Preservation and New Beginnings: A Trip Through Granada’s Oldest Neighborhoods
By Alastor Matta
We started the day off with a bus ride up to the area just across the Darro River from Alhambra, the Albayzín neighborhood of Granada. This neighborhood is the oldest continuously inhabited part of Granada. While under the Zirid dynasty in the 11th century, it became the city’s nucleus due to its infrastructure with walls originating from the Romans and Iberians who previously populated the area. The city peaked during the Nasrid period, filled with many residents, mosques, markets, and bathhouses. After 1492, it became the primary neighborhood of Granada’s Morisco (Muslims who converted to Christianity) population.
The group was able to get a beautiful scenic view of the city and of Alhambra from our drop-off spot. After soaking in the view, Prof. Rabinovitch gave us a quick briefing on the history of the area as well as what we would be doing. As we began our walk, we passed by the Zirid gate, created in the 11th century before the Almoravid conquest. Shortly after, we arrived at the Church of San Nicolás. This cathedral, like many others in the area, was built on the site of a former mosque showing the religious transformation the area underwent during and after the Reconquista. It reminded me somewhat of Brian Catlos’s book, Kingdoms of Faith, wherein he details the fallout of the Reconquista, including the conversion of mosques to churches. Today, we got to see those themes of religious transformation up close. As there were once 29 mosques throughout the Albayzín, there are now 29 churches that stand in their place, most even re-using the minaret as a bell tower.
Afterwards, we journeyed to a convent, wherein the nuns who live there sell small treats. The process to order has been preserved, as the shop retains a chain for which to ring a bell, letting the nuns know that someone would like to order. Although the bell itself was removed, replaced with a doorbell button, the rest of the process is as authentic as one can get. The door opens with a chain mechanism as the menu is simultaneously revealed. Then comes the pastries. Although a small part of life, the preservation of the ordering process is important to the preservation of the history of both the way of life in this area, and for the convent itself. This process has been around since 1193, and still today people come to the door to buy pastries.
Convent and nun cookie door. Photos by Alastor Matta.
After all the sweets were devoured, we continued to another beautiful view of Alhambra, before entering through the old gates to the market. There, the buildings were decorated with intricately painted plates and ceramics. Almost every house had a ceramic plate outside with the words “Carmen de” followed by either a family name or a trade. Keiner, our guide throughout Spain, taught us that this means that it was a traditional Islamic house, likely with an enclosed garden or courtyard. Additionally, in the neighborhood there were some shops selling ceramics and other goods with Islamic designs and Arabic letters. This is significant because this is yet another example of people trying to preserve the memory of what was lost during the Reconquista.
As we walked through the hilly streets, we passed through the Sacromonte neighborhood. The buildings were carved into the hillside immediately adjacent to the Albayzín, just above the Darro river. This neighborhood is mostly associated with Granada’s Roma community, who settled there from the 15th century onward. They developed flamenco dancing in those homes, making it one of the genre’s birthplaces.
At long last, we entered the San Nicolás tower. On the roof of the tower, there was a wooden ceiling which bore the patterns of Islamic architecture. The patterns reminded us of the stolen nature of the church, how it was once a mosque, and the tower, a minaret. As we entered the church’s mostly white interior, the colorful mural on the ceiling jumped out, grabbing everyone’s attention. Despite the allure of the church, the active mosque we visited next was even more captivating.
It was at this point where we had the pleasure of listening to a guest speaker, a representative of the Muslim community in Granada. According to him, the first modern Muslim community in Granada was established in the 80s by European Muslims who had converted to Islam. The reestablishment of the Muslim community and creation of a mosque was crucial in preserving the history and way of life that existed in the area so many years ago. Additionally, the mosque and plaza around it provides a way of community building, for socializing and bonding over a shared ideology. The aim of this new mosque is more for community building, rather than to look impressive, like many older mosques tended to do. In a way, the design of the mosque is intentionally modern, reflecting the community’s efforts to retain tradition while still moving forward socially. According to the speaker, the aim is not to reclaim the former glory Islam once had, but to construct something new. With that, our day ended as we returned to the hotel.
