Time for a Recap; Granada, Cordoba, Santander, and Seville
Looking up from my Spanish history books I was shocked to see that someone had torn two months off my calendar. How can it possibly be November?
I feel sick that I have not kept my blog current. As each day passes and I experience new and wondrous things I feel myself slipping behind my favorite project. Given in Switzerland I was free to gallivant and blog. Graduate school doesn’t lend the same freedoms. The program is exciting and fulfilling, it requires all of my attention.
Rather than attempt to record every detail from the last two months I will summarize and highlight select memories.
School- Love it. My days are filled with the history of Latin America and Spain. For Spain we dove into history post Visigoth Spain, in 711 when the first Muslim leader established Al Andaluz, jetting forward to the era of the Reconquista and into the times of los Reyes Catolicos. Up until the 1492 the history of Spain is formed by the interactions between the 3 major religions; Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Reading Menocal’s Joya del Mundo gave my trips to al Andaluz new meaning.
In the last two months I took several trips to through out Spain: Santander, Segovia and Seville. The most recent adventure led me to Granada and Cordoba with Jessie, Meghan, Marissa and Nina.
Granada was the last Muslim territory before it fell to the Isabel y Ferdinand in 1492. After the first wave of the Reconquista the Arab kings were given permission to keep Granada as a Muslim territory. During the 13th and 14th century Granada experienced a flourishing of culture. This prosperity is reflected in La Alhambra built between 1238 and 1358.
The foreboding exterior of La Alhambra viewed from the Sacremonte produces a sense of awe only surpassed by the lavish palace of its interior. We spent nearly an entire day exploring the grounds. I could easily imagine La Alhambra in its prime; a paradise filled with fruit trees and lush patios.
Nina narrated from a Rick Steve’s guidebook downloaded onto her Kindle. As we moved from room to room she enlightened us with anecdotes and eccentric trivia. Perhaps the most moving section of the lesson, the fateful day when the city was defeated and Andalucía fell to the Christians. Imagine the Cross being erected over centuries arab culture and tradition.
After conquering Granada the Catholic kings did some redecorating. We visited the palace of Carlos V, constructed in perfect Renaissance form. I noted the Hapsburg embellishments throughout the arab palace as well.
The Sultans main room, la Gran Salon de los Embajadores would later be used by the king and queen of Spain. Here under the decadent Moorish carved ceilings Christopher Columbus would present his plans to the queen of Spain requesting to travel to the Indies.
We spent two days in this magical city, wandering narrow cobble stone streets, drinking mint tea and avoiding the gypsies and their rosemary. (For anyone who has visited Granada you are familiar with the 50,000 gitanos there, perhaps like my friend Jessie you have been hypnotized by one and given them 20 euros.) On our last night we splurged on a fancy dinner at a Carmen with spectacular nocturnal views of the Alhambra. I fell in love with Granada. I recommend everyone read Mencol’s work, and visit Al Andaluz following Rick Steve’s dinning recommendations.
Cordoba further solidified our loyalty to the great R.S. Based on his travel guide we ate at an amazing oxtail stew (rabo de torro) and salmorejo (creamy traditional soup) at Bodegas Campos. With stomachs full of traditional fare we headed to Cordobas mosque.
For this history lesson we will need to jump back in time, before La Alhambra. Abd ar Rahman I built a mosque in 784. Later his descendent Abd ar Rahman III completed a great expansion of the church in the 10th century claiming himself as caliph, and Al Andaluz as a separate and powerful Muslim center. Here arab culture prospered immeasurably. Science, philosophy, poetry advanced with great speed.
The mosque interior is forest like, with hundreds of intricately carved pillars and arcs. The original beauty of the mosque is bastardized by the architecture from other periods, catholic embellishments from Gothic to Baroque. Some people feel disgusted walking into church after church after church in Europe. The extravagance the catholic esthetic is only made worse by seeing it hover over the skeleton of a lost culture.
To be fair the church’s pamphlet does point out that the mosque was originally built over a Visigoth church. During the reign of the Moors the Visigoths retreated to the north hiding in the cliffs and forests. Traveling to Santander I imagined Monty Python like characters lurking in the woods. Christian kings and knights plotting their reconquest…
I had gone to Santander to visit my friend Alicia one of my first weeks in Spain. We had met through a professor in Oregon. Once or twice a week we would get together for a glass of wine and to practice Spanish. I stayed with her family taking in the last week of warm weather. It was quite sublime swimming in the Ocean the last week of September. I spent most of my time studying for my first exam, but managed to take in the sights and history. Alicia and her friends gave me a crash course in Spanish complete with a list of vulgar words and expressions.
The first week of October NYU arranged a trip to Seville for the Graduate students. Our guide had her PhD in history focusing on the Arab Seville, she also speaks Arabic. I found her informative, but the focus was a little narrowed. We visited the Giralada, and the large fortress, we even toured the old Jewish quarter. All fascinating, but we completely ignored everything after the 15th century…Only focusing on this time period fails to do Seville justice. Seville WAS THE PORT TO THE NEW WORLD.
I felt frustrated that the topic was not covered at all. Upon returning I asked my Latin American history professor for more information. She suggested an “The Bonds of Patrimony” by James Fernandez, further provoking my curiosity. I like the idea of Seville as a center of worldly encounters, and to think of how the New World existed in the imagination of Europeans.
In our studies of Spanish culture and history we have been asked to examine the various influences that make Spain what it is today. The Mosque of Cordoba, the Alhambra, the port of Seville and the Cliffs of Santander will haunt me for some time. I feel Spain only will continue to unveil its complexity.
Don’t let me be misunderstood; my trips have not entirely defined by scholarly analysis. I have also let myself be silly and hedonistic. In Granda and Cordoba especially: we ate and drank copious amounts and spoke in English. Living abroad has greatly altered our ability to communicate. We are somewhere in-between, on the one hand our Spanish slowly improves, on the other we are losing our English (both colloquial and official). After 5 days with the other NYU girls my journal now contains a long list of quotes in terrible English, either direct translations or confused idioms.
