In this week's Claire Chats video I share with you my recent visit to the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. Fortunately it was a glorious day so we could do lots of recording and take lots of photos.
I mentioned the Capilla Real in the video and you can read an article on this on The Anne Boleyn Files - click here.
Thank you Claire. I had no idea the Alhambra was so big. I totally agree with you about the culture shock, poor Katherine would have got when she came to England.
Absolutely wonderful. Poor Katharine having to travel to smelly London and suffer the damp English weather. Ludlow is a very poor comparison!
The flowing water and fountains must have had a cooling effect in the summer, but would the still ponds have created a breeding ground for mosquitoes?
Lovely video and such lovely weather too. See you in Paris!
It is a beautiful place. All of the water is flowing, so there aren’t any still ponds to go stagnant or to attract mozzies. See you soon!
Dare we suggest that this flowing water is an early form of air conditioning?
A brick built edifice (not seen in England from the end of the Roman occupation until Tudor times I believe), hot and cold running water, exquisite and complicated architecture on a monumental scale and a round citadel that reminded me of the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome, built by Hadrian. Was the castello the inspiration for the one in Granada perhaps? Michelangelo seems to be a link of some sort.
SO many questions! The answers must lie buried in some of the books written about the palace. What a fabulous excuse for a) a trip and b) to buy more books!
Thank you Claire. The art work on the Moorish buildings is so beautiful. Unbelievable detail. Phew, what a difference between her parent’s home and England.
Just gorgeous! Thanks for sharing this wonderful place with us!!
Spectacular!! How cultured they were compared to us in those times.
It seems after the Romans left Britain we regressed for MANY hundreds of years.
In those intricate designs on the walls etc., is that Islamic writing? has it been translated.
The gardens!! the fountains!! wow, I could smell the citrus trees…absolutely gorgeous. I can just imagine a young Katherine and her family enjoying a warm evening sat in there, listening to music, chatting, being cooled and soothed by the sound of water falling…then to be shipped across to England, poor, poor girl, the first of many things she had to suffer and bear in the name of wife and Queen. It really underlines how remarkable a woman she was with making the best of what she was dealt in life. Her up-bringing and strength was a credit to her parents education and rearing. I bet at times when alone she wept for home, I would have been howling buckets!! Utter respect for her.
Love the music too, it is very similar to the music I used to dance to at my Belly-Dancing classes, perhaps you had better block that vision from your minds, 🙂
Hi Dawn, glad you liked the video. I found this article: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/apr/07/alhambra-granada-wall-inscriptions about the writing on the wall. And as for the belly dancing …
Hahaha, I know!! still got the out-fits 🙂 thank you very much for the links really interesting…what a nice bloke you are….
Also this one:
http://www.piccavey.com/walls-of-alhambra-granada/
i just got round to watching this chat (every day life getting in the way haha). Anyway, I want to thank you very much Claire, for sharing this with us. The Alahambra is one of the things on my ‘bucket-list”, but so far I haven’t been able to go there. What an amazing place and a nice climate too, judging from you wearing a t-shirt in March!! I just put my earcuffs away, haha.
Sorry guys, I mean ear flaps haha
Audrey, the mental picture of ear cuffs is quite fetching! Do they have a delicate gold chain that goes under the chin from ear to ear? (giggles from the UK where I too am still in winter woollies)
Hahah, Melanie, I also have a vivid imagination and I can see them clearly! But, who knows, they may just be the next thing in fashion for the coming winter!
I think I read too much crime, getting ear flaps and handcuffs mixed up. Enjoy your trip to Paris this weekend. I just wish I could join you, Claire and Tim
I wish you could join us too, perhaps another time.
Wow! I feel as if I’ve just visited the Alhambra in person… what a beautiful palace. I had no idea how big it was… it really is like paradise with the water features, orange trees and wonderful architecture. Thanks for doing this video Claire… really enjoyed it.
I hope you get to see it in person one day, Sue, it’s a beautiful place.
Oh my goodness! How very beautiful and magnificent the Alhambra in Granada is with its long history and links to Catherine of Aragon’s family too. She must have missed ‘home’ very much when she left for England never to return. This video so wonderfully put together by you and Tim. I can see why it is one of your most favourite places to visit in Spain! Thank you so much for the link to watch it Claire. Much appreciated!