Today has been comparatively restful, with a 10 km stroll under a heavy sky around Granada taking us to the Carthusian Monastery, returning via Sacromonte, where the houses are built into the rock of the hillside.
We went via the University campus, quiet on a Sunday morning apart from the screeching of a colourful band of Iberian magpies. We were also lucky to see a hoopoe in the same spot near the Dental School.
Collared doves and warblers were also in evidence today, as well as lots of mountain bikers, runners, a few hikers, and numerous tourists like us.
The monastery is an interesting place. Its construction started in 1516 and continued for about three centuries despite being occupied. It was occupied until 1836, when the church and the land belonging to it was confiscated.
The land passed to various owners and the cells of the monks and other outbuildings of a fragile structure disappeared. The ruinous state of the main buildings was eventually recognised as requiring restoration, and that took place, very successfully, in the 1960s.
The entrance fee of €5 included a helpful audio guide gadget.
There are some magnificent paintings on view, many by Fray Juan Sánchez Cotán (1560 - 1627), and his protégé Vincente Carducho (1585 - 1638). Some of them bring to life (or death) scenes described in CJ Sansom's Shardlake books that I'm currently reading.
The Sacristy and the Sanctuary are particularly ornate, being crammed with engravings that must have taken years to make (if not 300 years!).
I could go on, but there is lots of information elsewhere, and I don't want to bore you. A guidebook dated 1976 lent to us by Dot has come in useful!
After a delicious smoked salmon baguette, we were back at base by mid afternoon for a bit of down time before venturing out to a Moroccan restaurant, Palacio Andaluz Almona, for another tasty meal. The going rate for a meal for two, with drinks, is about €40 here.
Today's pictures:
From the Carthusian Monastery:
The Cloister
The Church
The Sanctuary
We went via the University campus, quiet on a Sunday morning apart from the screeching of a colourful band of Iberian magpies. We were also lucky to see a hoopoe in the same spot near the Dental School.
Collared doves and warblers were also in evidence today, as well as lots of mountain bikers, runners, a few hikers, and numerous tourists like us.
The monastery is an interesting place. Its construction started in 1516 and continued for about three centuries despite being occupied. It was occupied until 1836, when the church and the land belonging to it was confiscated.
The land passed to various owners and the cells of the monks and other outbuildings of a fragile structure disappeared. The ruinous state of the main buildings was eventually recognised as requiring restoration, and that took place, very successfully, in the 1960s.
The entrance fee of €5 included a helpful audio guide gadget.
There are some magnificent paintings on view, many by Fray Juan Sánchez Cotán (1560 - 1627), and his protégé Vincente Carducho (1585 - 1638). Some of them bring to life (or death) scenes described in CJ Sansom's Shardlake books that I'm currently reading.
The Sacristy and the Sanctuary are particularly ornate, being crammed with engravings that must have taken years to make (if not 300 years!).
I could go on, but there is lots of information elsewhere, and I don't want to bore you. A guidebook dated 1976 lent to us by Dot has come in useful!
After a delicious smoked salmon baguette, we were back at base by mid afternoon for a bit of down time before venturing out to a Moroccan restaurant, Palacio Andaluz Almona, for another tasty meal. The going rate for a meal for two, with drinks, is about €40 here.
Today's pictures:
From the Carthusian Monastery:
The Cloister
The Church
The Sanctuary
More to follow in due course.
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