I’ve wanted to see the
Alhambra for a long time.
I first saw the famous palace
in a photo layout in a travel magazine many years ago. I was captivated by the
timeless beauty and serenity of the ancient palace built by Muslim princes in
the 9th century. It was magnificent.
I finally got my chance to
visit the Alhambra on a recent tour of Lisbon and Andalucía in southern
Spain. Our group of 20 had been
travelling for eight days seeing some very beautiful places. We had visited
Lisbon, Cordoba, Seville, Rondo, the Costa del Sol, Malaga and Gibraltar. I
loved the tiled buildings of Lisbon, the overwhelming Mosque-Cathedral of
Cordoba. The flamenco troupe we saw perform in Seville was 10 times better than
I had expected. I loved the beaches of the Costa del Sol and the Picasso museum
in Malaga. In other words it was a great tour but the 6:45 wake up calls, the
long hours on the bus and miles of walking each day were getting to me. I was
extremely tired and my problem knee was hurting. I just wanted a comfy chair and a nice glass
of rioja or maybe a whole pitcher of
Sangria.
But the Alhambra was what I
most wanted to see. I had to experience
it. So, of course I wasn’t going to miss
the Alhambra. I pushed on.
The palace just outside
Granada was indeed spectacular. I couldn’t believe the intricacy of the wall
carvings, the courtyards filled with silent trees and elegant fountains. But it
seemed as though I was just looking and not really experiencing any of the amazing
rooms. I trudged through a seemingly endless array of gorgeousness.
There were so many people
there! They wandered everywhere and took endless pictures of each other posing
in in courtyards in front of fountains. I was right there with them pointing my
camera at every astounding corner of every astonishing room, taking pictures of
my friends and asking them to take pictures of me.
The trouble was it was just
too much. Too much to see and absorb and too much to truly enjoy. Photos were
not enough. It was as though I was looking but not seeing.
I wasn't exactly disappointed
but I wasn't exactly moved. I felt like I was going through the motions. I also
felt as though we had been walking for miles. I started to realize just how
tired I was and how much my knee was aching.
When emerging from the Winter
Palace into a perfect rose-tiered garden, the guide announced that we had
covered about 60% of the palace. I was truly dismayed. He pointed to the Summer
Palace across a kind of gorge, which seemed very far away and very much an
uphill climb.
So when he mentioned that
anyone who wished could remain at a designated point and wait for the group to
return, I seized the opportunity.
I was the only one of our
group of twenty to take him up on the offer.
“So I'll miss the Summer
Palace but maybe I’ll make it through the rest of the day” I told myself.
I sat down on a bench on a
long tree lined avenue amidst school groups of rowdy teenagers and playful
grade school children. Many, many people passed by me - old and young from so
many cultures - all full of excited talk.
After a while, the numbers
seemed to ebb and subside into a quieter flow of visitors. There was now enough room on my bench to put
my knee up on it. It seemed that as the numbers diminished I could begin to
actually see my surroundings. Across
from me was a view of the city of Granada, a cascade of creamy yellow buildings
tumbling down the hills that surrounded the palace. I began to notice that a
bank of orange poppies lay next to one of purple irises. Flowering trees gave
off a subtle scent I hadn’t noticed before. The poplar trees lining the avenue
were swaying in the breeze and I could hear the far off sounds of a fountain
and recognize that the birds were gentle in their calls. I could see that the
garden was precisely planned to delight the weary traveler’s eye and soothe his
soul. I was soothed and delighted.
This is what the Alhambra is
about, I thought. This is why Muslim princes chose this spot to build this
grand palace. This is why Spanish kings did not destroy it when they had ousted
their enemy. This is why they left it in
all its Moorish glory. This is why thousands of tourists clamber over it. Just
hoping to catch this moment I am experiencing right now, not by trying as I had
by dutifully looking into every wall and corner, but by allowing myself time to
experience what I was seeing.
And this I realized was what
I really needed to do: just stop and wait for the Alhambra to come to me.
When my friends returned from
the Summer Palace, they told all me about what I had missed.
I didn't tell them that I
felt that I hadn’t missed a thing withdrawing from the tour. I had just spent one of the most delightful
hours I could imagine. I was given the gift of not just seeing but truly
experiencing what I had been longing for.
It was an experience I won’t
forget.
