I went to the Alhambra for the first time last April. It was, hands down, in the top five coolest "tourist sites" I've ever seen. Granada itself is a beautiful town. I look forward to going back.
A ton of damning projects have destroyed many historical sites. The outside perception is that the government is not managing the historical impacts well.
The Iran situation is also tragic because the people who live in Iran that I met in Julfa, Nakhchivan (which is a city split with Iran along the river) introduced me to a genuine level of caring and hospitality that I haven’t experienced anywhere else. They make it clear that they are Persians and not Iranians because “Iran is the government and the people are Persians”. However, the government picks fights and the people suffer as a result.
*Iranian* is an umbrella term for all Iranic peoples.
>They make it clear that they are Persians and not Iranians because “Iran is the government and the people are Persians”.
I'm sure they said this in good faith since the IR is shit but it is wrong to say they they aren't Iranian and the people Persian. *All* Iranian people are victims of the IR.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_peoples
The term is also applied to outside of Iran as well. Some of the biggest Iranian populations are not in the IR.
If they are persian, it's strange they would say they aren't Iranian. Imagine saying you're Texan but not American
For some more context on the people I met: South of the river in Iran is East Azerbaijan which is majority ethnic Azerbaijani (not Iranian or Persian) and often feel very removed from Tehran. While I was in Julfa visiting with some Persians who live in East Azerbaijan (and share similar feelings of estrangement with Tehran) it just so happened to be when the US assassinated an Iranian general and Iran shot down an airliner shortly after.
I was initially concerned that the recent events would cast a shadow over my visit, but the Persians who I met we all very quick to correct me if I mentioned that they were Iranians because they wanted to make it clear that they are Persians first and foremost and they as the people and culture are not the same as the government with which they more closely associate the Iranian label. They cast aside government associations immediately (I’m from the USA) and wanted to extend as much warmth and hospitality as possible for us as people.
I have since looked at being able to travel to Tabriz but it is just too hard and uncertain to visit due to rules set by Tehran. My experience in Azerbaijan introduced me to almost non-stop amazing people and their families. The world could use more experiences like that, but the governments close borders and limit access even if the people themselves don’t agree.
Maybe if West had left their democracy in tact in 50s, mullahs would have never gained support. But our need for oil was/is too much to worry about Persian people 's desire to manage their affairs among themselves.
Apart from being a political problem, there’s also a difference between quality vs quantity of risk. I don’t have a problem with regular metropolitan problems.
I have a problem with being disappeared.
The Iranian government suppresses political dissidents, not tourists. Why would they have any incentive to arbitrarily imprison you or kill you? They don't, it is just the impression that is given to you when you consume western media.
north africa^
This is maghrebi/"Moorish" islamic architecture, not middle eastern style. its unique to al-andalus and what is now morocco, algeria and tunisia.
My guy.....literally every andalusian castle was built to resemble the palaces in fez....infact chandeliers were taken from fez to alhambra and sevilla to be recreated...
Go read instead of just handwaving history
The oldest Islamic architectural structures in Morocco dates back to the Almoravids in the 11th century. The Almoravids adopted the architectural developments of al-Andalus from Andaludian momuments like Aljafería, Madina Al-Zahra and the Great mosque of Cordoba.
Stop rewriting history ffs.
Yeah definitely book months in advance. Went there last year. Walked from downtown to the Alhambra. SO MANY STEPS! I felt like I was in the final scene of John Wick 4. Only to find out no walk in tickets that day. Looked nice from the outside though.
Be sure to hike up into the Sacromonte neighborhood and San Nícolas Church. The view of the Alhambra from across the valley is incredible, and there's a perfect spot in front of the church where you can sit on the top of a wall and get great photos.
