11/21: Intro to Granada & its Grand Cathedral

After spending a fabulous few days in Cordoba, we set off by bus for the three hour trip to Granada, for a time the grandest city in Spain. The ride took us through what surely must be Spain's olive country as we'd never so many olive groves in our lives before! It seemed like almost the only landscape we saw the whole way was olive grove upon olive grove.

Whizzing through the entirely white town of Baena was a pleasant change even if it was too quick. At least it was a taste of what we'd soon see in Spain's White Hill towns.

We caught a glimpse through the low-lying clouds of the great Moorish palace, the Alhambra, Granada's most famous site.

After dropping our bags in our pretty hotel right off the main square, we walked over to the Corral del Carbon, a caravanserai (of Silk Road fame) founded by Mohammed V in the 14th century for merchants to rest their camels  With the change from Moorish to Christian rule, it was used as an inn and coal storage yard - hence 'del Carbon' - and open-air theater. The highlight of the building, declared a national monument in the 19th century, was the grand Moorish arch we passed through to enter the courtyard.

A block away was the horseshoe-shaped gate to enter the Alcaiceria, originally a Moorish silk market with 200 shops filled with precious salt, silver, spices and silk. The latter was very important in Moorish times and silkworm-friendly mulberry trees flourished in the countryside. Sultans controlled and guarded this fortified market. After the Christians conquered the ruling Moors, the market wasn't changed as the Christians realized it was good for business. It was rebuilt in the 1800s after a fire destroyed much of it. 

Walking along the narrow shopping lanes and gazing at the goods for sale reminded us of the fun we had exploring so many souks or marketplaces while traveling in the Middle East a few years previously.

The center of Moorish Granada used to be the Plaza de Bib-Rambla where markets and festivals were held. The last remnants of the 700 year-old Moorish kingdom ruled from Granada before Christian forces regained control. By 1400, Granada had an estimated population of 100,000  - a huge number for medieval Europe - as Muslims fled south from reconquered cities in other areas of Spain. Under Christian rule, the square was made much bigger to allow for Catholic processions to begin here, for the construction of the nearby Cathedral and adjacent archbishop's palace as well as the Christian University, the orange building below.

As you likely noticed from the people carrying umbrellas, it was another wet and dreary day. How much prettier the square would no doubt have been in the sun so we could better appreciate the flower stalls and fountains.

Granada's Cathedral of the Incarnation, started in the 1500s and not completed until the late 1700s, was built over a destroyed mosque, unlike in Cordoba where the Christians incorporated their church into the former mosque which became the outstanding Mezquita. The emphasis of the cathedral, both its exterior and interior, was on Mary rather than Christ as, during the Counter-Reformation time, the Church was threatened by Protestant Christians and also because Mary was more acceptable to Muslim converts as she was revered in the Koran.

The cathedral, one of the largest in Spain and Europe, was designed as the Royal Pantheon, i.e. for the Spanish kings and queens to be buried there. I found the massive off-white columns very attractive  compared to so many churches and cathedrals we'd seen recently that were so much darker. They made for a greater lightness of being, especially on a rainy day.

The many chapels were extremely elaborate.

During a time of disease in the 18th century, a bishop ordered the interior painted with lime for hygienic reasons. The people liked it so much, that the cathedral remained white.

In the center of the church were two elevated and spectacular gilded organs from the 18th century. They each had 4,000 horizontal trumpet pipes which were unique to Spain.

I loved the quote attributed to St. Augustine: "He who sings, prays twice." The cathedral choir was assembled in the 1920s as part of the plan to bring  the Eucharist closer to the people.

The 17th century choir books were set atop a lectern. 

In the main chapel was the Grand Monstrance of Granada.

There were a dozen columns around the altar with images of the 12 Apostles above them. The arched spaces were designed for the royal tombs until El Escorial was built near Madrid to be the final resting place for all Spanish monarchs. If you didn't catch that post, here's the link to our fascinating visit: Salamanca-Medieval    Villages-Avila-El Escorial, Spain - WOW, WOW!

We couldn't help but notice the abundance of gold leaf around the altar. It came from the local Darro River which originally attracted Romans to Granada for its gold. 

The stained-glass windows provided so much light to the entire cathedral. Below the windows were a series of the best paintings of Mary from the Spanish Baroque period.

The gorgeous main altar was dedicated to the triumph of St. James who was portrayed as a knight.

Above the entrance to the Royal Chapel - a separate admission we left for the next day - were depictions of St. John the Baptist and the Evangelist who were saints worshiped by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. 

The St. Cecil Chapel was an homage to the first Christian community of Granada.

In the Sacred Art Room, the former Sacristy, were liturgical vestments and beautiful tapestries showing the life of St. Augustine and others displaying significant moments in the life of Constantine, son of St. Helena. 

Not to be missed, I guess, was the agonized face of St. John the Baptist from 1740!

This priceless processional monstrance of Corpus Christi was donated by one of the Catholic queens. 

The views between the arches where the organs were were just delightful and so unlike other places of worship we'd seen.

There was a separate entrance to the parochial Sagraria Church, built at the beginning of the 18th century. It occupied the same site where the Major Mosque of Granada used to stand and followed the same plan as the cathedral. 

The church was far more intimate than the cathedral but that was all very relative as it was still very ornate! I much preferred the lighter tones of the cathedral as they were such a pleasant change from this traditional heavier style.

The entrance to the Cathedral's separate Royal Chapel was in the square of the same name but we put off visiting it until the next day.

Even though we only had a few hours discovering a small part of Granada, it whetted our appetite for exploring more of the cosmopolitan city.

Next post: The Alhambra, the last and greatest Moorish palace, and one of Europe's top sights.

Posted on January 31st, 2019, from sunny Littleton, Colorado.