The Albaicín or Albayzín, situated on the hill of San Cristóbal and facing the hill of the Sabika. On this hill is where the Alhambra is located. It is the oldest quarter of Granada. It is during the Nasrid period (1238-1492) that it acquired its greatest importance.
Today it still maintains the urban layout of that important period. It has an intricate network of narrow alleyways that make you get lost in them, giving you a wonderful experience for your senses.
We begin our visit in the central Plaza Nueva. Despite its name, it is the oldest square in the city. This is where the Al-Hattabin bridge over the Darro River was located during the Muslim occupation.
Attached to it is the Plaza de San Ana. It was built in 1878. Due to the continuous flooding caused by the overflowing of the Darro River, it was decided to vault it, resulting in both squares.
The most notable building in the square is the Palacio de la Chancillería. It was built by order of Charles I between 1531 and 1587 to house the Royal Chancery of Granada. The building was designed by the architects Francisco del Castillo el Mozo and Diego de Siloé.
The building is today the High Court of Justice of Andalusia, Ceuta and Melilla.
Almost at the far end is the Pilar del Toro (Bull’s Pillar). Its name comes from the bull’s head that occupies the central place of the fountain, from whose nose two water spouts emerge. It is the last work of the architect Diego de Siloé and dates from 1559.
At the end of the square, parallel to the river Darro, is the church of San Gil and Santa Ana. It was built in the Mudejar style in 1537 by the architect Diego de Siloé. It stands on the site of the former Almanzora mosque. The tower was built between 1561 and 1563 by the architect Juan Castellar.
From here we take the Carrera del Darro, one of the most beautiful walks in Granada. Although it is somewhat uncomfortable due to the large number of people and the traffic of taxis and buses.
The Carrera del Darro dates back to the 17th century. It was built after the destruction of part of the wall that was located here, due to the explosion of a powder magazine next to the church of San Pedro and San Pablo in 1590.
About 100 metres from the start of the walk, you’ll find a perfect spot for instagramers. There you’ll see the kids taking turns to take the perfect photo. This is the Cabrera Bridge. It was built in the 17th century during the remodelling of the area. It is named after Don Pedro Cabrera y Jaques de Mansilla, commander of Ocaña, who was lieutenant of the Generalife.
A little further on we find the Espinosa Bridge, also from the 17th century. It owes its name to the Espinosa family, who had properties in the area since the beginning of the 16th century.
If we continue on, we soon come across El Bañuelo. These are Arab baths of uncertain origin. On the one hand, it is believed that they date from the 11th century. During the second stage of Zirid construction corresponding to the reigns of Badis and Abd Allah (1038-1090).
Others date it to the 12th century. It was built during the reign of the Zirid King Badis and was integrated into the eastern boundary of the district of the Qawraya castrense (military qawraya). It was within the walls of the al-Qasaba al-Qadima or Old Citadel.
The Hammam al-Jawza or Walnut Bath has been known since the end of the 19th century. It is known by the diminutive name of Bañuelo because it is smaller than the royal baths of the Alhambra.
Nowadays it can be visited. Price: 5€ with the ticket “Monumentos Andalusíes”. This also includes the Dar Al-Horra Palace, El Corral del Carbón and the Moorish House.
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Opposite the Bañuelo, we find the remains of the Puerta de los Tableros. It is also known as the Gate of the Gates. It was built in the 11th century under the rule of the Zirid dynasty. Over it was a bridge that connected the Alcazabas Cadima and Gidida with the fortress of the Alhambra. This was the eastern boundary of Zirid Granada.
A little further on is the Convent of Santa Catalina. It was founded in 1520. Although its construction was completed in 1540 thanks to the support of the widow of Don Hernando de Zafra. The church, in Mudejar style, was rebuilt in 1678 after being destroyed by a raging fire.
The convent can be visited for a €1 entrance fee.
On one side of the convent, in Calle Concepción de Zafra, is the Casa de Zafra (House of Zafra). It is a 14th century Nasrid house. It belonged to a family of Andalusian aristocrats and has maintained its Moorish essence, present in the original structure and the pool in the courtyard.
