Granada

Nasrid Granada

By 1250, the majority of the Iberian peninsula was ruled by the kings of Castile, Aragon and Portugal, with the exception of Granada.  When Almohad rule was falling apart, Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr, whose ancestors were known as the Nasrids, set up an independent state based in Granada in 1237.  Granada was politically unstable as it was a confederation of tribes with tribal families manoeuvring for control of settlements.  The rural area was poor and could not produce enough food, Granada had to import food from North Africa.

The Nasrids had good armies and an excellent light cavalry which they recruited in Morocco.  The Nasrids were assisted militarily by the Merinids in Morocco, who had taken power when the Almohads collapsed.  The territory was well fortified by a series of castles and watchtowers; however, in 1246 the Castilian king captured an outpost at Jaen and began to extract a tribute from the Nasrids.

Granada hung on but continued to wage war against the Castilians, the Castilians captured the important fortress town of Antequera in 1410.  Matters became very precarious when the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united when husband and wife Fernando of Aragon and Isabel of Castile became the rulers of their respective territories, they are known as the Catholic Kings.

The war with Granada began in 1481.  The amir’s son Boabdil revolted against his father, the Castilians captured him in 1483 and set him up as a puppet amir.  The Castilians devastated the countryside and laid siege to the cities.  The siege of Granada began in 1491 and the city fell 8 months later.  The Catholic Kings took over the Alhambra palace in Granada in the first days of January.

Initially the Christian rulers allowed the Muslims to continue practising their faith and customs, resistance to Christian rule resulted in the citizens being sold into slavery.  Many Muslims chose to emigrate to Morocco, which proved to be a prudent course of action as the Christian’s tolerance of the Islamic faith was not to last.

The Jewish population fared far worse.  For some time, the legal situation of the Jews was similar to that of the Mudejars; however, the Christian clergy was vindictive toward the Jews.  Laws become more restrictive and their treatment by the Christian populace was violent and insulting.  By 1391, Jewish residences and synagogues were destroyed in Sevilla and many Jewish citizens were massacred.  Many had to convert to Christianity, violence against the Jewish population spread to other areas of Spain.  The Jews lost their law courts, were no longer able to engage in commerce with Christians, hold public office, work as artisans, carry arms or have relationships with Christians.  The Spanish Inquisition got underway in 1480, many Jews were burned or imprisoned, tortured into confessions and assets were confiscated.  In 1492, the Catholic Kings expelled the Jews, they had to sell their property for low prices if they could sell it at all and get out, this was a financial disaster for the Jews.

The Muslim population was subjected to mass baptisms and automatically became Christians, this was supported by Queen Isabella, a religious zealot.  Ferdinand was more lenient and did not support the policy, his grandson and successor, Charles V swore not to force conversion or expel Muslims.  By 1525 he reneged on his word and forced conversion to Christianity.  In 1568, there was an uprising among the Muslims in the Alpujarras due to ill treatment, this was the excuse Philip III needed; thus, between 1609 and 1614, the Muslims were expelled from Spain, nine centuries after their initial invasion.

Today we left the olive groves behind and drove a bit to the east to the city of Granada.  We loved our time in the olive region.  The olive farmers are really busy harvesting but it has been a horrible year for them.  There has been a lack of rain and they also had frost, which has reduced the size of the olives, but the quality is very good.  The prices are up but the yield is terrible, they will only get about 7 euro per tree, which is ridiculous.

All of the olives in that region are excellent for oil production but not good for eating.  The fine eating olives come from Italy.  It is amazing that every single bit of the olive harvest is put to use.  The twigs and leaves are used as mulch, the pits are used as a source of heat in a burner and the dried olive skins are also used in a burner for heat.

The other interesting thing about the region, is that every town specializes in some type of product.  From olives, to furniture manufacture to leather to spirits made with anise.  It is a rarely visited region and we absolutely loved it.

We have come to Granada to visit the Alhambra, the Nasrid palace.  It is an extraordinary site that is the most visited of all sites in Spain.  We purchased tickets online a few months ago.  En route we stopped at a little village for café con leche as we had to give the apartment owners time to get the apartment ready.

We texted to let them know when we were arriving, we had just parked on the street when one of the owners rode up on his scooter.  He was incredibly nice and the apartment is great, we even have underground parking.  It is way outside the centre of Granada, as you do not want to drive anywhere near the city centre.  We walked up to the Alhambra to the ticket machines to retrieve our tickets and scope out the entrance.  We also wanted to time how long it takes to walk there as we have an early time slot for tomorrow morning and you cannot be late.  It took us about 45 minutes to get to the gate we need for tomorrow, but we were really hoofing it.

No photos for today, we should have lots for tomorrow as the Alhambra is a dream for those interested in architecture and design.