Our Spain Travelogue Part II

Alhamdulillah....I've done my radiology final. Thank you for the doa ^_^!

So, as promised...before I start with my pharmacology final...here comes the second part of my winter story. =)

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The next day, we were planning to visit Al-Hambra. If you want to buy the ticket, you can either book it online or buy them at the counters. However, as there were soooooooooooo many people coming to Al-Hambra every day, you need to line up at the ticket counter as early as you can. (and no, we didn't book it online as it is a little bit expensive =p) Alhamdulillah...thanks to our dedicated friends who went to line up at the Al-Hambra ticket counters as early as 6am, we managed to get the tickets for all 17 of us!! (clap!clap!)

We entered Al-Hambra at 8.30am (almost didn't make it....but, Alhamdulillah we did!) At first, I only thought that Al-Hambra is only a palace. But once I entered it, MasyaAllah! This Al-Hambra covers not only just the palace, but also the big fortress, a large garden, several minor buildings and several huggggeeeeeee compounds!

So, as our ticket stated that our palace visit is at 8.30am, we went there first. Once we entered the Palacios Nazaries (the palace), it was like, "woooaaahhhh!"

The entrance of the palace.
Credit pic: Cik Dal's

Then, we briefly reviewed the story of Al-Hambra. The palace was completed during the reign of Sultan Muhammad V in the Abbasiyah Era. This palace was filled with the fine details and incredible architectures which still remained to be awed by the tourists. Al-Hambra is also one of the symbol of the modern civilization of Islamic empire during the European Dark Ages.

The "air-cond" of the palace during hot summer.
Credit pic: Cik Dal's

Did you guys notice the reflection of the building? How smooth and precise the reflection is? That's because the height of the surface of the base of this pond is EXACTLY the same (dasar kolam yang sangat rata). Using the geometry and logarithm theory, the islamic architects during this era managed to built this pond with a wonderful view. MasyaAllah!

The Court of Lions
pic source: my vivaz

This is The Court of Lion, which the 12 lions had just been restored back to their places after being in the research center. They also are doing some kind of reconstruction project in here. Why the research? Because there's a rumor saying that the water will come out from these lions' mouth each time azan was commencing. SubhanAllah!! So they were trying to do research about it. The truth behind this story and the details of the research, are unknown to us. The official statement was about the refurbishing the lions. The details can be find here. Waallahu'alam.....

This is what the court should look like.
Credit pic: Google.com

Next, inside the palace. No other words came out except this one word, "SubhanaAllah!!!"

The ceiling of the Dos Hermanas Hall, which is next to the Court of Lions.
Credit pic: my vivaz

The WHOLE wall of this hall, and most of the palace, are written with this  quote: "There is no other conquerer than Allah"
Credit pic: My Vivaz

I'm not so good in explaining the architecture stuffs, talking about all those symmetries, geometries, algorithms or whatsoever, neither in understanding about it. So for a "non-architectural" people like me, I can just simply be amazed and mesmorized on the beautiful decorations and details of the palace as I've never seen anything as wonderful as this before. =)

The Daraxa Viewpoint.
Credit pic: My Vivaz

The high window in this viewpoint area. We can see the palace garden from this beautifully carved window
Credit pic: My Vivaz

The view of the whole Albaycin area and some other parts of Granada
Credit pic: My Vivaz

Then, we went out from the palace and walked to other places in Al-Hambra.

My favourite view so far. Which now is my mobile wallpaper =D.
Credit pic: My Vivaz

This one, is very unique for me. It seems sooooo Arabic to me. With the date tree, the dome-shaped arches, the clear blue sky.....don't you think so?

One of the lookout tower along the way to Generalife.
Credit pic: My Vivaz

A unique cabbage-like flower.
Credit pic: My Vivaz

Then, we reached Generalife, which is the large garden built across the palace. There are two parts of this garden. One part is built by the Christian Spanish. Another one is the Palace of Generalife which consists of a small open-air building with beautiful landscape, and it's built by the Muslim Moorish, which is obvious based on the beautiful words of praising Allah the Almighty.

The generalife is built with a beautiful landscapes, full of various plants and flowers (not forgetting the orange trees as well!) Since this is winter, so there were not so many flowers can be seen. But we can see there are lots of rose plants, which insyaAllah will blooming tremendously during summer!

