Granada Travel Guide

Granada is one of Spain’s most precious gems. The classic flamenco guitarist Andres Segovia described the city as a “place of dreams, where the Lord put the seed of music in my soul.” Occupied by the Moors for several centuries, Granada boasts a rich historical legacy, not least the Alhambra palace-fortress, which dominates the skyline from its hilltop perch. Indeed, the city’s setting, with the often snow-clad Sierra Nevada as a backdrop, is magnificent, as is the benign climate and stunning architecture. Not to mention a vibrant student population, a buzzing cultural life, and enough nightlife options to fill several lifetimes.

Granada existed before the Romans conquered Spain – then referred to as Iberia – as a small settlement called Iliberis. It fell into Roman hands after they took control of Spain from the Carthaginians during the Second Punic War; known as Illiberia Florentia, the town became an important trading outpost in Andalusia under Roman rule.

After the Western Roman Empire collapsed, Spain was conquered by the Germanic Visigoth tribes, who took control of most of the Iberian Peninsula in the 6th century AD. However, their reign was relatively short-lived, and in AD 711, Muslim forces took over from the Visigoths, quickly establishing a stronghold across Andalusia and beyond.

The Moors controlled Andalusia for several centuries; their rule reached its apogee after Abd ar-Rahman III named himself caliph and severed his Spanish Kingdom from the caliphate’s control in the Middle East. However, the caliph’s reign ended when General Al-Mansur staged an uprising and took control of significant territory within Andalusia during the latter part of the 10th century. Eventually, the caliphate collapsed, and Al-Andalus became a splinter state of several tarifas or small kingdoms.

In the 11th century, Granada was ruled by the Zirid dynasty, who controlled the Tarifa from their base in the city’s Albayzin quarter. Their rule collapsed in the 13th century when the Almohad state ruling Al-Andalus descended into anarchy, and the region’s capital, Cordoba, was captured by the Spanish King Fernando III in 1236.

However, Granada remained a Muslim stronghold for over a century after Cordoba fell. Finally, a minor potentate called Mohammed ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr created an independent emirate centered on Granada, known as the Nasrid emirate. It soon became a center of refuge for Muslims fleeing Christian persecution and the final remnant of Al-Andalus. During this period, Mohammed developed the Alhambra as his royal court, palace, and fortress, which was host to the Nasrid dynasty for over 200 years.

Under the Nasrids, Granada became one of Europe’s wealthiest and most prosperous cities. Muslims flocked to the city, safe in knowing they would be free from religious persecution. Sadly, this prosperity was not to last, and by the 15th century, political infighting and a stagnant economy laid the foundations for a civil war.

In 1482, Christian armies invaded the Granada emirate. They captured its ruler, Abu Abdallah Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil, who agreed to surrender much of his territory in return for retaining control of Granada. Boabdil kept control until 1492, when Fernando and Isabel finally marched triumphantly into the city after an 8-month siege. They set up a court in the Alhambra for several years following Muhammad’s banishment.

Despite promises to the contrary, Fernando and Isabel had no intention of protecting Spain’s remaining Muslim population, and religious persecution soon soured the scene. Jews were also expelled, and in the early 17th century, the fanatical Spanish King Felipe II signed a decree ordering the expulsion of all Moriscos (converted Muslims) from Spain. It was a dark time for Granada and Spain as a whole.

The once prosperous city of Granada began down a path of major decline in the 17th century, as the city lost much of its talented populace, wealth, and importance. In addition, Andalusia, in its entirety, suffered greatly during this era – famine and disease killed some 300,000 people, and many more were forced to emigrate.

In the 18th century, Granada entered a brief recovery period, spurred on by the changes implemented by the Bourbon dynasty during the Age of Enlightenment. As a result, new industries were founded, and Granada’s population slowly grew as people returned to Andalusia.

Unfortunately, the 19th century saw a complete reversal of the gains made during the Age of Enlightenment. Granada and the surrounding regions became destitute; without real industry, Andalusia was renowned as one of Europe’s most backward and socially deprived regions. Hunger, disease, and widespread poverty were common, save for the wealthy landowners who continued to thrive.

Granada played an essential role in the 20th century during The Spanish Civil War between the military dictator Franco and the Republican government. The city was notoriously conservative and frowned upon the Republic’s liberalism, leading to the horrors unleashed once the Nationalists took the city at the start of the conflict in 1936. Over 4,000 citizens with left-wing or liberal associations were murdered, including Federico Garcia Lorca, Granada’s most famous writer. Ultimately, Franco’s Nationalist army won the conflict and retained control of Spain until he died in 1975.

Today, Granada remains one of Spain’s most enthralling cities, imbued with a remarkable historical legacy and a wonderful joie-de-vivre, most apparent in the city’s atmospheric medieval quarter at night, for Granada manages to be all things to all men – an outdoor museum and testament to Spain’s complex past, a student party town, and a spectacularly situated destination where visitors can discover Andalusia’s culture and cuisine in all its raw authenticity. In both past and present, Granada is genuinely glorious.