Granada Part 3

A rather poignant and upsetting, but also very important piece of history within Spain is around the Spanish Inquisition. If you don't know much about it, other than it being referenced occasionally in that famous Monty Python quote, then its one of the saddest and most destructive periods in Spanish history, in which thousands of people, Jews, Muslims, people who had converted to Catholicism, and even people who had done nothing wrong but were caught up in petty arguments and political set ups were tortured and killed. It was intended to weed out and destroy parts of the Spanish Society that were deemed not loyal enough, and often presented itself in gruesome public executions, public displays of punishment, as well as exiling sections of the terrified populace. It started after a period on the Iberian Peninsular of relative religious freedom and little prosecution, but as the Castilians took over more and more of the Muslim lands the desire to prosecute grew. That combined with the fact that until then, the Peninsular had resisted orders from the pope, which may have caused it to be so sever, in order to please the pope and give the impression that the Christian Castilians were working hard to make the land good & Catholic. There's much to surmise and discuss about it, but it's a period of time thats certainly a difficult one. It seems most of Europe was having similar issues, with witch trials taking place across the continent.

If you want to learn more about the Spanish inquisition, then the El Palacio De Los Olivados has a great exhibition in the subject, with many artefacts and stories on display. There's even a mock up of a set of gallows on the roof, which can be seen from many of the surrounding rooftops, giving you a feel of how pubic the inquisition was, and also how many people did not feel safe during it, even though they had done nothing wrong.

Its quite a heavy subject, and if you're needing to spend a little time somewhere beautiful to decompress, then the Cathedral will be right up your street. It's glorious, with a mixture of different architectural designs, as well as a beautiful Baroque centrepiece, its so utterly charming and it oozes grandeur. It's just 6 euros, and you can wander around as much as you like. Take note in particular the columns, which had a distinct almost art deco vibe to them.

Something else that must be said, is Granada is very easy to get around. It's quite compact, especially the old part of time around the Alhambra, meaning there's not much need to public transport/taxis. One thing I will say, is the bus network can get you just about anywhere at any time of the day, so if you're looking to stay somewhere a bit cheaper and away from the centre, do it, there's plenty of hotels to choose from. There's also a tramline (They call it a metro, but to tom AYto, TomAREto) While its just a single line at the moment, there's are plans to extend it further of the city. The highlight of using the tram is that the security guards are incredibly hot, and I was tempted to fare evade because I fancied a wrestling match with one of them. But alas, I'm too good a citizen not to pay, and he never discovered that he was my Spanish fantasy.