A few cities I will always want to return to are Paris, London, Zürich and New York, but a place that I will want to visit over and over and over is definitely The Alhambra in Spain!
An eighty-mile journey, taking two hours (both ways, with viewing time adding at least another two to four hours), it is worth every minute. In fact, to do justice to this - words fail me… all I can say is: overwhelming! - experience, one must return to it, and then slowly focus on sections or specific interests.
From Malaga, (along the Southern coast of Spain and the capital of the Costa del Sol - Sun Coast) to the interior, to Granada (derived from the fruit, ‘pomegranate’, which is the official symbol of the city), one drives through the Andalusian countryside. This trip also provided us with our first glimpse of massive wind farms, rising up to the mountainous hills like massive vultures from outer space, slowly flapping giant wings. Many olive and almond trees, with rows between the trees kept so clean it almost appears sterile, grow on the hills and in the valleys, under the gaze of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Now, in Spring, it appeared without its customary snow cap and also without the glacier, which melted due to global warming. This phenomenon is also being blamed for the unnatural tornados appearing on the Mediterranean Sea!
Alhambra - pronounced ‘Al Hambra’ by our lively and very intelligent guide (with the charming name of Luciana, sounding like water bubbling from the many fountains we would be visiting) - originates, partly from the colour of the hill’s soil and also in part from the name of the founder of the Nasrid dynasty: Muhammed ibn al-Ahmar ibn Nasr. Built during the Moorish era (but with additions over many more years) in the 13th century, this truly awesome (by all standards) settlement is the zenith of Moorish culture – its last capital, was so impressive that the Christian conquerors could not bear to destroy it! Locals refer to it as the eighth wonder of the world!
In this vast place one can immerse yourself in different sections: Pilar de Carlos V de la Alhambra (Charles V Fountain), Puerta de la Justicia (The Justice Gate) and Alcazaba (Old Citadel). Then the Nasrid Palaces: Mexuar, Comares, Patio de los Leones (Courtyard of the Lions), Baños (The Bathhouse), Partal (the Partal Gardens), Torres (Towers), Generalife, El secano (Upper Alhambra) and Palacio de Carlos V (the Palace of Charles V).
But on this fine morning, fresh with dew, fragrant with flowers, cool and moist and exuding aromas of herbs, I felt that I had never before experienced such stunning gardens! How could I describe them? As architecturally artistic gardening? Colour combination played a significant role, with fountains on EVERY possible place! Symmetrical layout and accents achieved by placing large pots, made for an astounding experience! Cypress hedges, as tall as buildings, pruned into mazes, or actually forming ‘garden rooms’, created gardens so totally different to many European style gardens (think; tulip fields in Amsterdam).
Being an ardent gardener, always seeking out gardens, I can in all truth declare: These are the MOST BEAUTIFUL gardens ever!
BY ADRIANA COETZEE