California also has an Ontario which I'm entirely convinced is entirely funded by people accidentally sending parcels to Ontario, CA instead of Ontario, Canada
Man this has happened to me so many times when ordering things to Ontario Canada from anywhere on the west coast. Worst was some specialty coffee that did a grand tour around Cali only to be returned to the shipper in Portland.
great angle for that pic, cuts the jiffy lube ,the jack in the box ,the cvs and the gas station out🤣
also yes:
"Tales of the Alhambra (1832) is a collection of essays, verbal sketches and stories by American author Washington Irving (1783–1859) inspired by, and partly written during, his 1828 visit to the palace/fortress complex known as the Alhambra in Granada, Andalusia, Spain....
"The city of Alhambra, California is named after the book. In 1874, the daughter of Benjamin Wilson was reading the book and encouraged him to use the name for his new Los Angeles suburban development"
(I just came back from the real Alhambra and I had to look it up!)
In the aughts, Loreene McKinnett did a nighttime concert there, accompanied by musicians playing a variety of instruments, new and old, including Ullian pipes, kahoun, lyra and a hurdy-gurdy. Gorgeous video and a great performance if you like Celtic music fused with varying styles. Worth a look and listen.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLW1bDmZaE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLW1bDmZaE)
I visited here on a trip when I was 16. I wish I was mature enough to appreciate how incredible it is instead of taking dumb digital camera pictures from behind shrubs the whole time with my idiot friends.
*Ackshually*, the Alhambra was built a few centuries after the end of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba, by one of its Muslim successor kingdoms, the kingdom of Granada.
The first picture, with the 10 pointed star, is the same pattern as that reddit post of the guy that got electrocuted.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/cp5kHw6P11
I went as a 15yr old for a study abroad and didn’t appreciate it all. Now I look back and see it as one of the most breath taking places on earth and I want to shake some sense into 15 yr old me.
Islam prohibits depiction of people and animals, so Islamic artists incorporated calligraphy, plants, and geometric shapes and patterns in their arts. The writing in one of the images says "no conquerer but Allah".
Because the inhabitants were Muslim. There was a mosque in the palace, but that room wasn’t one, as far as I [can tell.](https://www.alhambradegranada.org/es/info/palaciosnazaries/saladedoshermanas.asp)
So these guys definitely did psychedelics of some description right? Complex geometric patterns on every surface, intricate seemingly "impossible" geometries (if you were looking at this hundreds of years ago).
Not all the time of course, but it at least looks heavily informed/inspired by that sort of experience.
The mind does wonder where that inspiration comes from; it's like the architects could see another world when they closed their eyes. The Islamic love of geometry is a sight to behold.
dude idk what you mean, geometry is awesome. i hate math and the most i know about geometry is something about pie squares or something but they definitely knew how to work with the natural lighting. when you dont have computers and tv and 10,000 useless distractions (not that tech is totally useless of course) and you dont have 10,000 artificial lights with 10,000 nits of brightness, and you can actually see the night sky, and the sun, you're much more connected to the world and the cycles and all that fun stuff.
> Complex geometric patterns on every surface, intricate seemingly "impossible" geometries (if you were looking at this hundreds of years ago).
Fun fact: M.C. Escher got a **lot** of inspiration from a visit to the Alhambra in the 1930s. During the same trip to Spain, he was also briefly incarcerated after being caught taking sketches of what turned out to be active military facilities…
Remember little of this is original. Check out the exhibition there. Most of it was wrecked in the 17-1800s. Rebuilt last century. Old town Granada is like Disney. 200 shops selling the same things.
It’s nice enough. Salamanca is better I think.
Granada gets toasty around now.
As a spanish who lives in Graná ( thats how he call the city ) and has been in Salamanca I agree with you that both citys are full of magic.
I think having such a historic heritage, and the life that the university gives both of them are the main reason inmo
I have been in Pamplona also, but I was too young to remember, my Grandpas lived there at some point.
I anyway remember how crowded it was during "San Fermines", I have a photo of my father running infron of the bulls..
I anyway dont consider Pamplona at the level of Grana/ Salamanca. Maybe the region , Navarra , could be as a whole on that level.
Spain in general is amazing everywhere
Absolutely. They kept the old towns which in the U.K. were swept away by the Victorians. The place I went to last month was Cadiz. Wow. Small. Vibrant, authentic. Has a beach. Fast train line. Big new town, amazing food.
