What I’ll remember most about Granada: little Morocco, Alhambra, burro taxis, oranges and stray cats

A few weeks ago I took a trip to Granada, which is in the southern region of Spain known as Andalusia. It’s a shame the weather was mostly drizzly and overcast, but even so, I could see why Granada has been referred to as the most beautiful city in Spain. I don’t know if I agree, but I definitely see the reasoning behind it. Granada combines Spain and the not-too-distant Morocco all in one place: the food, the architecture, the people, the language, the culture, everything. There is even a “little Morocco” which is sort of what I picture a Moroccan market to look like, but I’m probably way off base.

Granada was the last city to be reconquered by the Spaniards from the Arabs, hence the huge Arabian influence at almost every turn, specifically the Moorish architecture. Of course, the main attraction here is the massive Alhambra, which was first used as a fortress by the Arab rulers here. We spent 3 hours just walking around the Alhambra, and that was without stopping to look at every single thing and every single information panel. Seeing as how I wasn’t reading all the signs and instead being snap-happy with my camera, for more information I suggest you Wikipedia it – it’s worth it.

Sidenote: I have never seen a city with so many stray cats.

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