Rute del Califato
The Mezquita, Córdoba
I had a choice, either fracture my suspension in the pot-holes, or suffer the violent vibration set up from the compacted rocks which formed the body of the road surface. I opted for the vibration, I felt my dental fillings loosen, I tried to check them in the rear view mirror but that was in the process of oscillating through 360’. Stones being catapulted from the wheels of passing vehicles were modifying the body-work of my hire car. I had a head-ache! I was sure the car would disintegrate leaving me sat on the bare chassis grimly clutching the steering wheel.
Since leaving the Carretera a Palma Del Rio the local roads were appalling, giving the impression that they had been freshly shelled by some belligerent howitzer battery.
I was to spend the night at a house a few kilometres west of Córdoba, to say it was a hovel is perhaps unfair, but it certainly came close. I must stop being so trusting when I book accommodation. Mosquitoes fed on my vital fluids and howling dogs deprived me of my much needed slumber. The gas cylinder looked to be in a bad state so like a fool I turned it off. As I gave up smoking ten years ago, I had no way of lighting it in the morning; I had a cold shower, no coffee and left the house in a foul mood.
The purpose of my enterprise was to follow the Route of the Caliphs, from Córdoba to Granada I was to start my expedition at Madinat al-Zahra, built on El Cerro de la Novia, The Bride’s Hill.This huge complex was founded by Abd al-Rahman III in AD936. The infrastructure of Moorish Spain was controlled and organized from here. I hope their highways department was more efficient than their successors.
I felt at ease amongst the ruins, it wasn’t that I wanted to move through the once wonderful buildings in long flowing robes like some moronic Lawrence of Arabia. I studied archaeology at the University of Exeter and have spent many happy hours on digs. I find I can associate with the ancients, picturing their shadowy figures flitting through their world. It could of course be a ploy to forget the present and the reality it represents.
Only a small area of the complex has been excavated revealing fine stuccowork and the remains of marble columns. Madinat al-Zahra is arranged on three terraces with the highest accommodating the administrative zone. The middle terrace had the gardens, orchards and the all important pools. This area would have been a haven of serenity with water flowing in convoluted channels to irrigate, cool and soothe. The lowest platform housed the military and the general mosque.
I am sure that if the Caliphs had to drive through the centre of modern Córdoba during the rush hour in order to begin on their route east, they would have gone back to bed. It was horrendous! I finally found the N432 and I headed east toward the Sierra Subbètica and the Hotel Zuhayra in Zuheros. This would locate me roughly halfway between Córdoba and Granada.
My hire-car was in a bit of a state, freshly dented from the airborne rocks of yesterday, I wondered what unseen damage had been done.
My understanding of mechanics is something akin to Albert Einstein’s practical experience of surfing. I once had an old Fiesta which was always failing to start; a friend of mine said the fault was with the distributor, I was all for going around to the Ford dealership and demanding to know why he had sabotaged my car.
The Route of the Caliphs follows the line of fortified towns from the Guadlaquivir Valley towards the fertile plains east of Granada. These citadels formed the first phase of a ninth century defense in depth strategy. Zuheros is a prime example of a these towns, clinging to the side of the Sierra Subbètica its castle dominating the town. The castle was erected from within the natural contours of the surrounding rock, giving the appearance of being assimilated with it.
I arrived in Zuheros in the mid-afternoon, it had been three years since I was last here and I felt as if I were coming home. Nothing appeared to have changed, it was very reassuring. The Hotel Zuhayra had the same relaxed, cool atmosphere and the attentive staff were familiar faces. I was soon relaxing in a hot bath and listening to the sounds of the village as it started to surface from the heat of the afternoon.
I took dinner in the comedor of the Bar Los Palancos. A revuelto de colleja, lamb’s lettuce cooked with scrambled egg, ham and prawns, washed down with opaque fino en rama, it ranked as one of the best meals I have eaten. I slept soundly with a full stomach, a glow from the fino and no voracious mosquitoes or vocal dogs. Tomorrow I was back on the N432 to Granada and the Alhambra.
I left the hotel just before dawn, my entry time for the Nasrid Palaces was 11 to 11:30 and the distance was 114 kilometres. I had built in enough time to get lost, change a wheel, be abducted by badly informed guerrillas or any other eventuality that seemed likely to my tiny mind. As it turned out the road was good, the signposts informative, and the objective was soon reached.
The Alhambra complex sits on the Sabika hill overlooking Granada, a convoluted site consisting of three distinct areas, the Alcazaba, the Nasrid Palaces and the Generalife. The Alhambra we recognise today was started by Al-Ahmar the founder of the Nasrid dynasty after he moved his affairs from the fortress at Albayzín some time after 1232. It was the last stronghold of the Muslims in Spain falling to the Christian forces on the 2nd of January 1492. As the Moorish King Boabdil left the city his Mother reputedly said “You cry like a woman for the kingdom that you could not defend like a man”, she wasn’t a happy lady.
Was I impressed by the Alhambra? Certainly the very clever use of flowing water in the Generalife, translates to Garden of Paradise apparently, cools and animates the gardens in their inherent intimacy. The Nasrid Palaces has some remarkable carpentry, tile and stucco work, while the huge towers of the Alcazaba offer spectacular views of Granada.
My most enduring memory of Alhambra wasn’t its architecture or the immensity of its scale, but the birds. Swallows and sparrows, circling the courtyards and towers bringing the whole site to life, it is almost as if they were willing participants in the spectacle which is the Alhambra.
I once more found myself in the familiar surrounding of the Hotel Zuhayra reflecting on my day in Granada. Tomorrow it was back to Málaga, the airport and Bristol. I had visited other villages along the Route of the Caliphs, Priego de Córdoba, Lucena, Luque, Iznája and others. These white walled villages are the essence of southern Spain, showing that there is another way of life, a quieter, slower more understanding way.
The drive to Málaga will be longest of the trip, I dare not look back.