Granada

Granada is located in the eastern part of Andalucia (Southern Spain) at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and only 100 km away from the Mediterranean Sea. The town is also located near Sevilla and Malaga and it’s within a 4 hours drive of Madrid. It is one of the eight regional capitals of Andalucia and the town has a population of nearly 300.000. Granada has a great diversity in its climate from a sunny Mediterranean summer to rain and snow in the winter.

It was the last Muslim city to fall to the Christians in 1492, at the hands of Queen Isabel of Castile and her husband Ferdinand of Aragon.One of the most brilliant jewels of universal architecture is the Alhambra, a series of palaces and gardens built under the Nazari Dynasty in the 14th C. This mighty compound of buildings – including the summer palace called Generalife, with its fountains and gardens – stands at the foot of Spain’s highest mountain range, the Sierra Nevada, and overlooks the city below and the fertile plain of Granada. At the centre of the Alhambra stands the massive Palace of Charles V, an outstanding example of Spanish Renaissance architecture.

Other major Christian monuments found in the city are the Cathedral, including the Royal Chapel where Isabel and Ferdinand lie buried, the Monastery of La Cartuja and many churches built by Moorish craftsmen after the Reconquest, in Granada’s unique “mudéjar” style.

The hill facing the Alhambra is the old Moorish casbah or “medina”, called the Albaicin, a fascinating labyrinth of narrow streets and whitewashed houses with secluded inner gardens, known as “cármenes”. The Plaza de San Nicolas, at the highest point of the Albaicin, is famous for its magnificent view of the Moorish palace.

The Sacromonte hill, which overlooks the city from the North, is famous for its cave dwellings, once the home of Granada’s large gypsy community.

The most important industrial sectors in Granada are the agricultural and the tourism industry. The many mountains in the province of Granada makes it a good location to produce Olives, as it is one of the only agricultural products that can grow in these conditions. In the part of Granada closer to the Mediterranean Sea there is also a large production of tobacco and sugar.

Apart from the above industries Granada town is know for its craftsmanship producing handmade quality products such as guitars, pottery, board games and other products in wood.