If you plan a trip to Southern Spain, where you want to check out some great historic places and research a very rich heritage, the best time to do it is already over... 馃槂 I mean, you can visit whenever you want, but going there in summer is the best time to go to the beach... Not great for rambling around open-air castles or streets, where you will probably get sunburnt!
We began to practice these New Year getaways when you want to check out new places and get familiar with a certain city or area... This year, on January 1st, we went to M谩laga for a few days! We were there before, but only for a "pit-stop", when we did our road trip to Lisbon, Portugal... That visit was very short, but when we saw the city, we knew we would have to come back another time!
This time, we had a few days to explore the city, and one of the mornings was reserved for a visit to the Alcazaba, a palace/fortification/castle, in the heart of M谩laga!
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As we visited Alhambra, Granada a few years ago, a lot of things in Alcazaba reminded us about it... How it wouldn't when they were built by the same influence... What can be surprising for many is that the palace was built BEFORE the Alhambra, which is much more famous today!
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The building began in the 11th century during the Al-Andalus period, and it was modified multiple times until the 14th century... Along with Alhambra, it is one of the best-preserved palaces from that period!
Like any other fortification, it is built on a hill, which means that the views up there are great! I can imagine how it looked back in the days when there were no huge buildings like nowadays... 馃
What I liked the most in both palaces were these big gardens between different parts of the palace, inside the fortification... So much space, and so many different plants, fruits, etc.
What you can see in the image above is Gibralfaro Castle, which was connected to Alcazaba in the past, but today, you have these stairs that you have to take OUTSIDE of Alcazaba to climb to the second one... As we had a lot of walks planned for that day, we didn't visit the second palace, and this photo is a reminder to do it on our next visit! 馃槂 Btw, that place still holds the remains of Roman settlements underneath from the 1st century!
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The Alcazaba is a palace; it was the place where rulers lived, but it was also one of the typical military fortifications, and that's why you can see signs of the place where the armory was, for example...
Another important thing in all these Muslim palaces from that time was water! You have it everywhere! They would use small water canals INSIDE the palace, where the cold water would pass by and cool out the place! Natural air-conditioner! 馃槂
Of course, this bathtub isn't from that period, but from the last century... It is a reminder of old Roman bathtubs...
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A bit of HIVE photo shooting, trying to get that "perfect" photo... Which one do you like more, the left or the right? 馃槂
The map of Alcazaba and the Gibralfaro Castle and how they were connected
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This was a narrow passage over the external wall of the palace... I can imagine some archers standing there, protecting the palace from intruders! On the left, you can see the roofs of settlements where probably soldiers slept...
Did I mention water before? Almost every "internal" yard would have one of these ponds (or pool if you like more), which are maybe 20-30 cm deep... I suppose the water would go through the palace, go to the pond on one side, and continue out on the other side toward other "rooms"...
Oh, I almost forgot! In that period, they mastered awesome ceilings, and these world-famous arches, full of details that would take place on entrances and windows of the palace...
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Another look at the city from the other side of the castle...
Who says that the palace is not inhabited? He found the best spot! 馃槂
That would be all for this #WednesdayWalk through history and the awesome Alcazaba palace in M谩laga! If you pay a visit to the city, don't forget to check it out as it's worth doing!
Hopefully, see you in M谩laga in December this year! 馃槂
Thank you for your time.
--ph--