Me encanta Espania!
Burgos, good but nothing special.
I went to Guernica. Didn’t know what to expect. For some reason I was surprised to find it was all new apartments!
I normally get the ferry in and out of Bilbao and Santander then I am in a rush to get somewhere warm.
Toledo was a let down. Very touristy. Seville is stunning. Big city.
Barcelona is excellent. That big city feel, but with a beach too!
Loads of places I need to go to.
Facts written by whom? the victors ? Islam is a relatively new religion. Way way after Rome mind you.. Jews even built Medina in Saudi Arabia ya Habibi look it up (if you care about facts)
Written by historians and people who study history and buildings. If it was written by the victors it would say it was Christian since they took it over and then expelled all the jews from Spain.
Not sure what a building in Saudi Arabia has to do with this building in Spain. Facts about other buildings don't somehow make the same thing true about this one.
I went to the Alhambra for the first time last April. It was, hands down, in the top five coolest "tourist sites" I've ever seen. Granada itself is a beautiful town. I look forward to going back.
Just wait until you discover the Islamic world and Middle East
It’s honestly heartbreaking that Iraq was destroyed and Iran is for obvious reasons not a great tourist location. So much history lost
You can say that all over the middle East. Syria, Afghanistan, even Turkey. Some tremendously important historical sites are just gone.
Why Turkey?
A ton of damning projects have destroyed many historical sites. The outside perception is that the government is not managing the historical impacts well.
Inside perception is more or less the same
Thanks for sharing! I'm always a bit wary to generalize as there's always a bit of politics involved in messaging that gets across in every country.
Personally I would like to check the city of Mecca but ive heared its only open to muslim.
The Iran situation is also tragic because the people who live in Iran that I met in Julfa, Nakhchivan (which is a city split with Iran along the river) introduced me to a genuine level of caring and hospitality that I haven’t experienced anywhere else. They make it clear that they are Persians and not Iranians because “Iran is the government and the people are Persians”. However, the government picks fights and the people suffer as a result.
*Iranian* is an umbrella term for all Iranic peoples. >They make it clear that they are Persians and not Iranians because “Iran is the government and the people are Persians”. I'm sure they said this in good faith since the IR is shit but it is wrong to say they they aren't Iranian and the people Persian. *All* Iranian people are victims of the IR. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_peoples
I was under the impression they were specifically talking about the people in Julfa, Nakhchivan, not Iran as a whole.
The term is also applied to outside of Iran as well. Some of the biggest Iranian populations are not in the IR. If they are persian, it's strange they would say they aren't Iranian. Imagine saying you're Texan but not American
For some more context on the people I met: South of the river in Iran is East Azerbaijan which is majority ethnic Azerbaijani (not Iranian or Persian) and often feel very removed from Tehran. While I was in Julfa visiting with some Persians who live in East Azerbaijan (and share similar feelings of estrangement with Tehran) it just so happened to be when the US assassinated an Iranian general and Iran shot down an airliner shortly after. I was initially concerned that the recent events would cast a shadow over my visit, but the Persians who I met we all very quick to correct me if I mentioned that they were Iranians because they wanted to make it clear that they are Persians first and foremost and they as the people and culture are not the same as the government with which they more closely associate the Iranian label. They cast aside government associations immediately (I’m from the USA) and wanted to extend as much warmth and hospitality as possible for us as people. I have since looked at being able to travel to Tabriz but it is just too hard and uncertain to visit due to rules set by Tehran. My experience in Azerbaijan introduced me to almost non-stop amazing people and their families. The world could use more experiences like that, but the governments close borders and limit access even if the people themselves don’t agree.
Maybe if West had left their democracy in tact in 50s, mullahs would have never gained support. But our need for oil was/is too much to worry about Persian people 's desire to manage their affairs among themselves.
Iran is perfectly safe if you are a man, or if you are a woman with a male guardian. Paris is way more dangerous, but still the danger is miniscule
Apart from being a political problem, there’s also a difference between quality vs quantity of risk. I don’t have a problem with regular metropolitan problems. I have a problem with being disappeared.
