Top Islamic 7 Must See Things in Granada

If you are a muslim traveller or an islamic architecture lover those are the 7 things you must see in Granada

The Alhambra

The Alhambra was a palace, citadel, fortress, and the home of the Nasrid sultans, high government Palace of Charles V, which houses the Alhambra Museum (with historical artifacts from the site) and the Fine Art Museum. 

The Alhambra reflects the splendor of Moorish civilization in Andalusia and offers the visitor splendid ornamental architecture, spectacular and lush gardens, cascading and dripping water features, and breathtaking views of the city.

The Albaizín is the old Arabic quarter 

Albaycin is the old Arab Quarter. It comprises approximately the area between the hill of the Alhambra, the hill of San Cristobal, the Sacromonte and Elvira.  It was declared a world heritage site in 1984, along with the more famous Alhambra.

The Albaycin is a wonderful neighborhood to explore on foot. While strolling along the whitewashed streets, visitors can admire old Moorish homes, beautiful fountains, and attractive plazas. Among the more renowned plazas is the Plaza de San Nicolas. It is at this plaza that the Mirador de San Nicolas can be found. This "mirador," or lookout point, offers amazing views of the Alhambra, especially at sunset.
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Next to the Mirador de San Nicolas you can visit the Mosque of Granada wich signals, after a hiatus of 500 years, the restoration of a missing link with a rich and fecund Islamic contribution to all spheres of human enterprise and activity.

The Mosque of Granada is composed of three main, contrasting elements. These are the prayer hall (which is properly speaking the mosque itself), the Centre for Islamic Studies, and the garden wich looks out over the valley of the River Darro towards a vista of the Alhambra standing on the Mount of Sabika, etched against the peaks of the Sierra Nevada


Along Calderia Vieja and Calderia Nueva, twisting antique lanes climb the hill into the heart of the old Muslim district of the Albaizín, where Arab shops offer handmade crafts from Morocco, sweets from Jerusalem, and pungent Arabian spices. Softly lit tea houses promise mint tea and water pipes, evoking the hospitality of ancient Persia.



The Banuelo baths, the old arab baths in Granada

Arab baths, the Banuelo, also known as Aammim Alyawza (Banos del Nogal) are located at the bottom of a private house in the Carrera del Darro, at the foot of the Alhambra, and show how skilled the Spanish Arabs were a thousand years ago. In 1918, The Banuelo was declared a National Monument and was restored by the architect Balbas. Surprises to be found in The Banuelo are their large size and good level of conservation. Beautiful porticos are based on the Arab style.

Corral del Carbon, one of the oldest arab monuments in Granada

Located in Calle Mariana Pineda, in the heart of Granada, Corral del Carbon is the oldest monument left us by the Arabs. 

The "Corral del Carbón", formerly called "Alhóndiga Gigida" was constructed in the early 14th century  by Yusuf I and was used as a type of warehouse for merchandise and also as a shelter for merchants.

It is of special interest because it is the only remaining Moorish caravansara or fundak that still remains as it was in Spain.

Madrasa ﻣﺩﺭﺴة of the Nasrid monarch Yusuf I in Granada

It is located on the street now known as Calle Oficios. The madrasa was built at the heart of the city, near the main mosque (now the site of the Granada Cathedral) and the Alcaicería, then the elite bazaar where silk, gold, linen and other cloth were traded. Ibn al-Khatib was an early student there; among his teachers were Ibn al-Fajjar, Ibn Marzuq, and Ibn al-Hayy (language and law); Ibn al-Hakam and the poet Ibn al-Yayyab (rhetoric); and Sheik Yahya ibn Hudayl (medicine and philosophy). As was typical of the works of Yusuf I, the building was splendid, with a white marble entrance.
The building was originally organized around a pool in the center. The only surviving part of the school is the prayer room. It is a square-shaped room oriented by its mihrab.

 ALCAICERÍA, the old silk market in muslim times in GRANADA

The Alpujarra mountain range, was important for the production of silk, where silkworms feasted on the leaves of the Mulberry trees. The raw material was then transported by mules, to Granada,where the silk threads were woven, then sold, either in bales, or made into clothing etc. In the centre of Granadas' city, a bazaar was built , consisting of a grid like network of streets, with merchants shops, and inns, for the merchants to sleep, eat and conduct business. (The Corral del Carbon was originally a merchants inn - see my tip for further info).