The Casa de Zafra houses the Albaicín Interpretation Centre. It also houses a series of exhibitions and interactive panels that invite visitors to delve into the origins of the Albayzín neighbourhood.
The entrance fee is 3€. On Sundays it is free.
We return to the Carrera del Darro. On the other side of the convent is the Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum of Granada.
The museum is housed in the Casa de Castril, a Renaissance-style palace built in 1539 for the family of Hernando de Zafra, secretary to the Catholic Monarchs who played an active role in the reconquest of the city from the Muslims and in their Capitulations. It was the work of the architect Sebastián de Alcántara, one of Diego de Siloé’s most outstanding disciples.
The palace is the subject of a legend from the Arab period that refers to a mysterious lady in white who appears from time to time, the result of a misunderstanding between the father of a beautiful girl who lived in the building and her supposed lover, which led to the father’s fury and subsequently to her hanging and walling herself up on the side balcony of the building. On this blind balcony, one can read a slogan that reads: ‘Waiting for heaven’s justice’, which could refer to ‘waiting for heaven’s justice’, probably related to the words that the supposed lover uttered before he was hanged.
Opposite the museum is the church of San Pedro and San Pablo, built in Mudejar and Renaissance style between 1559 and 1567, by the architect Juan Maeda.
We continue onwards and arrive at the Paseo del Padre Manjón (Father Manjon walk), better known as the Paseo de los Tristes (walk of the sad), due to the fact that, in the past, funeral processions used to pass through here on their way to the cemetery. It was built in 1609 and by then it was called Paseo de Guadix and was the busiest area of the city until the 19th century.
At the beginning of the walk, we come across the Casa de las Chirimías. Built at the beginning of the 17th century in the Baroque style as a lookout tower, from which the authorities presided over the festivities and public events held on the esplanade of the Paseo de los Guadix.
The house is located next to the bridge of the Chirimías, built between the 17th and 18th centuries, replacing the previous one from the Muslim period. The bridge crosses over to a building with a rather peculiar history: the “Hotel Reuma”.
It is actually called Hotel Bosques de la Alhambra and dates from the early 20th century. It is located in the middle of the Sabika hill, at the foot of the spectacular Comares Tower. It was built in 1908 by the architect Manuel Antonio Reyes Clavero on the grounds of the Carmen de Santa Engracia, which was owned by his wife…
It opened in 1910 and was only open for two years, as it was located in a shady area, with no sunlight at any time of the day and the humidity of the river, which made it damp and cold for the clients, uncomfortable as balls. Hence the unofficial name of Hotel Reuma.
The truth is that it is a somewhat phantasmagoric vision that I love.
In the centre of the promenade we find the Fountain of the Paseo de los Tristes, built in the Baroque style in 1609.
We turn off a little and walk up Calle Horno del Oro. Here we come across the Casa Horno de Oro (Gold Furnace House). It is a small Nasrid house.
The whole building revolves around a quadrilateral courtyard centred by a small pool and framed on its north and south sides by two porticoes with Nasrid columns behind which the main rooms open.
The house originally consisted of a single storey. A first floor was added in the 16th century. This became the main family area where the women’s and children’s rooms were located.
After the expulsion of the Moors, the house was a corral of neighbours until the 20th century, when it was acquired by the state and restored.
We now head towards the end of the walk. There we have two options: the first is to cross the Aljibillo bridge or Qantarat Ibn Rasiq in Arabic. Originally built in the 11th century by order of Zawi Ibn Ziri, it was completely destroyed in the floods of 1861 and was rebuilt on the spot.
From the end of the bridge, before crossing it, we have spectacular views of the Alhambra.
Cross the bridge and turn right at the end of the path, taking the path to the Fuente del Avellano (Hazelnut Tree Fountain). It is a peaceful path through the hills, which runs through the valley of Valparaiso, between monoliths with classical legends, for about 1 km, ending at the Fuente del Avellano.
According to researchers, the fountain was the famous Fountain of Tears of the Arab poets, whose source springs on the slope of the Silla del Moro (Moor’s chair).
The Fuente del Avellano has a simple pillar, made of Sierra Elvira marble, which is attached to the cistern, made of masonry and half-buried in the hillside.
