Being There

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 9^th 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.