Submitted by Jack Mullarkey on the 2024 Winter GRIIS program in Granada, Spain…
Granada, Spain is unlike any place I have ever been to. Being given the opportunity to improve my Spanish-speaking skills by living in one of Spain’s most culturally rich cities has already taught me so much in such a short amount of time. Our first week of classes ended with a tour of Albaicin, an Arab district of Granada known for its 13th, 14th, and 15th century monuments influenced by the Muslim and Christian cultures. Our tour began at el Río Darro, a river that flows through the area and surrounds the Alhambra, a 13th century fortress that is one of the most famous Islamic architectural monuments. I like to remember the Alhambra for its wild cat population, however, and we even saw one of them sitting near the river. After el Río Darro and a lot of walking through las cuestas (steep cobblestone streets) of the town, our group visited La Iglesia de Santa María de la Aurora y San Miguel. As if the church was not beautiful enough for its influences of Muslim and Christian architecture, the sunset that our group saw during our visit definitely made it a moment to remember. Our tour concluded with a visit to el Mirador Ojo de Granada, a hillside that overlooks the Alhambra and la Catedral de Granada. Here, we got to see the end of the sunset over the entire city of Granada to the sound of live music in the streets. Our tour of Albaicin allowed us to see firsthand the influences of multiple cultures that have entered southern Spain throughout the centuries, it was definitely an experience that I will not forget. (Submitted on January 18, 2024)