Granada

Table of contents

1 Disambiguation of Granada:
2 The City of Granada
3 Moorish Kingdom of Granada

Disambiguation of Granada:

This article is about Granada in Spain. Other Granadas include:

A city in Nicaragua; see: Granada, Nicaragua
A city in Minnesota in the United States of America; see: Granada, Minnesota
New Granada was a Spanish colony in South America
The Caribbean island of Grenada
Granada: hotels and catering (UK)
Granada Television is a British commercial television station, based in Manchester
Granada Learning is a publisher of educational multimedia in the UK.

The City of Granada

Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in Andalusia, Spain (Andalucía, España). Its population is about 270,000. It is situated at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, at the confluence of two rivers, Darro and Genil.

In Granada, The Alhambra, a famous Moorish citadel and palace, is found. 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 »
— Francisco de Icaza

''Give him some money, woman / because there is nothing / like the pity of being / blind in Granada''

View towards the Alhambra

View of Cathedral and central Granada from the Alhambra
Larger Image

Side Courtyard entrance to the Cathedral

Town house showing Moorish style architecture

Moorish Kingdom of Granada

Granada is the name of a kingdom (taifa) situated around the currently Spanish city of Granada. That city became the seat of the kingdom in 1238, when the Moors retreated to during the Christian reconquest of Spain. It linked the commercial routes from Europe to Africa crossing the Sahara. In the 2nd of January 1492, the Moors surrendered to the Spanish, and the kingdom was incorporated with 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