This morning, we had time to visit yet another religious monument this time the Basilica San Juan de Dios (St John of God) who is the patron saint of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller. Situated not far from the monastery we visited yesterday we should, perhaps, have visited the basilica yesterday? However, we had time to fill in this morning before heading to the Alhambra y Generalife this afternoon, so this morning was OK too. Everything is so close it takes no time to walk backwards and forwards and around in circles.
After a slow start we arrived about 11.00am which was cutting it a bit fine with the basilica closing between 12.30pm and 1.30pm. For the first time we were offered audio guides as part of our entry tariff. Everywhere else has gone high-tech, providing a QR code for you to scan on your mobile phone. Then really you need to have earphones with you so that your commentary doesn’t disturb other people. Not that that worries some people. I saw people yesterday in the Catedral with their commentary blaring out of their phone inappropriately. The only thing with the commentary is that we spend at least twice as long looking at everything while it is explained to us in detail.
St John of God (born João Duarte Cidade) was a Portuguese soldier who in 1547 at the age of 40 turned from the sinfulness of his past life to become a healthcare working in Spain. His followers later formed the Brothers Hospitallers of St John of God a Catholic religious order dedicated to the care of the poor, the sick and those with mental disorders. Cidade died in 1550 and was canonized by Pope Alexander VIII in 1690. H is considered one of the leading religious figures in the history of the Iberian Peninsula.
In 1737, the Hospitaller Order of St John of God ordered the construction of the basilica to house the remains of the saint. By the middle of the century a large Baroque church with a Latin cross layout was erected. The interior is richly decorated with polychrome wood sculptures of saints and a lot, seriously A LOT of gilding. The imposing main altarpiece is stupendous. It is almost completely golden and houses a figure of the Virgin in the centre.
During our visit we were able to visit the offices and the sacristy and view all the side chapels before venturing into the main nave to view the remains of St John of God. As we completed our tour here and returned to the main body of the basilica one of the attendants was following behind us locking up. It was only 11.50am so we were a bit surprised that they were closing for lunch already. We weren’t being herded out, but we certainly felt that we shouldn’t dawdle. Oops, it seems on a Sunday they close earlier. Lucky that we didn’t arrive any later this morning as they might not have let us in if they didn’t think we had time to complete the tour.
We returned to the same shop as yesterday to buy savoury pasties for lunch. As we left with our goodies in a paper bag Bernie received a phone call from Thrifty asking where the Škoda is. What?! We dropped it at Dublin Airport at 6.00am on Friday. We were signed in by the attendant with his tablet, told all was OK with the car and our receipt would be emailed to us. Bernie confirmed that, yes, we left the car in the drop off area adjacent to the shuttle bus service and then took the bus to Terminal 2 where we caught a flight to Spain. It seems the job is not signed off in their system so she’s chasing it up. Not only do we need our receipt we need the amount held on our credit returned to us! It’s Sunday, I guess it might be tomorrow or Tuesday before that debacle washes through their system. Fingers crossed that they don’t bill us for two more days of car hire when we’ve actually been slogging around Granada on foot all of that time.
The rest of the day was set aside to visit the jewel in Granada’s crown, the Alhambra. Before catching one of the minibuses up the hill we declared it ice-cream o’clock – almost straight after lunch rather than mid-afternoon. It’s a really steep climb up to the Alhambra so we decided a bus ride was called for. The bus stops very near the main entrance so it’s very convenient to use public transport.
Our ticket for today is for timed entry (at 5.30pm) to the Palacios Nazaríes. The ticket allows us to visit the rest of the site today between 8.30am and 8.00pm. The ticketing is very regimented with us needing to bring our tickets and our passports with us to gain entry. It was very unclear where we were supposed to go with the tickets that we purchased online but we eventually found our way to the gate and our tickets and passports were scanned. It was reiterated that our entry to Palacios Nazaríes is at 5.30pm and we should aim to be there 10-15 minutes ahead of our entry time.
Another site, another QR code to activate the guide on your phone and another one to download a map. We are going to have to put our EarPods in my bag … unless things are more low-tech in Seville? Anyway, with the map downloaded Bernie promptly leads me up a path that has NO ENTRY on it. I think this is the wrong way I say. No, no, this is the way it says. We keep seeing NO ENTRY signs. But other people are going this way, I’m told. I ask to be shown the map on his phone. Ahem, if that dotted line is the path we should follow, why is the blue dot showing our location over there??
We retraced our steps and took the correct path to Generalife which may or may not mean Garden of the Architect … there are a few possible translations given. We strolled in through the Jardines which consist of dozens of garden ‘rooms’ created with Cyprus hedges. Water features abound and there are amazing views of the Alhambra and the city of Granada below.
