The walk from central Granada, where most everything is, to the top of the Alhambra is a CLIMB! Even though it was 9 in the morning and the sun was still covered in clouds, I was burning up walking up there. How any Christian besiegers would have attempted a direct assault on the Alhambra is beyond me. 
After getting to the top, catching my breath, and getting my ticket with an hour to spare, I toured the Alcazaba, the main fortress and military complex at the front of the Alhambra. The entire Alhambra complex, likened to a Moorish Versailles, is shaped kind of like a boat atop one of Granada's hills at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Alcazaba, therefore, would be the front of that boat. It had three massive towers, including the one at the front, El Torre de la Vela (tower of the sentry) that was fixed with a bell after the Christian conquest. In addition to being used to tell time for Granada's post-1492 medieval residents, it is still rung ceremoniously every January 2nd to commemorate the day that Boabdil, the last king and emir of Granada, handed the fortress - and his kingdom - over to Ferdinand and Isabella. I kept marveling at the little moments of history like this that I was witnessing today.
After getting through the impressive ramparts and fortifications of the Alcazaba, it was about time for my scheduled admission into the Nasrid Palaces. The Nasrid dynasty built the Alhambra in the 1300s and kept adding to it well into the 1400s. They moved the fortress all the way to the top of the hill from where the Zirid dynasty of the 1100s and 1200s had placed it farther down the cliff. In addition to moving the whole complex farther up to a more defendable position, the Nasrids built the most splendid and bountiful palace in the West. Like the Alcazar in Seville, but increased exponentially, the Alhambra palaces were ridiculously adorned with amazing Islamic art: stucco and wood molding and framing, elaborate glazed tiles, and thousands of different geometric patterns that dazzle the eye and leave you absolutely speechless. Compared to Versailles and other more modern examples of monarchal or ecclesiastical splendor, the Nasrid palaces put them all to shame. Only when I am able to upload pictures will I begin to be able to describe the incredible detail of the artwork there, because I certainly can't describe it with any justice.
After strolling super slow through the Nasrid palaces and taking about a million pictures, I wandered the gardens of the complex, called the Generalife. They too were wonderful examples of Islamic art expression, with water used everywhere to break the monotony of space, cast light into shadow, and overall serve to beautify the environment. I was also lucky to latch on to an American family from Boston during the palace tour that I was able to swap taking pictures with, so I got some good ones with me in them for once.
By this time, I'd spent over five hours actually exploring the Alhambra, not to mention the time spent climbing up there. I walked the the train station to get my ticket back to Madrid tomorrow night solidified, and then I found an outdoor cafe in Plaza Nueva to have a late lunch / early dinner and vetoed my feet for awhile. I spent 3 hours there reading, snacking, and writing notes, and then I wandered the banks of the Darro for awhile. I was looking for antique shops, but all I found was stupid souvenir shops and a major infestation of stray cats. It was neat, however, to look up at the imposing Albambra walls and towers hundreds of yards up the cliff. Also, nearer the river are the remains of the walls and turrets of the earlier Zirid fortress, which I enjoyed looking at.After all this, I retired to another cafe, where I am now, nursing a glass of wine and hammering out blog posts. It's hard work typing on an iPod; my thumbs are going to be exhausted tomorrow. Hope someones actually reading all this!
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