And it arrived: from today the AVE to Granada from Madrid and Barcelona is already running
It's early in the morning , the streets are completely empty and the noise of everyday life is conspicuous by its absence. Very slowly, in a barely perceptible progression, the sky begins to take color , clearing on the horizon. Meanwhile, some windows suggest the newly awakened home inside.
Suddenly, with a force that tears, the muezzin's call is made with silence and floods everything. It is the first prayer of the day, the one that accompanies the dawn.
**A new day dawns at the Mirador de San Nicolás ** (the one you have voted, two consecutive years, as the Best sunset in Spain).
The sunset over the Alhambra in Granada is the most beautiful in Spain
It won't be strange if, with this last detail, you've been a bit like “What are you telling me? A muezzin where? And it turns out that yes, friend, that you are neither the first nor the last to be unaware that precisely there, Next to one of the most visited viewpoints in the world, is the Great Mosque of Granada, inaugurated back in 2003 . The most striking of all is that the Muslims had been without a suitable mosque in the city for no less than five centuries: since the last Nasrid king, Boabdil, handed over Granada to the Catholic Monarchs in 1492.
As we were saying, there are not too many who are aware of the presence of this new temple, and this despite the fact that every day - no matter if it is in the morning or in the afternoon, if it is sunny or freezing cold, if it rains or thunders - the San Nicolás viewpoint welcomes hundreds of people arrivals from the most disparate corners of the world to contemplate one of the most breathtaking views on the planet . And no, we are not exaggerating.
But, What if we turn around and pay attention to all those other faces that Mirador de San Nicolás has? Come on, come on: let's do it!
CROSS CULTURES
We don't have to look much further to continue finding ourselves with those icons that continue to talk about religion. In the end, Granada has been a crossroads of civilizations since time immemorial . If we pull from Christianity, we don't even have to move from the site: the Church of San Nicolás, which gives its name to the square stands right behind the backs of those who behold the beautiful Alhambra in the distance.
The Albaicín is a mandatory stop when you visit Granada.
Built in 1525 on an old mosque , was practically razed to the ground during the Second Republic and, due to the deterioration of its roofs, humidity and the passage of time, to this day remains closed and in constant process of restoration . The Friends of San Nicolás association, which manages its visits, charges a symbolic amount for letting the top of the bell tower, the only part that survived the misfortunes and from which the views are, even if possible, more impressive.
The third religion with a historical presence in Granada, the Hebrew, is also represented , somehow, in this corner of Granada. This time you have to look straight ahead from the viewpoint, on the right bank of the Alhambra, where two towers rise: are the Torres Bermejas, the oldest monument in the city . Those reveal the place where it is located the Realejo neighborhood, or what is the same, the old Jewish neighborhood . A small house belonging to one of the three Sephardic families that continue in Granada works, by the way, as a Jewish museum: in case someone wants to take a look.
WITH THE WHITE HOUSE WE HAVE COME TO
But let's go back to the viewpoint, which is what interests us. The same from which it is contemplated, by the way, **which is possibly one of the most beautiful sunsets in Spain**, and even in the world. And not because we say so, no way. You say it, dear readers of Traveler, who are the ones who have the greatest criteria in the world.
Well, you and the very Bill Clinton, who stated it emphatically in 1997 , when together with his wife Hilary and his daughter Chelsea, he visited the city on a fleeting route that lasted only five hours. Of course: **they had time to go up to the Albaicín ** and enjoy the panoramic view, of course.
What to see in Granada? The most complete weekend of your life
So far did that revelation of the then president of the United States go, that visits to the viewpoint multiplied and the city council of Granada decided to build a monolith in his honor in the Mirador de San Nicolás. How long do you think it took for the monument to be removed? Ahem… Let's just say the neighbors weren't too amused.
However, the Clinton family was not the only representation of the White House that passed through these parts: Michelle Obama herself set out to discover the city in 2010 . A few streets further in, in the Plaza Larga -in the heart of the Albaicín-, a huge photograph on the door of a bar attests to that visit. This is the ** La Porrona Restaurant, run by this charismatic dancer and singer ** whose art has transcended borders, and by her husband. Already retired from the show in her little house in the Albaicín, she can often be seen swarming around the neighborhood animating the roost wherever she goes.
