Granada two

Just in case you didn't get enough, here are some more photos from last week.  After we finished the Alhambra, I was starving, so we went down town, parked in the first public parking place we saw and stopped in the first café we saw and ordered Kabobs.  They are not meat on a skewer here.  You know in Gyro shops, the meat they roast on vertical spits?  When you order a kabob you get thin slices of that meat with shredded lettuce, cabbage, onion, etc in some sort of bread.  Here in Fuen they use a tortilla.  In Granada they used a pita.  I was really glad to eat and would have enjoyed anything, but this was good.  Then, we started walking down the street, partly because we didn't want to move the car.  We were in medio dia so all the shops were still closed, but there was a pedestrian street so we went down that.  As we went along we looked right and saw this!

 

This is the Granada Cathedral!.  It is pretty modern for this country, started in the 1500s and finished in the 1700s.
 

This sculpture  above the doors was beautiful, though I am still not quite sure what is being depicted.

The interior was light and airy compared with some that we have seen lately.  Here is one part of the organ pipes.

This gives just a hint of the interior size and a glimpse of the art everywhere.

I took this photo from the ground level with the telephoto and available light.  That is a bright cathedral!



Rod wanted a photo of Rameumptom... te he.  It is  beautiful tho ornate.

Won't need the glasses to read this music.  The music stand has to be something else though.



A full suit of armor and horse mounted on a wall.  I think it is one of the kings, there is a heathen under the horse's hoofs if you look carefully.

 We loved seeing this beautiful building.  I always think of the craftsmen that built these places of worship and feel that they really did love God to put such time, skill and effort into their places of worship.  I think He accepts their offering too. 

The Spainhowers, who were working in Malaga with the YSA group there had us over to dinner last Wednesday and so we got a last photo or two.  I especially enjoyed our evening because they taught us some card games.  I really enjoy games, but Rod doesn't really so I seldom get to play.  Hey, remember the knertz games?  We have to revive those.

 

Trying for a different expression

Aren't we cute?

 

 

We surprised Sister Theobold with a birthday cake at a meeting at the mission home. 

This week has been transfer week and very busy.  We got 21 new missionaries, and sent 7 home plus the Spainhowers.  Some of our returning missionaries had parents come get them.  It is fun to meet family but there is a degree of uncertainty with more people involved.   In addition to managing the new missionary arrivals on Tue, and residency work on Wed., Rod did the departing missionary transportation to the airport. That meant a very early morning on Thru. Then on Friday evening we had missionaries who had to come in for a medical appointment in the evening.  The plan had been for them to do splits with the APs who were were late. Since I was hungry, we took them to dinner with us.  It was so much fun.  We found a Brazilian churascuria.  In addition to good food and lots of meat, the matre'd and our waiter both knew the church.  The first had a family member back home that had joined the church and the later was an inactive member.  We also visited with an English foursome sitting next to us about the church.  We even got phone numbers of the waiter and boss.  We have 'futures' as the missionaries say.  So cool.  Saturday Rod didn't get much of a p-day as he took the Spainhowers to the airport while I drove their car back to the office, and then the branch had a young men's activity that evening.  It didn't really go as planned at all, but they made it work and our Elders were able to have an activity with both member and nonmember young men.  Worth the work!  Today was Munch and Mingle at Bruna's which means bringing food to church, plus I gave a talk  in Sacrament meeting, and taught the one young woman that came to church. We also fed the 3 sister missionaries supper.  Tonight I am feeling it. I am glad this post got done earlier than usual.  I am ready for bed.  Congratulations to Todd and Sara!  We found out tonight, that our new sister missionary Sister Grant is from Alpine and lives across the street from our soon to be niece, Emily Gillespie.  The world is so very small!  We love you!

The Alhambra

There should be music playing as a background to this post.  The Andalucía Suite has a part called the Alhambra and you should be listening to that while you look at these photos.  If I were really good at this, I would make it happen.  You will just have to hum something I guess.We have planned to meet with the Cooks to see the Alhambra since we started the mission and it finally happened this past Monday.  We had such fun seeing them, seeing this beautiful complex of buildings, and best of all, they brought a package from home.  Rod now has a supply of chapstick and I have new photos.  Whoo hoo! 
The Alhambra (red castle) started life as a fort on the top of a hill in the 9th century.  It got added onto over the centuries ... by the Nasrid emirs in 13 &14th centuries, then the Christian kings took out and added various buildings.  Washington Irving wrote 'Tales  of the Alhambra' while staying there, and helped increase interest in it which lead to it being declared a National Monument in1870.  (I think this country has socks older than our national monuments.)  It has been heavily restored  as per the guide book. That is all the history I am giving you.  You will have to look up anything else you want to know yourself.



The first pair are Cherie Cook's parents, then her. Their friends are next then us.  Her sister and hubby were trying to get something uploaded and missed the photo op. Ted took the photo

The gardens were most impressive, especially as it is almost as hot and dry there as AZ

Generalife is supposed to be a corruption of an Arabic name.  It was the 'small get away' palace.

Apparently even the original had gardens and fountains but water was used sparingly then. 

Hat Hair!



This view of part of the complex also shows how much higher  it is than the rest of the city.

The books describe the exterior of the buildings as plain while the interior is ornate, and fragile like man.
There is one part called the gate of the Architect, the Architect being the creator or Allah.  The Arabic script is part of the decoration and is usually prayers to Allah, but some of it is poetry or praise for the current ruler.

 

I loved the old fashioned broom.

You gradually move up the hill and look back on the tops of the trees you just photographed.

They use this venu for musical productions.



I keep getting intrigued by 'tunnels' of foliage.   

We passed a shop where he was doing the marquetery as we watched. 

Yes, we bought a beautiful box.

But it is a 'transformer' box.  Soo cool.

Rod was totally intrigued by these cutouts in the roof of the 'baths'.

He is trying to figure how and where to put some in our house.

This is the residence built by the Christian Kings.  It has a museum but we didn't take the time to see it.

Seems like a friendly lion.

 

 

Well, I had to get a 'modern building' in somewhere.

A star shaped tower!  Sooo beautiful.

I don't know if this is the same tower, I didn't think it was the same place, but they are both star shaped.  They almost seemed like stalactites.



That is wood up on the ceiling folks.  It looks like it was assembled like the marquetry of the boxes.

Note that they didn't use animals in their designs.  Maybe to avoid idol worship?

Most of the walkways are covered with these pebble mosaics.

This is probably how it looked originally, with color in the background.

Does this remind you of something?

This is the courtyard around the lion fountain.  Stunning!

I thought about trying to spout water too, but...



Talk about tessellation.



We were getting pretty tired at this point, not to mention hungry. 

So we headed back to the Cook's car.

We discovered they were parked 4 spaces away from us even though we arrived about 20 minutes before they got there and met them at the entrance.  I swear we were separated at birth or something.  They gave us the care package.  Thanks again Kids!  We sure do love you!

And since we love you, I will save the afternoon's photos for next week.  I really did cut out about 1/2 of them. Take good care of everyone and give the babies a hug from us.