History

The main reason that so many people come to Granada is to experience its rich and varied history. It's easy to walk through all the different districts, past the well-preserved historic buildings, and imagine yourself living in an earlier and more exotic time. The most evocative sight is undoubtedly the Alhambra, a complex of marvellous Moorish buildings on a hill that includes a fortress, palaces and gardens, built during the city's golden age.

According to archaeological research, Stone Age people were living in Granada province as long as 400 000 years ago. The big game hunting and the abundance of caves to shelter in attracted these early people. Later peoples took advantage of the well-irrigated plains to cultivate food and the natural mineral resources were used to produce weapons, cooking utensils and eventually, jewelery. You can see an interesting collection of artifacts dating from the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic eras in the Archaeological Museum.

Between the tenth and the fourth centuries BC, a series of Mediterranean trading states, including Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Greeks, settled on the province's coastal fringe. They came to exploit the vast mineral deposits and the good fishing.

The first written documents available to historians are from the fifth century BC and record a Jewish community living in what's now Granada.

By the end of the fourth century AD, the Romans had completely colonized southern Spain. After the Romans, the next wave of invaders were the Visigoths, from Northern Europe, who occupied the city in the fifth century AD but made few changes to the civil, military and religious status quo.

Little is known about the Jewish community that settled here, but it must have been significant because it's mentioned often in fourth century AD legal documents. Jewish leaders are believed to have collaborated with the Arab invaders in 711 to overthrow the Visigoth monarchy. The tower you see in San Jose Church and the Red Towers were built immediately after the Arabs and their Berber mercenaries took control of Granada in the eight century. The mainly Muslim Middle Eastern and North African invaders—called Moors—conquered almost the whole of Spain within a decade.

At first Granada became an important outpost of a new Western Islamic Empire ruled by Abd ar-Rahman III based in Cordoba. However, fighting between different ethnic and cultural Muslim factions and an on-going Christian crusade to expel the Moors created a chaotic political situation in Andalusia. Ibn al-Ahmar, of the Arab Nasrid tribe, used the situation to his advantage in 1238 to establish an independent Moorish state of Granada. Independence was maintained by paying tribute to the encroaching Christian king of Castile, Fernando III. So, as the rest of Spain started to fall into Christian hands, Granada—the last Moorish state—received the Muslim and Jewish refugees fleeing from other cities and continued to expand and prosper. In fact, the 13th and 14th centuries were the city's glory days when commerce, art and culture flourished, and the Alhambra and the Arab University were built.

Towards the end of the 15th century, the ruling Nasrid family ended up fighting among themselves. The now united Catholic Monarchs of Castile and Aragon, having conquered the rest of Spain, besieged the city and persuaded the last Moorish ruler, Boabdil, to surrender in 1492. For the first few years of Christian rule, Muslim citizens were permitted to live according to their religion and culture. But, by 1499, Cardinal Cisneros was trying to force all Muslims to convert to Christianity. They were later banned from speaking their language, wearing their traditional clothes and practicing their customs, and they were charged excessively high taxes.

During this period the Christians also destroyed many mosques or turned them into monasteries, churches or public buildings. San Miguel Bajo Church, Santa María Church, San Jose Church and many more, all stand where mosques used to be. In response to this religious and cultural persecution, the Muslims held an unsuccessful rebellion in 1568 and then had to flee to find refuge in the Alpujarras on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains. They lived there until they were expelled from Spain altogether following their final defeat at the Battle of the Alpujarras in the 17th century. By confiscating Muslim property and taking a percentage of the riches entering Spain from the New World during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Catholic Church and the Spanish Crown became enormously rich. This was when Granada's great cathedral, churches, monasteries and convents were built.

From the late 17th century until the present day the city has kept a low profile.

The only event that brought it international attention during the 20th century was a tragic one. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, reactionary supporters of General Franco's military uprising murdered thousands of innocent Republican sympathizers, including the outstanding local poet and playwright, Federico García Lorca.

Granada remained the prosperous administrative capital of a fairly backward agricultural province until relatively recently. Over the last few years the university and private language schools have attracted thousands of foreign exchange students, the city's historic sights have attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors and Granada's official bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics has helped to raise the city's international profile.

SACROMONTE

Sacromonte district is where you'll still find gypsies living in caves that have been excavated from the hillside. The front of one might look like the entrance to an ordinary house, but once inside you'll notice the difference. Many of these cave-dwellings have been converted into entertainment venues where gypsies perform their traditional flamenco music and dance. Try the show at Los Tarantos, for example. While you're here, it's also worth visiting the 17th-century Sacromonte Abbey and Museum and the Museo de la Zambra (Museum of Gypsy Traditions). The best time to come up here is during Semana Santa when religious statues are paraded through the streets all night long. The mix of incense, candles, bonfires and singing creates a highly charged atmosphere. There's a cheerful pilgrimage up to the abbey on St. Cecil's Day, February 1st, and an open air picnic in the countryside afterwards.

THE OLD QUARTER This area has been the city's main religious and commercial center since the 14th century and still offers great shopping for arts, crafts and souvenirs in the narrow little alleys of the Alcaicería. The nearby Cathedral dominates this flat ground below the Alhambra and Albayzín hills. One block south is the pretty Bib-Rambla Square, full of florist's stalls and restaurants, like Manolo. If you're interested in looking good, you'll find loads of fashionable clothing retailers around here, including Los Muñecos, Mango, and many more.

SHOPPING CENTRES AND NIGHTLIFE

Head for the lower, southern part of the city for large department stores like Corte Ingles (El), indoor shopping centers like Centro Comercial Neptuno and the greatest concentration of nightlife in the bars and clubs lining Calle Pedro Antonio de Alarcón. You can choose from an endless number of bars with different themes and atmospheres.