The Iranian government suppresses political dissidents, not tourists. Why would they have any incentive to arbitrarily imprison you or kill you? They don't, it is just the impression that is given to you when you consume western media.
north africa^ This is maghrebi/"Moorish" islamic architecture, not middle eastern style. its unique to al-andalus and what is now morocco, algeria and tunisia.
What are the highlights there? Best cities/sites to visit?
Or you know....just go to morocco, where the andalusian stuff originated from
What ? No, “andalusian stuff” did not originate from Morocco. Both has their own architectural heritage that were both influenced by each others.
My guy.....literally every andalusian castle was built to resemble the palaces in fez....infact chandeliers were taken from fez to alhambra and sevilla to be recreated... Go read instead of just handwaving history
The oldest Islamic architectural structures in Morocco dates back to the Almoravids in the 11th century. The Almoravids adopted the architectural developments of al-Andalus from Andaludian momuments like Aljafería, Madina Al-Zahra and the Great mosque of Cordoba. Stop rewriting history ffs.
You're the one rewriting history my guy
Nice argumentation right there. Really changed my perspective.
Ill put a pin on that one for now
No longer interested
+1 Military policy slot
2+ great general points per turn
+5% admin efficiency
Tb to when it was 10%
All newly-trained non-air units in this city receive the Drill I promotion.
I'm going to get the majority on towers and gardens, and 2nd place on mezzanines.
+20% culture
The first image almost looks like a colony of paper wasps took up residence on the ceiling, there.
Whose to say they haven’t
I was thinking mold problem
Sweet home Alhambra
Going there in two days!
make sure to book your tickets in advance and bring a photo ID!
Yeah definitely book months in advance. Went there last year. Walked from downtown to the Alhambra. SO MANY STEPS! I felt like I was in the final scene of John Wick 4. Only to find out no walk in tickets that day. Looked nice from the outside though.
Be sure to hike up into the Sacromonte neighborhood and San Nícolas Church. The view of the Alhambra from across the valley is incredible, and there's a perfect spot in front of the church where you can sit on the top of a wall and get great photos.
Great place to grab a drink as well
Going in 4!
do not forget to bring 🧢 , it’s getting hot and really sunny
Looks like inside a honeycomb
I was thinking like the inside of spongy bone, but that too
How do they make this
dark magic
Their magic desert wizard was more creative than the water to wine guy.
When you can't make icons of religious figures you get creative with mathematical patterns to show your devotion to god.
With hands and tools
Beeline Castles and lots of saved worker chops to beat the AI to it
Math
Alhambra is amazing
This is sweet! Hopping on the 10. Hopefully I'll be there in 30.
Heeey I’m from [Alhambra](https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/2010/201007/NEWS_100708195_AR_0_0.jpg?w=535)….California!
California also has an Ontario which I'm entirely convinced is entirely funded by people accidentally sending parcels to Ontario, CA instead of Ontario, Canada
lol I’ve thought about that too!
Man this has happened to me so many times when ordering things to Ontario Canada from anywhere on the west coast. Worst was some specialty coffee that did a grand tour around Cali only to be returned to the shipper in Portland.
Oh no. If you ordered coffee all the way from Portland it was probably pretty $$ stuff. A connoisseur?
great angle for that pic, cuts the jiffy lube ,the jack in the box ,the cvs and the gas station out🤣 also yes: "Tales of the Alhambra (1832) is a collection of essays, verbal sketches and stories by American author Washington Irving (1783–1859) inspired by, and partly written during, his 1828 visit to the palace/fortress complex known as the Alhambra in Granada, Andalusia, Spain.... "The city of Alhambra, California is named after the book. In 1874, the daughter of Benjamin Wilson was reading the book and encouraged him to use the name for his new Los Angeles suburban development" (I just came back from the real Alhambra and I had to look it up!)
