WEDNESDAY 3 APRIL 2013
Maiden Flight
The Europa Airline flight passed quite quickly. As it was a budget airline no food was served on board. Shame, as I always look forward to plane food! So Amma's aloo-bhaji wraps came in very handy, as they were to for the rest of the day. May Allah bless her efforts.
Yousuf and Zainab both enjoyed their maiden voyages except when landing - Zainab had a serious bout of ear ache. She was screaming and nothing would console her. I was very worried that it might be brain related but Alhamdulillah she calmed as the doors opened. She was then back to her merry ways as we headed for the airport...
Airport Run
Madrid's Barajas Airport was much quieter than I'd expected, which gave Yousuf and Zainab plenty of space to have fun running around. We had to keep a close eye on them as they were fearless in their roaming. Ma-sha-Allah.
I left them playing to get our rental car from the car park. Only a couple of people in front of me but it took longer than anticipated. There were no Ford C-Max's so I was offered a Citroën Berlingo. No! Luckily they had a Zafira...
The Road to Granada
I was a little apprehensive about driving on the right hand side, particularly on such a long drive (over 400km) straight off without any time to get used to it. And it was raining to start off with.
But it was a trouble free and enjoyable drive, ma-sha-Allah. Spanish motorways have fewer lanes than those in the UK but there was no traffic so they don't need them to be bigger. My first impression of Spanish drivers was that they drive slower - I was sticking to the speed limit (120kmh) for the better part of this journey but was still overtaking more than being overtaken.
Everybody got some sleep as the kilometres piled on. The plan was to break up the journey into two but Alhamdulillah didn't need to - it was almost a challenge to see if I could make it in one! And after about four hours we were in the beauty that is Granada...
Granada - Staple Diet
Our hotel was right in the heart of the city with an adjacent underground car park. As always, Web pictures of the hotel room didn't match reality exactly! Smaller but more than adequate. The wooden flooring was nice but the curtains were too old fashioned. As it said in the reviews, it was a little too eighties.
After settling in Abdullah and I went to a local Chinese corner shop for water and other minor bits and bobs. Hamida prepared pasta for Yousuf and Zainab in Abdullah's school food flask. These meals were to be their staple diet for most of the journey.
Abdullah and Hamida finished off the remaining aloo-bhaji wraps while I made myself couscous after a long hot bath...
Spain's neighbour is called Portugal, and given the abundance of oranges in Spain itself it too should have been named after the fruit perhaps.
We strolled up through Granada's cobbled and hilly streets to the Alhambra, along the way peeking at beautiful town houses and their exquisite courtyard gardens. Yummy!
Albaicin is the old Moorish quarter of Granada. Built on a hill on the opposite of the Daro from the Alhambra, it's narrow cobbled streets made for a very picturesque walk.
The Moroccan brother lead us to a very beautiful mosque that was built by the native Muslims of Granada only 10 years ago after much striving as they faced a lot of opposition from the churches. Alhamdulillah, their efforts have been greatly rewarded.
THURSDAY 3 APRIL 2013
Granada - Room with a View
The view from our window of the city of Granada with the Alhambra in the distance. Nice view to wake up to after a good night's sleep - the heavy curtains really helped. Nice by dull (weather).
Breakfast was good but the hot food selection was decidedly lacking in vegetarian options. We missed Premier Inn! There was plenty of cold choices though and we especially liked the fresh bread.
Yousuf and Zainab were a handful but I prefer for them to be active, even if loud, than timid. No stiff upper lip here, though it always tries to pop out...
Granada - Oranges!
Spain's neighbour is called Portugal, and given the abundance of oranges in Spain itself it too should have been named after the fruit perhaps.
We were to see countless trees wherever we went. The ones in cities particularly captured our attention, especially Hamida's who was ever urging me to pick one!
Granada - Lunch by the Daro
We strolled up through Granada's cobbled and hilly streets to the Alhambra, along the way peeking at beautiful town houses and their exquisite courtyard gardens. Yummy!
We'd booked Alhambra tickets for our last day and so today was reserved for the city itself. Walked along one of the outer walls of the Alhambra before arriving down by the River Daro. A beautiful walk.
And then it was lunch time for Yousuf and Zainab. Alhamdulillah they ate well, as they were to do so for most of the trip. Activity is good for the appetite!
After their meals we started ascending again, towards another UNESCO World Heritage site - Albaicin...
Granada - Hilly Albaicin
Albaicin is the old Moorish quarter of Granada. Built on a hill on the opposite of the Daro from the Alhambra, it's narrow cobbled streets made for a very picturesque walk.
Picturesque and yet a little challenging pushing Yousuf and carrying Zainab on my back. Abdullah helped greatly with the pushing, which he loved doing. I loved the feeling of accomplishment of doing it for my kids.
We were heading for a lookout point that affords the classic stunning view of the Alhambra. It was from the courtyard of a church that used to be a mosque. Of course, this being Andalucia there are thousands of such converted mosques.
We were heading for a church but found a mosque! Alhamdulillah! As we approached the lookout, a Moroccan brother going the other way met us with salaams. It instantly created a bond. He showed us to Granada's brand new Grand Mosque, which was just across the road from the church and offered the same view and only better because of the lack of tourists...
Granada - Masjid Gharnata
The Moroccan brother lead us to a very beautiful mosque that was built by the native Muslims of Granada only 10 years ago after much striving as they faced a lot of opposition from the churches. Alhamdulillah, their efforts have been greatly rewarded.
Hamida, Abdullah and I prayed Zuhr and Asr while Yousuf and Zainab had a ball running around the main hall. They love large empty spaces. And it's wonderful to see their unadulterated joy!
The Mihrab of the mosque is modelled on that of the Great Mosque of Cordoba. It is stunning. And more importantly, this one is used. Long may that continue.
We met another Bengali family from London in the mosque. They had a guide. I'm glad that we didn't. It was raining but we left nonetheless and headed for somewhere to eat halaal with the Moroccan brother. I got to practice Arabic...
No comments:
Post a Comment