Barcelona

We went to Barcelona this weekend and it was so much fun! A few friends and I rented an apartment in the neighborhood of Clot and had an awesome time. The first day we went to the Sagrada Familia, Casa Batilo, Casa Mila and Park Guell. Gaudi had a huge influence on Barcelona. All these places were so amazing. I've been to other European cities but none are so distinct like Barcelona. Every corner, there is a different beautiful building or piece of art. I can't even describe it, so I think I'll just show some amazing pictures and let them speak for themselves.

Sagrada Familia.

Casa Mila by Gaudi.

Casa Batilo by Gaudi.

A beautiful park.

Park Guell by Gaudi.

Park Guell ceilings.

Amazing architecture in Park Guell.

Looking over the whole city of Barcelona at Park Montjuic.

It's been awhile..

It's been a while since my last entry, but I've been pretty busy. My boyfriend, Willie, and our friend, Matt, came to Europe for their spring break! I met them in London two weekends ago and we stayed in the Marriot right across from Big Ben and Parliament. The city is huge! It is so much bigger than Granada and I was not used to taking a metro to get everywhere. We went to a soccer match at the Chelsea Football Club Stadium. It was really fun, for not understanding much, but Chelsea won and I got a sweatshirt, so all in all, it was a good game! We got to meet up with my roomie from Ithaca, Alyssa. It was great to see her because I get homesick sometimes and it's so nice to see a familiar face. The next day, we went to Camden Market, which is an outdoor market with all kinds of different foods and clothes for sale. It was really fun! We then went to a typical English pub and got a few beers and it was definitely some culture shock (compared to Granada, that is). Before we left, we went to look at the Olympic stadium that was built for the Olympics this summer, which was very interesting.

After leaving London, they both came back here with me to stay for the rest of the week. I showed them around Granada, including the awesome views, gardens and different neighborhoods. I also introduced them to the world of 'tapas.' For those of you who don't know what tapas are; when you order a drink in Spain, you get a small ration of food with it. In most of Spain you have to pay for this food, but not in Granada! I brought them to some of the parks in the city with my friends from the program. We went to the discotecas and walked around a lot. It was so good to see my boyfriend and to show off my city. It makes me even MORE proud to study here.

I'm going to Barcelona, so there will definitely be a blog post after that! Ciao!

Cordoba

This Friday we went to Cordoba to see the Madina Al-Zahra and the Great Mosque of Cordoba. I have been learning in both my Arab World and the West and my Islamic Art and Architecture that Muslims had a huge influence on Spanish architecture and culture. We were learning about these buildings on Wednesday and went to see them on Friday. It really helps to see the actual places instead of just learning by seeing pictures and learning facts.

Anyways, so the city of Al-Zahra was built in the 10th century by the first Muslim leader in Spain. The city was eventually ruined and pillaged and naturally covered by a mudslide of the hill behind it. It was then spoken about only as a myth. But in 1910, an architect uncovered the entire city and now the ruins tell us more about the Islamic influence here in Spain. Here are some pictures of the ruins:

Madinat Al- Zahra ruins.

The old city walls.

More views of the mythical city.

Horseshoe archs, representative of the Muslim architects.

An intricate capital.

After the ruins, we went to the Great Mosque of Cordoba. This mosque was built in the same time period as the city above. It had to be enlarged every generation that Muslims were still in power. Then when Christians claimed Cordoba, they didn't want a mosque in the center of the city and therefore, built a cathedral within the mosque. The architects that did this didn't know how to build because now, the mosque's supports and archs are leaning because of the huge dome the Catholics placed in the middle of the mosque. The archs in the mosque were not built for such a structure and will eventually break. It is a sad story, but for now, the beauty remains! Here are a few pictures from the mosque:

Mihrab of the Great Mosque of Cordoba.

The minaret at the Mosque, where they used to call prayer from.

The cathedral ceiling, inside the mosque.

Infinite arches to symbolize Allah's infinite presence.

Outside the mosque.

The immense altar. 

The rest of the weekend was really great. I met up with some friends from high school who happened to be visiting and we all went out together. Yesterday, I finalized all my plans for spring break and today I am relaxing and doing homework with friends. I love this city and never want to leave! But I am traveling to London this weekend to meet up with  my boyfriend, Willie and then he and his friend will be coming back to Granada for the week! A lot of exciting things coming up!