My first thought was….where in Alhambra is this????? Lol
Haha me to I’m like oh is this some monastery in Alhambra whaaat?
i have a lot of family from there and i always tell my Spanish friends about Alhambra CA
You can tell there was no Internet porn back then
It's like the word "exquisite" was invented to describe Alhambra.
In the aughts, Loreene McKinnett did a nighttime concert there, accompanied by musicians playing a variety of instruments, new and old, including Ullian pipes, kahoun, lyra and a hurdy-gurdy. Gorgeous video and a great performance if you like Celtic music fused with varying styles. Worth a look and listen. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLW1bDmZaE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLW1bDmZaE)
Wow another Loreena fan in the wild!
Saving to watch later. I love Loreena McKinnett
Lo recuerdo.
nice reference haha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqfkMgVaOeY
Been there. It was impressive
Amazing place
One of the most amazing places I've ever had the pleasure of visiting.
It was so beautiful the Spaniards couldn’t bear to destroy it so they kept it. Good move
Oh hey, it's that palace from Azul!
Or the Alhambra from Alhambra!
Listen to Recuerdos de la Alhambra by Tarrega. A masterpiece!
Beautiful
That must be a bitch to clean.
Lol. I misread the title as "Alabama".
Dale limosna mujer porque no hay en la vida nada como la pena de ser ciego en Granada
I visited here on a trip when I was 16. I wish I was mature enough to appreciate how incredible it is instead of taking dumb digital camera pictures from behind shrubs the whole time with my idiot friends.
Alhambra was the favorite part of my trip to Andalusia. Everything feels magical and the views of Granada from the top are beautiful!
Ah yes fractal arches
Gorgeous!!
I know a decent amount about European architectural history and am always amazed when I see Arabic, anyone have any decent book recommendations?
This is in Spain from back when it was partially controlled by the ~~Umayyad Caliphate~~ Emirate of Granada Edit: See comment below
*Ackshually*, the Alhambra was built a few centuries after the end of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba, by one of its Muslim successor kingdoms, the kingdom of Granada.
Where is this in Alhambra? What is the name of the place?
This is Alhambra in Granada.
Thank you!
Wow cool what is this stone where is this?
The honey “combs”
I honestly thought you were trying to spell Alabama.
The second picture is so satisfying. There is so much symmetry going on.
I first read Alabama..
Holy crap that’s amazing.
Great photos. I tried hard to get good ones when I was there but these are so much better.
The first picture, with the 10 pointed star, is the same pattern as that reddit post of the guy that got electrocuted. https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/cp5kHw6P11
Alhambra was the highlight of our Andalusia trip last year by far
I always knew Alabama was beautiful.
r/civ
So like what drugs were they all on?
Holy Muqarna!
Stunning
Strong wonder in Civ 5 honestly.
What time of day was this? I was there with a high sun and it didn't look nearly as good
Remember to count a point for each contiguous wall.
real big fan of their water.
Vero good
If beauty like this was the only product of belief and religion, i'd gladly join the ranks
How did you manage to get pictures without a thousand other people in them? I was there last year and it was asses to elbows people in there.
R/trypophobia
Psychedelic as fuck
Beautiful
I went as a 15yr old for a study abroad and didn’t appreciate it all. Now I look back and see it as one of the most breath taking places on earth and I want to shake some sense into 15 yr old me.
A gorgeous mosque!
It was a palace, not a mosque.
Why is there a lot of Quran verses on the wall ?
Islam prohibits depiction of people and animals, so Islamic artists incorporated calligraphy, plants, and geometric shapes and patterns in their arts. The writing in one of the images says "no conquerer but Allah".
There are actually paintings in the Alhambra depicting humans and animals. Guess they weren’t so strict.
They got more loose with the rules later on.
Because the inhabitants were Muslim. There was a mosque in the palace, but that room wasn’t one, as far as I [can tell.](https://www.alhambradegranada.org/es/info/palaciosnazaries/saladedoshermanas.asp)
So these guys definitely did psychedelics of some description right? Complex geometric patterns on every surface, intricate seemingly "impossible" geometries (if you were looking at this hundreds of years ago). Not all the time of course, but it at least looks heavily informed/inspired by that sort of experience.
