The Albaicín quarter of Granada is located on a hillside to the north of the Alhambra, separated from the Alhambra's promontory by the Darro River.

It is very old, predating the Alhambra, and even the Moorish conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. It did not take on anything like its present character until after the Muslims moved in, however. Having haphazardly evolved according to the needs of its medieval occupants, it consists of many narrow, tangled streets with no obvious rhyme or reason to them. This being the case, it presents a number of navigation challenges to the casual visitor.

The Albaicín was home to various palaces and defensive fortifications over the centuries. With other emirates falling to the Reconquista, Granada was becoming more and more important as a Moorish outpost, and the 13th Century saw the main fortifications and palaces starting to move across to the hill of the Alhambra, as it was more easily defended. But the Albaicín remained a crowded and lively Muslim community up to and beyond the city's conquest in 1492. It turned out to be a little too lively for its own good, as mistreatment and forced religious conversions of some of its residents led to a short-lived rebellion in 1499. The rebellion was quickly put down by the new rulers, and was used as a pretext to force all Muslim residents in Spain to either convert to Christianity or leave, completing the process of transforming Spain into an all-Christian kingdom.

The quarter became more peaceful and outwardly Christian, with all of the mosques replaced by churches. The departure of some of its wealthier residents led to the abandonment of some relatively large homes, which were taken over by Christians and rebuilt as homes in a common configuration known as a carmen. A carmen is enclosed by a wall but typically has a courtyard in which a profusion of trees, flowers, bushes and climbing plants are grown, with plants often spilling over the outer walls.

After recovering somewhat from our morning exploration of the Alhambra and the Generalife, we resolved to spend the rest of our Granada day exploring the Albaicín. Getting to the quarter wasn't difficult, as our hotel was adjacent to the Plaza Nueva, which was built on top of the river Darro. Walking upstream, we got to where we could have a look at the mighty Darro, noting that it didn't amount to much, as least in mid-summer. And looking back downstream, we could see the trickle disappear into a tunnel beneath the Plaza Nueva, to stay underground through most of Granada before eventually merging with a river called the Genil. We continued upstream along Carrera del Darro, idly perusing some of the riverside shops and places to eat.


While at the Alhambra it occurred to us that a district which we could see so well from the Alhambra would necessarily have places with good views of the Alhambra. The guidebooks verified this, recommending a plaza adjacent to the Albaicín's St. Nicholas Church, called the Mirador de San Nicolas.

We took a quick look at the Alhambra's Comares Tower, looming above us from our riverside viewpoint, and then turned around and began to climb the streets of the Albaicín.


After a long, steep and sometimes confusing trek we finally reached the St. Nicholas Church and Mirador de San Nicolas, finding the view to be as advertised. Many other tourists must have had the same guidebook, as they were congregated in the Mirador, some gazing outward and others seeming to just soak in the ambience of the place. Flamenco music was coming from somewhere, sweet smells were coming from the many flowers of the Albaicín, and the Alhambra looked gorgeous in the late afternoon sun.





While there are apparently many other things to see in the Albaicín, it was getting late and we weren't all that confident in our ability to find our way back out to the 21st Century in a timely manner. Instead of doing more sightseeing, we headed generally downhill, trusting in our senses of direction to get us back to the outside world. Fortunately for us, this worked out OK.

We found dinner and returned to the hotel, packing up for our next destination. The following day we would be boarding a train and heading to Seville.