Andalusia getaway

ALHAMBRA - GRANADA

Andalusia is one of the 17 autonomous regions of the Spanish State and is also one of the biggest with 8 provinces. The intriguing elegance of Moorish art takes one's breath away, the rhythm of the flamenco gets one's feet tapping and the thrill of the bullfights gets one's adrenaline pumping. One of its main attraction, Alhambra in Granada is the oldest, most impressive and best preserved Arabic palace in the world. This fortress-palace was built by Spain's medieval Moorish rulers. What magnificent Islamic architecture......Mat Saleh pun in awe of the whole thing, ternganga tengok the intricate carvings from floor to ceiling. Yang amat menyedihkan is the fact that all of them were taken over after the conquest. We could only just imagine how glorious it was in its hey-days.

This inscription is the motto of the Nazrid dynasty, its meaning - "There is no victor but Allah" – Repeated hundreds of times on walls, arches and columns.

Alcazaba - the oldest part of the Alhambra.

Jardines Del Generalife - the gardens, "generalife" meaning either "raised garden" or "divine garden".They were used at recreation times by the Nazarene royal family.

Nasyrid Palace - night tour

Perfect ending to our Alhambra tour. The other family tu is my colleague Hisham dari Malaysia. The apartment that we stayed is booked via his time sharing package. They flew in from London while we took the budget airline Ryan Air from Bremen to Malaga. Berkelah dekat car park tengah malam after a day of exploration which ended at almost midnight as we bought tickets for the nightime entrance to Nasyrid Palace. Menu nasik lemak, sambal, kari udang cicah roti. All cooked in the morning at our apartment. Rasa masih lagi ok so we walloped all, lapar la katakan tak makan since lunch tadi. Esoknya everybody cirit-birit tapi we really didn't know what's the exact cause. Food left too long in the car or the water as it tasted kind of funny.

TARIFA

Hajat hati nak cross over ke Tanger which would only have been a 35-minute ferry ride, alang-alang dah dekat, nak jugak jejak benua Afrika but alas, it was not meant to be. Punya kuat semangat nak pergi. All of us were down with stomach upset, tatau sebab makan lauk kari udang yang dah dok dalam kereta for 12 hours masa berkelah kat Alhambra pukul 12 tengah malam or sebab perut tak sesuai dengan air kat Malaga ni, so terpaksa berhenti sana-sini toilet stop....dalam belukar pun jadi, nyaris tak kena kejar dik anjing and kuda. Yet we kuatkan semangat dan perut and took the 1 1/2-hour car drive from Benalmadena to Tarifa. So sedey....bila nak beli tiket feri we were told that Malaysians need to apply for visa which cannot be done there and then. Tu la...apasal tak check before coming kan? So tengok dari jauh jer la and bayangkan the lovely Souk kat Morocco that we missed. Instead berkelah tepi pantai makan meehoon and spaghetti sambil gamit-gamit pantai seberang.

This was the ferry that we were supposed to board but tak der rezeki ke Africa for now.

Hakeem in his boxers, tak sempat nak tukar swimming trunk dah sakit perut and terpaksa "melabur" celah-celah batu. Nasib baik yang adults perut tak memuleh kat situ. Toilet tak ada, alamat celah batu jugak jawabnya. Mat Saleh selamba jer "pancut" anywhere they fancy.

Berkelah tepi pantai. Tanah seberang is benua Afrika. Mat Saleh cari tempat panas nak berjemur. Melayu cari tempat redup...takut kulit terlebih "tanned".

ALCAZAR - SEVILLA

Despite the Arab influence reigning in this area, very little remains of the first Moresques constructions as fire, earthquakes, reforms and later extensions wiped out or absorbed the early structures. What can be seen now is the castle of King Peter, a Christian palace finished by Islamic or Christian craftsmen with Muslim artistic training.

Orange trees everywhere with the fruit bergayut-gayut. Nak tahu kenapa nobody interested to pluck and eat them? They are so very pahit...tu la sebabnya bergayut sana sini.

The Hamam, tempat mandi depa dulu-dulu - Syirah took this superb shot.

Pusing kota naik kereta kuda. Actually what happened was we ter-park the car jauh and after going in rounds on foot tak jumpa Alcazar, ternampak kereta kuda. So macam orang mengantuk disorong bantal la bila Mamat tu pelawa naik. Melayang 50 Euro tapi at least dapat look-see, look-see dengan aman damai and Syirah perasan sekejap jadi Princess lambai-lambai kat rakyat jelata and we were then dropped near the entrance of Alcazar.

CORDOBA -THE MEZQUITA

The mass of columns inside the Mezquita in the mosque area. This is an example of mosque dalam cathedral, cathedral dalam mosque.

The mihrab.

One side cathedral and the other mosque, co-existing in one building but sadly Muslims are not allowed to pray there anymore.

In the courtyard in front of the Mezquita. Banyak pokok limau in the middle of the courtyard, hence its name, The Patio of Oranges.

MALAGA - THE ALCAZABA


The Alcazaba was initially a Roman Fortress before being rebuilt by the Moors. Here beside the Alcazaba, the ruins of the Roman Theater can be found and is still being excavated.
The garden inside the Alcazaba. It's like a mini Alhambra inside the Alcazaba.


BENALMADENA & CACA MERBA
Cuaca panas terik tapi air still sejuk by Malaysian standards. Tengok Mat Saleh mandi relek jer, Imran and Syirah pun got excited. The most difficult part is masa mula nak dive in.

Beach in Benalmadena, a mere 10 minutes away from our apartment. Ramai ladies yang went topless to the amusement of Hakeem, siap tunjuk-tunjuk dengan jari. Nenek-nenek tua pun tak berbaju jugak. We saw a family of mommy and 2 daughters happily running topless around their cabana.

Menceroboh ladang olive. We just stopped by the roadside.

Syirah doing the Flamenco. Dia nak beli baju ni to wear for this year's Halloween Party kat sekolah. Boleh?
View from the balcony of our apartment

Kedai Arab jual daging halal. Cuba tengok peha tu....besar mana agaknya lembu tu yer?

Imran and his dream car to go with his pilot dream job. InsyaAllah....

Marbella - tempat melepak in the sun for the rich and the famous. This is the section for the common people I think coz tak nampak any different pun from the beaches in Malaga and Benalmadena.

Milking cow in Spain?
Syirah wanted to taste authentic Spanish paella so we had this on our last day in Spain. Habis kuning jari due to the safron used in the dish when we tackled the prawns ala-Melayu. Kacang putih jual tepi jalan...macam almonds. Ingat nak singgah beli lepas makan paella, ambik gambar dulu, then bila dah kenyang terlupa pulak.
Au revoir photo session at the entrance of our apartment area