Granada: City of Pomegranates, History, and Culture
Explore the rich history and vibrant culture of Granada, Spain, known as the city of pomegranates. Learn about its iconic landmarks, such as the Alhambra, and delve into its literary heritage with poets like Federico García Lorca. Follow journalist Grigory Pasko as he uncovers the beauty and charm of Granada.
City of Pomegranates, Spanish Granada, or Grenada?
Federico García Lorca, Spanish Granada, and the city of pomegranates. Of course, one of my favorite childhood poems is the light-hearted "Grenada." About the "dreamer-cossack" who found Grenada in a book:
Brother! Grenada
I found in a book.
Beautiful name, High honor -
The Granada district Exists in Spain!
— Grigory Pasko, journalist (partner content).
Since then, another boy has had a sense of Spanish melancholy. This is especially true for the city of pomegranates. And there was interest in other Spanish poets. For example, Federico García Lorca, who was born near Spanish Granada, lived in Granada and was shot in 1936 also here.
Ashen sky.
Platinum olive.
And blacker than tar.
The scorched field.
The blood coagulated crimsonIn the fresh wound of sunset.
Like paper in a crumple —The pale hill is crushed.
— Federico García Lorca
Grenada also exists
In addition to Spanish Granada, Grenada also exists, and the pomegranate fruit here has its history.
Correctly, of course, not Grenada, but Granada (Spanish: Granada). Although Grenada also exists — it is an island state in the southeast of the Caribbean Sea. But Svietlov is talking about Spanish Granada. About the one whose name is based on the pomegranate fruit.
Yes, it was named Granada after this fruit. In legend, it is said that the nearby hills (foothills of the Sierra Nevada) resemble the open fruit of the pomegranate.
By the way, in the city itself, you will come across — a sculptural structure with a fountain and boundary posts on the road in the form of this fruit... There is a pomegranate fruit on the coat of arms of Granada itself and its municipalities.
Historians write that in Roman times, there was a city called Iliberis here
One of the districts of this city was called Granada. Iliberis (Spanish: Valberis) began to develop and rebuild under the Arabs. Thus, the Alhambra the Generalife, and much more appeared. Under the Nasrids (1238 — 1492), Spanish Granada became a cultural and scientific center. It did not wither even after the expulsion of the Moors by the Catholic Kings in 1492.
In our times, due to the global economic crisis, many, especially southern, cities of Spain began to experience difficulties. But, it seems to me, the local rulers managed to find the right direction in economic recovery. And this direction is tourism.
Of course, the city of pomegranates, Seville, Cordoba never suffered from a lack of tourist attention. But modernity dictates its conditions, and the Spaniards take them into account. Tourism is developing, which means there are inflows in the city treasury.
— Grigory Pasko, journalist (partner content)
The ancient Albaicín quarter
Granada is famous not only for pomegranates ...But also for architectural monuments. And not only from the time of the Moors. Walk along Carrera del Darro. Look at El Banuelo - 11th-century Moorish baths and El Arco de las Pesas. Go to the Sacromonte hill and the Abadía del Sacromonte monastery...
Royal Chancellery, the female monastery Convento de la Santa Catalina. The Church of Iglesia de Santa Anna was built after the Reconquista — the liberation struggle of the Pyrenean Christian peoples for the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim Moorish conquerors (Arabs and Berbers) in the VIII-XVIII centuries.
After the Arabs were expelled, the mosques were destroyed. Now, it seems, the times of the return of Muslims have come: at the Colina de las Cabras hill, the first mosque in the last five hundred years was recently built, the Mezquita Mayor.
Alhambra in miniature
Another attraction of the city of pomegranates is the Dar al Horra Palace, a kind of miniature Alhambra. Aisha, the mother of the last Muslim ruler of Granada, Boabdil, lived in this palace.
Spanish Granada is colorful, vibrant, diverse... Here are the ruins of some colorful clothes; here are the ruins of souvenirs; here are huge trays of spices and teas... The largest eastern bazaar, by the way, is located near the Church of St. George.
Strolling through the city is interesting, and despite the heat in the morning, it is not as difficult as it could be. The thing is that over the central streets of Granada are stretched... awnings, giving such coveted shade. Plus the crowns of trees, including with pomegranates, plus fountains...
Walking the streets, you can easily hear Russian speech
And Ukrainian. Remember Svietlov's boy who "left home, went to fight to give land to the peasants in Granada"? "Guys" are plentiful here. According to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as of today, no fewer than 150 thousand Ukrainians live legally and illegally in the country. No fewer than 13 thousand of them are in Andalusia. Several thousand are in Spanish Granada, a picturesque city of pomegranates.
...You can talk about the city of pomegranates for a long time. But it's better to see it once (and even better - not just once!). Try the local famous fruit — pomegranate. As one blind beggar from Granada, whose words are carved on the gates of the Alhambra, said: "Please, for God's sake, there is nothing more terrible than being blind in Granada..."
