Alhambra

Today was a very busy day… first of all, we had to get up early to get in line for Alhambra tickets, as they limit the number of people they let in to 7700 per day. You can reserve tickets in advance online (www.alhambra-patronato.es, www.alhambratickets.com) or through any Spanish bank branch, although this does involve a fee (about €1 per ticket) and you have to be very careful. For example, I originally tried to book the tickets online, however there was an error on the website and I ended up booking the wrong date. Let’s just say it took a long time and a lot of effort to finally cancel the tickets.

When we arrived at the Alhambra at about 9:20 am, there was already a long line up (especially for a Monday in September), so we had to wait an hour and a half just to buy the tickets. By the time we finally got to the front, they only had tickets remaining for the afternoon. So we ended up leaving and coming back at 2:00 pm to actually see the place. This was slightly inconvenient, as the Alhambra is located at the highest point of Granada, which means lots of walking up and down hills and/or taking a bus. But the Alhambra itself was pretty impressive after all.

It is basically a huge Moorish fortress, and in the past it was home to the Muslim kings of Granada. The word ‘Alhambra’ is Arabic for ‘the red’, and it was derived from the red clay surrounding the fortress. This name is even more fitting now as the whitewashed buildings have become reddish in colour over the years.