Enter the bar of hers visit a temple dedicated to singing and dancing : The photographs in which she poses with all kinds of personalities decorate the walls. Background, the most rooted flamenco sounds . Next to the crumb lid with which they give us when we have our first drink -we are in Granada, what did you expect-, the Porrona begins to narrate that occasion in which, not only she danced for Obama in a cave in Sacromonte , but she called it, as well as who does not want the thing, "mojama". How do you stay? Even magazine covers she came to star in that moment.
We get lost in the Albaicín.
in that same long square where the Porrona welcomes us the neighborhood daily market is organized every day . stalls full of flowers, fruits and vegetables to which the Albaicireños approach, cart in hand, to spend the morning. Because here it does not matter if you are going to buy a simple kilo of potatoes or a couple of tomatoes: the good time chatting with the neighbor or the neighbor on duty is a must.
From this point the experience deserves to continue exploring the neighborhood, full of winding alleys that, in certain corners, narrow until they lead to the most authentic pictures. Passages, cisterns, arches, squares and fountains follow one another between white walls, flower pots and cobbled floors . Here Al-Andalus is breathed at every turn.
And wrapped in that authentic atmosphere, traditional neighborhood businesses . Those dedicated to spices and teas , which permeate the streets with an aroma that transports us to far away places, and also those who have been there a lifetime, like Loli's fish market : After four generations, it continues to supply the residents of the Albaicín with fresh produce and friendliness.
in one of the streets "El Madruga" appears well-known character from the Albaicin, who with the radio in tow, he not only sets the streets of the neighborhood with his music : life is also sought as “official errand boy” bringing and carrying what their neighbors need in exchange for a few euros: even breakfast if necessary! Ingenuity and creativity, few win.
Every corner of the Albaicín exudes history and beauty.
LIFE IN THE VIEWPOINT
Back to San Nicolás, various street vendors find the ideal space to display and sell their products . Not all of them have the relevant municipal permit, so when the Police show up around the corner, more than one of them runs away with their belongings.
This does not happen, however, the artist who paints corners of her beloved Albaicín as few know how to do it: with her soul . She says that tourists look at her works a lot but do not buy. The least? Those of Chinese origin.
A few meters further, at the other end of the viewpoint, the rattle of castanets does not stop : wow, another souvenir to include in the suitcase! They take care of putting the best of the soundtracks to the wonderful views of the Alhambra the two brothers who, regulars at the viewpoint, pull on good cante and guitar to encourage those from here and those from abroad with their little flamenco . Faced with this magical enclave, in which present and past come together, who can repress starting off with a dance?
The life of the Mirador de San Nicolás
And if you feel like filling your crop, the solution is very easy: the viewpoint and the surroundings are full of restaurant businesses: **Bar Kiki, El Huerto de Juan Ranas or El Balcón de San Nicolás ** are some of them . We, however, stay with Estrellas de San Nicolás because of its special history: this restaurant occupies what was the home of Enrique Morente himself and his family. It was not strange to see, decades ago, the artist leaning out on the balcony, with the occasional friend, taking in the air while letting himself be inspired by the greatest of muses: the Alhambra itself and the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background.
Today, however, a restaurant with Mediterranean cuisine and French influence occupies the rooms where one day they were created and recorded some of the greatest musical works of our time . For example? The mythical Omega album, which is already saying...
The Mirador de San Nicolás, the best in the world.
will have to go Calle San Nicolás, Callejón de las Atarazanas, Calle de las Campanas or Calle de las Monjas , to continue discovering that special atmosphere that is generated around the viewpoint. Slopes that go up and down and that hide behind their walls the famous "cármenes", mansions with orchards that keep inside small paradises with views . Homes that today are a luxury and that in the past were considered retirement areas by the Muslims, their creators. Some, such as ** La Casa del Chapiz or the Museum of Max Moreau ** -a Belgian painter who settled in Granada for 30 years-, can be visited.
“Depending on the day, the Alhambra changes color” , tells us one of the neighbors of the neighborhood while we contemplate how the facade of the monument turns reddish tones with the sunset . Around us, dozens of people are crowded waiting for the long-awaited moment: the most beautiful sunset is approaching. With her eyes fixed on that incomparable work of art, she concludes: "Don't tell me that the best place in the world is not here".
And she listens, well what do you want us to tell you: we are going to have to prove him right.
Even the Alhambra can be even more beautiful from the Mirador de San Nicolás...