We made our way into the Palacio at the north-west end of the gardens. The villa was originally a hunting lodge and country retreat where the Sultans and their wives could escape the turmoil of the palace. The Moors created shady, secluded patios and rooms to combat the heat of summer. After the Catholic Conquest the property was bestowed upon Spanish aristocrats who substantially altered the little palace in the 19th century adding an upper floor, opening arched windows in the wall overlooking the Alhambra and installing the long rows of fountains. After completing the rest of the circuit through the gardens we continued following the signposted route ended up going OUT the way Bernie had tried to bring us in. I will admit that they could have a few more actual signposts to make finding the route a little easier.
Next, we wandered down to the Palacio Carlos V. In 1527 the emperor engaged architect Pedro Machuca to build a Renaissance palace that would meet his and his family’s needs more satisfactorily than the Alcázar which they used as a summer residence. Hmmn, the guides say Renaissance but compared with the light and airy beauty of the Alhambra it actually looks a bit brutalist! The palace is a blocky square with a façade 63 metres wide and 17 metres high. It is however ‘lighter’ on the inside with a unique circular courtyard … which hosts concerts and events, so it’s stacked full of lighting and sound equipment and rows of plastic seating. I guess it takes $$$ to maintain the whole site so any income that can be generated to assist with that must be welcome?
We still had time to spare before our allocated entry time so visited the Alcazabar next. The Alcazabar dates to the reign of Mohamed I and was built as castle with a fortified perimeter. The towers of the Alcazabar, including the Tower of the Candle, Tower Quebrada and the Tower of Homage are what creates the very recognizable silhouette of the Alhambra. The site was abandoned for many years until the Christians repaired and extended the structure in the 16th century to suit their military needs. We climbed all of the towers to enjoy the spectacular views over Granada.
Ah, finally, it was nearly time time to enter the Palacios Nazaríes. We found some shade to sit in to await our time slot. Despite the reminder at the start of our visit about making sure to be on time for our scheduled entry it seemed that many others did not get the message?? We joined the queue at 5.10pm and … arrived a little too early for our slot so we were asked to wait to the side. Fair enough. Then the ticket attendant is running up and down the queue calling out cinco, cinco and gathering up stragglers from further back in the queue.
Their system must tell them who has entered the monument as a whole and who has entered the Palacios Nazaríes specifically because he was still looking for visitors who were not there for their 5.00pm slot. We had been watching some lads taking selfies just outside the taped off queue. Honestly, they didn’t look the types to be at all interested in visiting historic monuments?? And maybe they weren’t because instead of taking selfies, oblivious to the fact that their time slot was going in, they should have been in the queue! Even after our session started going in there was a couple and child who arrived after 5.30pm with tickets for 5.00pm admission. Tcht. Why is being on time so difficult for some people?
Palacios Nazaríes is the centerpiece of the Alhambra and considered to be the greatest Islamic building in Europe with its perfectly proportioned rooms and courtyards, intricately moulded stucco walls, beautiful tiles and finely carved timber ceilings. The building was built in the 14th century and consists of three main areas: the Mexuar, the administrative and public part of the complex, the Palacio Comares, Emir Yusuf I’s official residence and the Palacio de los Leones, the private quarters added by Muhammad V. Truly stunning, truly stuffed with stupid humans despite the timed entries to control the number of visitors! Ugh! Once again so many people striking a pose in front of EVERY SINGLE PART of the building. And not just one pose, multiple poses with multiple people in the group. Come on, it’s not you who is interesting and beautiful – it’s the building itself. I guess it’s the Instaworthy world. If you don’t take the photo and post it on Instagram, did it really happen?? Yes, we take photos too but do try to be unobtrusive and considerate in the process. No selfie-sticks the signs said and yet, selfie-sticks abounded.
After making our way through the Palacios Nazaríes we headed back to the main entrance by way of the Jardins del Partal and the Torre de la Cautiva. On our way out Bernie mentioned that he had read that the average visit to the Alhambra is three to four hours. We were heading out after five hours exploring this amazing UNESCO World Heritage Monument so I think we did it justice.
We could have walked down the hill back into town, but it was nearing 7.00pm so we decided to catch the bus. After spending five hours making our way around a 14-hectare site this afternoon we figured we didn’t need any more exercise!
Back in our apartment we sat down for an hour before heading out to find dinner. Tonight, we went to a restaurant on Paco’s list and Carmen’s list, Bodegas Castañ16,580 eda. Our timing was great again tonight being seated straight away. While we were ordering and eating, we could see that a queue had formed outside. We’re getting better at ordering Spanish food with our meal tonight not being quite so cheese and ham dominant. We even tried a broad bean dish and a traditional Granada salad with fish, onion, boiled egg, orange and olives. Delicious!
Steps: 16,580 (10.34kms)