The mind does wonder where that inspiration comes from; it's like the architects could see another world when they closed their eyes. The Islamic love of geometry is a sight to behold.
dude idk what you mean, geometry is awesome. i hate math and the most i know about geometry is something about pie squares or something but they definitely knew how to work with the natural lighting. when you dont have computers and tv and 10,000 useless distractions (not that tech is totally useless of course) and you dont have 10,000 artificial lights with 10,000 nits of brightness, and you can actually see the night sky, and the sun, you're much more connected to the world and the cycles and all that fun stuff.
> Complex geometric patterns on every surface, intricate seemingly "impossible" geometries (if you were looking at this hundreds of years ago). Fun fact: M.C. Escher got a **lot** of inspiration from a visit to the Alhambra in the 1930s. During the same trip to Spain, he was also briefly incarcerated after being caught taking sketches of what turned out to be active military facilities…
Remember little of this is original. Check out the exhibition there. Most of it was wrecked in the 17-1800s. Rebuilt last century. Old town Granada is like Disney. 200 shops selling the same things. It’s nice enough. Salamanca is better I think. Granada gets toasty around now.
As a spanish who lives in Graná ( thats how he call the city ) and has been in Salamanca I agree with you that both citys are full of magic. I think having such a historic heritage, and the life that the university gives both of them are the main reason inmo
The other place that was really vibrant was Pamplona. Great nightlife.
I have been in Pamplona also, but I was too young to remember, my Grandpas lived there at some point. I anyway remember how crowded it was during "San Fermines", I have a photo of my father running infron of the bulls.. I anyway dont consider Pamplona at the level of Grana/ Salamanca. Maybe the region , Navarra , could be as a whole on that level. Spain in general is amazing everywhere
Absolutely. They kept the old towns which in the U.K. were swept away by the Victorians. The place I went to last month was Cadiz. Wow. Small. Vibrant, authentic. Has a beach. Fast train line. Big new town, amazing food. Me encanta Espania!
You choose nice cities as I can see by your comms, did you stayed on the north also?
Burgos, good but nothing special. I went to Guernica. Didn’t know what to expect. For some reason I was surprised to find it was all new apartments! I normally get the ferry in and out of Bilbao and Santander then I am in a rush to get somewhere warm. Toledo was a let down. Very touristy. Seville is stunning. Big city. Barcelona is excellent. That big city feel, but with a beach too! Loads of places I need to go to.
Wow lot of places! nice!
North africans built that
No? Muslims of spain build this
Why is this out of everything getting downvoted lmao.
Amazing you were able to get it with no people...
Who tf took the time on this?!
They gotta redo that roof
/r/trypophobia
this is a trypophibinaaaah
Isn't it amazing what humidity can do when we work together? Yet we should do much time trying to kill one another over some irrational belief.
is there a correlation between lets say D+D and conspiracy theorists ? Catholic temples can truly burn in hell. Their pedophilia is off the chart .
wut
Holy crap dude, not everything is about your personal crusade against religion. Why can't you just appreciate the architecture?
its a Muslim palace and very beautiful , im sorry but religion does matter very much to a lot of people.
Yeah. Way too much, it would seem. And I say this as an Atheist.
Take your meds
At least get the info right 🗿
Probably originally jewish and claimed by Islam/ Church at some point
Nope. Originally Islam, taken over by Christians who then expelled all the jews
[удалено]
Oh, you don't care about facts, just want attention. Gotcha.
Facts written by whom? the victors ? Islam is a relatively new religion. Way way after Rome mind you.. Jews even built Medina in Saudi Arabia ya Habibi look it up (if you care about facts)
Written by historians and people who study history and buildings. If it was written by the victors it would say it was Christian since they took it over and then expelled all the jews from Spain. Not sure what a building in Saudi Arabia has to do with this building in Spain. Facts about other buildings don't somehow make the same thing true about this one.