Granada
- For other uses, see Granada (disambiguation).
The City of Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in Spain. As of the 2003 census, the population of the city of Granada proper was 237,663, and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 450,439, ranking as the 13th-largest urban area of the Spanish Kingdom. It is situated at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, at the confluence of two rivers, Darro and Genil.
The Alhambra, a famous Moorish citadel and palace, is in Granada. It is the most remarkable item of the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian historical legacy that makes Granada a hot spot among cultural and touristic cities in Spain.
Granada is also well-known within Spain due to its prestigious university and wild night-life. In fact, it is said that it is one of the three best cities for college students (the other two are Salamanca and Santiago de Compostela).
The pomegranate (in Spanish, granada) is the heraldic device of Granada.
The beauty of the sights of Granada is famous. A well known verse says:
| « Dale limosna, mujer que no hay en la vida nada como la pena de ser ciego en Granada » | "Give him some money, woman because there is nothing like the pity of being blind in Granada" |
| — Francisco de Icaza | |
Moorish Kingdom of Granada
Granada (Arabic غرناطة Ġarnāṭah) was the name of a kingdom (taifa) situated around the city of Granada. The city became the seat of the kingdom in 1238, when the Moors retreated during the Christian reconquest of Spain. It linked the commercial routes from Europe to Africa crossing the Sahara. On the 2nd of January 1492, the Moors surrendered to the Spanish, and the kingdom was incorporated into Castile.
The fall of Granada holds an important place among the many significant events that mark the latter half of the 15th century. It ended, after an existence of eight hundred years, the Islamic rule in the Iberian Peninsula, and thus formed an offset to the progress of the Muslim power in Eastern Europe and the loss to the Christian world of Constantinople. It advanced Spain to the first rank among the nations of Europe, and gave her arms a prestige that secured for her position, influence, and deference long after the decline of her power had commenced.
External links
- Alcazaba de La Alhambra by castillosnet.org
Categories: Cities in Spain | Moorish Spain