Its façade is inscribed with a legend, engraved on 17th century stone, which reads, with difficulty:
“Dn. Fernando septimo Q.D.G. being Captain General of this Province the Exmo. Mr. Dn. José Ygnacio Albarez Campana and Corregidor of this Cap. Mr. Marques de Altamira, the City of Granada made this Work commissioning for it to the twenty four of its Town Hall D. José Marin. Year of 1827”.
We retrace our steps and cross the Aljibillo Bridge again and continue straight on up the steep Cuesta del Chapiz.
Just at the beginning of the slope, on the right hand side, you will see the Palacio de los Córdova. It was built between 1530 and 1592 in the Placeta de las Descalzas, for Luis Fernández de Córdova, Alférez Mayor of Granada and Commander of Villanueva de la Fuente.
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In 1919, after passing into the hands of Ricardo Martín Flores, it was demolished to build the Gran Capitán Theatre on its site; the remains of historical-artistic value were preserved on the “Villa María” estate, on the road to Pulianas.
In the 1960s, and faced with the possibility of the remains being moved to Cordoba, Mayor Manuel Sola convinced the Duke of Montellano, married to Hilda Fernández de Córdova, to rebuild the palace on its current site.
In 1983 the Granada City Council acquired the Palacio de los Córdova to house the Municipal Archives, which opened its doors to the public at the beginning of August 1984.
We continue going up and up until we reach the Plaza del Salvador. There we find the Aljibe del Salvador, dating from the Nasrid period, which collects the water from one of the branches of the Aynadamar irrigation channel, whose source is located in Fuente Grande, in Alfacar.
We also find the Church of El Salvador, built in Mudejar style between 1565 and 1605 by the architect Juan de Maeda, and built on the site of the old Great Mosque of Granada.
If we continue walking, on the right side of the parish church we find the Callejón de la Botica, which leads to Plaza Larga, the nerve centre of the Albayzín, with numerous terraces where you can have a drink.
Next to the square is the Arco de las Pesas or New Gate, one of the first access points of the Zirid wall, which was then called Bab Al Ziyada (Gate of the Widening). The name Arco de las Pesas (Arch of Weights) comes from the fact that, in the 16th century, tricked weights confiscated from swindling merchants in the area were displayed here.
The name Puerta Nueva (New Gate) is believed to come from a Muslim superstition, which said that this gate would be the place through which the Christians would enter to take the city of Granada and the kingdom would be lost forever. For this reason, the gate was closed until 1573, in the Christian era.
Cross the gate and turn left. We take the alley of San Cecilio, which leads directly to the viewpoint of San Nicolás.
The first thing we come across is the rear façade of the Church of San Nicolás, built in 1525 in the Mudejar style, on the ruins of the Azitini mosque.
To one side we find the Aljibe de San Nicolás, from the Christian period, although it is believed to have been built on the ruins of a Muslim cistern from the 11th century, attached to the Azitini mosque.
And now we come to the jewel in the crown of the city, with the permission of the Alhambra, the viewpoint of San Nicolás (Mirador de San Nicolás).
Located in the highest part of the Alcazaba Qadima of the Zirid dynasty, next to the old mosque, of which only the cistern remains, it was at that time the parade ground. It was actually surrounded by buildings that were gradually cleared until it acquired its present dimensions around the middle of the 19th century.
From here we have the most classic image of tourism in Granada: the imposing Alhambra and the Generalife with the Sierra Nevada in the background. The sunset on a clear day can be magical.
US President Bill Clinton said during his visit to Granada in 1997 that it was the most beautiful sunset he had ever seen. And Grenada made good use of those words to project its tourism abroad.
Next to the viewpoint of San Nicolás is the current Great Mosque of Granada. It was inaugurated in 2003, being the first mosque in Granada since 1492, after more than 500 years.
From the mosque we can contemplate views similar to those of the San Nicolás viewpoint, from its beautiful gardens.
We retrace our steps back to the Arco de las Pesas but, instead of crossing it, we take Aljibe de la Gitana street, which leads to the Aljibe del Rey, the largest of Granada’s Muslim cisterns, dating from the 11th century and with a capacity of 300 m3. Today it is integrated into the Carmen del Rey, the headquarters of the AguaGranada Foundation.
To Be Continued…