Albaizín

Our next task for the day was to navigate the labyrinth of steep, narrow alleys of the only Moorish neighborhood in Spain to escape the wrath of the Reconquista. Once Granada’s ‘cradle’ as an Iberian settlement in the 7^th century BC, centuries later Muslim rulers dwelt in the Albaizín before they began to develop the Alhambra in the 13^th century. It eventually became a densely populated area with 27 mosques, and it served as the Islamic quarter for several decades after the Reconquista of Granada by the reyes católicos in 1492. Nowadays, the Albaizín is a symbol of the persistence of Islamic influence in Andalucía—the mosque near Pl. San Nicolás, North African cuisine, abundance of teterías and bazaars along Calderería Nueva blasting Arabic music, etc.