Its special geographical locatio, surrounded by sierras, with
fertile land and friendly climate has made Granada since prehistoric
times an important site. The first settlements known to us, which
established Granada, were those of the túrdulos, one
of the most advanced paleoiberian tribes.
The arrival of the Romans gave Granada great civil and religious
importance, the many traces of which can be found throughout the city.
During the Visigothic era the city maintained its greatness.
A Visigothic castle was added to the Roman forum, thus converting it
into a fortress.
The Arabs make it their base from the very beginning of their arrival.
In 1013 it became an independent kingdom under the Ziri Kings and a period of
extension began. For two and a half centuries Granada remained
at the peak of its strength, maintaining economic, artistic and cultural
richness. The kings enjoyed nothing more than making the city so beautiful
that none other could equal it. They built beautiful constructions such
as the Alhambra and Generalife. The Arts and Sciences were augmented
and became well known. Travellers and students fled to
Granada to acquire knowledge and appreciate its beauty as well as the
hospitality and tolerance resulting from the mixture of Islamic, Jewish
and Christian cultures.
On te 2nd of January, 1492, the Catholic Kings entered Granada and put
an end to almost eight centuries of Islamic presence on the peninsular.
Boabdil, on his way to exile, cried on looking for the last time at the
city he loved so much, his mother reproaching him with the famous
sentence "He cries like a woman he who has not known how to defend
like a man". This spot is known as the "Suspiro del Moro"
(Sigh of the Moor). Christian domination opened a new era of
splendour for the city. During this period the great Christian monuments
of late Gothic, Renaissance and Barroque style were created.
Today's Granada always surprises the visitor with the great
contrast between modernity and antiquity, between the Albayzín
and Alhambra, with their peaceful cornes which fill the soul with
memories of other eras, and the bullicose town below full of noise and
bustle, "tuna" musicians, students, bars and tapas.
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