Albaycín, Granada

The beautiful UNESCO heritage site that is the Moorish neighborhood in Granada.  the church in the foreground is St. Nicolas, and our apartment in Granada is far up the hill from this church.  The photo to the right is of Iglesia de Nuestra Salvador, and it was taken uphill from the church, on the terrace of our apartment.  Nicolas, our landlord, explained navigation in the Albaycín quite simply.  When you are heading up hill, you need to head for this church--from there we could find our apartment easily, even though there were several ways to get there.  The streets are small, winding, and interconnected.  When heading downhill, kepp the mountains at your back.  Simple.  And it was simple, provided you were not in a car--then it was all you could do to avoid scraping the car on both sides--the walls of the Albaycín are covered with the paint of many cars.

Driving in this part of town is not recommended.  When we managed to find our apartment, my spouse refused to move the car until we were leaving town--and he was right to be nervous.  Nicolas looked at our modest sedan and asked why oh why had we gotten such a gigantic car?  In the Albaycín it felt gigantic.  The best part of the neighborhood is walking around, sitting outside, enjoying the Moorish arches and the terra cotta roofs.  Such a lovely place.