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!

A good day

Today, after a long, exhausting weekend, I had a field trip for my Arab World and the West class. We went to the mosque about 15 minute walk from our school. It was amazing and so uplifting. The lady that took us on the trip was originally from California. She left the US when she was in her mid-twenties and decided to travel for a year, thinking she was going to return after seeing the world a little more. She found Islam and Spain and fell in love. She started a new life here and she has a family within her community now: her Islam family. She is married to a Spaniard and helped build one of the newest mosques in Granada. She was so impressive and so was the Mosque! It had a great garden with a great view of the Alhambra.

The visit really put my education in Granada in perspective. I really appreciate the culture, architecture and history so much more than I would solely taking the class.

Open Mic and Alhambra Museum

So yesterday was a packed day! I had my Islamic Art class and we went to the Alhambra to visit the museum. We didn't go inside the Alhambra but learned a lot about Muslims and their architectural styles and art styles. The most interesting thing we saw were lion statues and a marble bath from the old hospital. The Muslim people were some of the only people in history who treated mentally ill people with care and respect, rather than animals. They believed that the mentally ill people were solely people who had a vision from God and were blinded from it, as if it were too much. They also believed that these people needed to be in a comfortable, calming environment and linked personal diets to mental health. These were some revolutionary people!

Last night, IES organized an open mic night for all of us and I performed with my friend Jack for two songs: Badfish by Sublime and Country Road by Jack Johnson. There were a lot of people there from the program and we've got quite a talented crowd. More updates soon!

Sevilla and Ronda

This weekend, we had a trip with IES to Ronda and Sevilla. We stopped in Ronda on the way to Sevilla, and went to the Arab Baths and saw an amazing old mine, with awesome water at the bottom. The Arab baths were really cool because of the history and architecture. They had such an advanced system of making different rooms different temperatures. The mine was on the property of an old king. There are huge gorges in Ronda that protected the city in medieval times, so under the house there is a huge staircase down to the bottom of the gorge. There is a great area at the bottom with crystal clear water, it was so beautiful and definitely worth the huge walk back up.

After we went to Ronda, we made it to Sevilla and had free time and because my best friend is studying there, my friends from IES and I met up with her and walked around and ate some pizza and also churros con chocolate! Sevilla has such a different vibe than Granada. It is the capital of Andalusia and a lot bigger than Granada. Going there definitely made me appreciate Granada a lot more. It's beautiful but there is something about Granada that makes me love it so much.

IES went to a flamenco show at night and it was phenomenal. I liked it a lot better than the one I saw earlier in the week. There was a man dancer as well as a woman this time and it was a lot more powerful in general. After the flamenco show, we met with Heather (my friend) at this flamenco bar and eventually went to a couple other bars to meet up with other IES. It is definitely more expensive in Sevilla for drinks and food.

Today we went to the third largest cathedral in the world, Giralda. It is in the center of Sevilla and it was absolutely beautiful. They have a bell tower that you can walk up and see all of Sevilla. It was absolutely amazing!

Overall, the trip was a lot of fun, just a little too short. I am absolutely exhausted from the weekend, hence my reasoning for being in my bed writing this on a Saturday night. I am happy to be back in Granada, and have nothing much to do tomorrow. I love it here. It's beginning to be home.

View in Ronda.

The old prison of Ronda.

Beautiful blue water.

The caves in Ronda.

Taking a little nap in Ronda.

Giralda Cathedral, Sevilla.

The Royal Palace, Sevilla.

Flamenco

Today I went to my first Flamenco performance at la Parque de las Ciencias (Science Park) that is near me. My host mom was working the show and got me and my friend free tickets. It was pretty awesome to see her at work. She was owning the auditorium; having maintanence men lined up at her cue. Anyways, I  have never seen dancing like Flamenco, it was such an empowering show. She danced with so many different styles like 'stepping', some belly dancing and some hip hop moves. It was insane though, most dancing people see have girls making moves in order to entice men but that was not how I felt about Flamenco dancing. She was so confident and powerful and just dancing for herself, not for any men. It was great. Here's some pictures, they are kinda blurry but you can still see her.

Flamenco dancer grooving.

Such quick and intense movements.

Dancer, the guitarist and vocalist.

First Day of classes and the Supermarket

Today was the first day of actual classes. I am taking all of mine at the IES center, while some students are taking a mix of both IES classes and University of Granada classes. I am excited for the intense Spanish class I am taking because it means I will get a lot better at Spanish, hopefully. Soon, everyone will be assigned an 'intercambio,' basically, we will be assigned a Spanish, young person who will meet up with us and we will exchange knowledge of our respective languages. I´m very excited!

Today was also the first time I went to the market here. Scary stuff. There aren't regular carts and the aisles are very small hall ways. They have baskets that you can wheel around your groceries or carry them in. Nothing looked familiar to me except fruit and nuts. I got food that I can keep in my house for dinner type stuff, because dinner is not provided. I got some greek yogurt, some juice, some nuts and some bread. Needless to say, it was an interesting trip.. and I did it all by myself, which is an accomplishment.

The City

Hey y'all,

It's been a few days since I wrote on here, but I have been so busy. I'm really excited because I just booked my spring break tickets to Italy! I'm so excited to go the beaches and visit all the historical places, and of course, try all the wine they have to offer.

The last couple of days have been so awesome. We finished our orientation, which consisted of intensive language classes everyday and some exams to place us in certain levels of Spanish classes. Granada has so much to offer as far as food, history and beautiful views. There are so many cool places to see and things to do. As IES students, we also have access to all the University of Granada buildings, which include a gym and libraries. IES is a great program and I am really happy I made the decision to come here.

Here are some pictures of the city of Granada:

A beautiful fountain.

Saint Ana church in Plaza Nueva.

The view of the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevadas from Mirador San Nicolas.

Statue of Christopher Columbus proposing the America excursion to Queen Isabella.

Just chillin´.