The Spaniards Generalife

The Palace of Generalife

Inside the Palace of Generalife. With the view of the whole Al-Hambra
Credit pic: My Vivaz

Remember that I've mentioned the hugeeeeee amount of orange trees here? Well, before we entered the palace of Generalife, one of my sisters asked the palace guard if we can have an orange from the tree. The kind-hearted guard helped us to pluck an orange from the tree (with full effort!) and gave it to us happily. They peeled the orange and together they tasted it. And the result? It was SOOOOOO SOUR and BITTER!! (Yup, I didn't dare to taste it as Kak Lene has said to me before how sour the orange is....hehehe =p) No wonder there is no one wants to take the oranges from the tree, no matter how tempting they are. Hehehhee...=p

Now, as I've said before in my previous post, about the special quote:

"Wala Ghalibu Ila Allah"

(There is no other conquerer except Allah)

This quote is like almost everywhere in the whole Al-Hambra! Let it be on the walls, the columns, the corners...basically, everywhere! They were beautifully, and carefully carved on the walls. This really amazed us as the architect, designers of Al-Hambra during that time, really wanted themselves and everyone to remember that Allah is the best victor, the best conquerer, the Almighty above all. They want everyone to remember, that eventhough they have built a magnificent place which is among the best in the whole world during that time, they still can never surpass Allah's power. SubhanaAllah!!!!

Then, for the last place that we visited in Al-Hambra, we went to Alcazaba (The Fortress). This is the last place of defense in Granada that lasted before the Islamic Empire in Andalucia was conquered by Ferdinand and Isabella (The Christians empire). 

The top of Alcazaba.
Credit pic: My Vivaz

It is said that at the top of this fortress, is the place where the flag of Ferdinand and Isabella was placed, signifying of the downfall of the Muslim Empire in Andalucia. When I reached here, there was some kind of mixed feelings, sort of like there's a lump in my throat. Since I've read the story about the conquest of Ferdinand and Isabella, I sort of imagining the real situation that happened during that time. I've imagined that on this Alcazaba, where there was a battle, with swords, spikes, fiery horses, the bloodshed......who knows? Wallahu'alam....

The visit to Al-Hambra really had opened our eyes. How powerful we are in the world, if we have forgotten about akhirat (hereafter), only be mesmerized and thinks about the dunya (world), we will be the most regretful person on earth...Na'udzubillah...

Only Allah knows what happened during this time, and like Kella said in her blog, perhaps the iman of the muslims during that time are still much, much higher than ours. But, there is always some lesson to be learned, which for me, Allah has shown and proved to us that no matter how big and powerful we are in the human's eyes, He is still the most powerful of all. SubhanaAllah...!

On the authority of Thawbaan ,  the Prophet said, 

“The People will soon summon one another to attack you as people when eating invite others to share their food.” Someone asked, “Will that be because of our small numbers at that time?” He replied, “No, you will be numerous at that time: but you will be froth and scum like that carried down by a torrent (of water), and Allah will take the fear of you from the breasts (hearts) of your enemy and cast al-wahn into your hearts.” Someone asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what is al-wahn?” He replied, “Love of the world and dislike of death.” [An authentic hadith recorded by Abu Dawud and Ahmad] Daripada Tsauban r.a. berkata: Rasulullah saw. bersabda; "Hampir tiba suata masa di mana bangsa-bangsa di seluruh dunia akan datang mengerumuni kamu bagaikan orang-­orang yang hendak makan mengerumuni talam hidangan mereka". Maka salah seorang sahabat bertanya  "Apakah dari kerana kami sedikit pada hari itu?" Nabi saw. menjawab, "Bahkan kamu pada hari itu banyak sekali, tetapi kamu umpama buih di waktu banjir, dan Allah akan mencabut rasa gerun terhadap kamu dari hati musuh-musuh kamu, dan Allah akan mencampakkan ke dalam hati kamu penyakit 'wahan'." Seorang sahabat bertanya, "Apakah wahan itu hai Rasulullah?" Nabi menjawab, "Cinta pada dunia dan takut pada mati". (Hadith riwayat Abu Dawud dan Ahmad)

*next: The story of Aunty Aisyah in Granada and perhaps (if I can manage it) the story in Seville*

*to be continued in part III*

Salam a Na Shle!