing to a Spain that prefers dialogue with Islam rather than confrontation, at least among the politically correct. But we suspect that many take a secret pride in the memory of Santiago Matamoros (Saint James, the Moor Slayer) .

Coimbra 3 -- The Dog Killers

[April 5, Coimbra}

Descending from the university we pass

the old cathedral, built while the Moors were still making nuisances of themselves in the neighborhood, looks (and is) a fortress.

Castelo and Alfama

[April 1, Lisbon] 

Sao Jorge castle was built in the 8th century by the Moors, but then completely rebuilt by Salazar in the 20th century. It is not particularly attractive or impressive in itself,