Granada Cathedral and The Royal Chapel of Granada

The first glorious monument that we visited in Granada was the Cathedral.  In keeping with the theme of Mary worship which we learned about  in Cordoba, we find a whole cathedral dedicated to  the mother of Jesus.  This is made obvious by the actual name of the church which is La Santa Iglesia Catedral Metropolitana de la Encarnación de Granada.  As I get older and somewhat wiser, it becomes more and more obvious to me about how religion and politics are so intertwined that they become one and the same.  This reality might explain how the mother of Jesus was able to cultivate a religion of her own.  After the Reconquista, when Christians took over the Iberian Peninsula, Muslims were forced to convert or get out of town. The conversion was made more palatable to Muslim converts since Mary is also revered in the Quran.  This fact mixed with the  power of time and the threat of premature death  resulted in people proclaiming that There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God to praying Ave Maria!

Interior of the Granada Cathedral

Granada Cathedral

Front facade of the Cathedral

The Royal Chapel was built at the request of Queen Isabelle and King Ferdinand.  The soul purpose of this beautiful church is to house the bones of the King, Queen and three of their relatives.  The whole place is a testament to the enormity of their egos.  It doesn't impress me much but for 5 euros a piece, people continue to stream in to file by the tombs everyday.  

Front facade of The Royal Chapel.  No photos allowed inside

Walking along Paseo de los tristes along the Darro River where you have stunning views of the Alhambra. It is called the walk of the sad because this is where funeral processions would traditionally make there way to the cemetery outside of town.

View of Alhambra and the snowy Sierra Nevada Mountains in the distance from a high lookout point

View of Alhambra from the window in our hotel room

Darro River

Ann and a woman next to her who I can only assume is shooting a commercial for Alhambra Shampoo.  "You too, could have hair as fabulous as mine! You'll just want to touch your hair all day long!"

Bodegas Castañeda

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