Disclaimer:
I am no Washington Irving. Unlike him, who spent 4 years of his life living in Spain in the early 19th centuries and wrote some magnificent stories about the history and tales of the Moors & the Spaniards, I just spent a couple of nights in a mediocre place in Granada this year (and same few last 2 years) and I don’t have the capacity to produce a beautiful book that still sells almost 2 centuries later. Well all I have is this humble blog where I go to whenever I feel like writing, stressed out, when something interesting happens, or even for nothing at all (dan juga bila bertemu lelaki kacak ha ha haa..kidding)
Alhambra: my own short (and sweet) tale of it
For a second visit, Alhambra managed to win my heart all over again. It’s like a rebound to your ex-lover that became an ex- after a peaceful departs, if you get what I mean. The rain was pouring heavily in the morning, alas, the sun started to shine again when you think that there’ll be no hope for that. Fate drew me closer to this blue-striped someone, exchanging glances, and it was fate too that had us turned away from each other in the end. OK that might sound a bit cliché. (Nothing happened, no we didn’t chase each other down the hill with multi-coloured costumes and back-up dancers, nothing like that)
Albaicin
Late in the afternoon I went up to Albaicin alone. The parents were too tired for a second round up. During the first Spanish conquest during winter 2005 I didn’t get the chance to visit Albaicin, so this time I promised myself that I’d go there no matter what. It was a peaceful solitary journey, made me realized that I shall do that more in the future just for the thrills of life. It was a quiet and beautiful evening. Not many tourists were there when I reached the viewing place, as there were still few more hours to sun down when tourists would usually populate the place for a breathtaking sunset view of Alhambra from afar.
I went to the only mosque you can find in Granada, I mean the functioning one, after all the old mosques converted to churches after the fall of the great Muslim rulings to the hands of Isabella and Ferdinand. It was a pretty cozy mosque, there was a small garden in front of the entrance to the praying area. I went in, with the intention to perform a 2 rakaat solat and realized that I had my see through skin colour hosiery on and forgotten to bring a new pair of clean socks for solat, which I normally would do. OK lesson for the day was pakailah stoking yg menutup kaki betul2 he he (tertunduk insaf).
Just when I was about to step out from the mosque I heard a voice giving me salaam from behind. He was a tall lean Spanish guy, probably in his early 30s, with a very clean face and a pleasant accent. I figured immediately that he looks after the mosque and the little shop just inside. We talked, mostly about the Muslim Spaniards. He was from the Northern Spain, and asked me,
“Are you from Indonesia?” I mentioned Malaysia and he replied,
“Oh they’re very alike, all are from the same Nusantara.”
I asked more about the mosque, the funding and all. It was inspiring to learn the fact that there’ll always be people that’ll fight for Islam to live through no matter where and how. The chatting continued while we strolled out to the front garden. Once outside he saw a lady in a wheelchair just at the main entrance of the mosque and immediately excused himself for a moment and went near her to offer help. I took the chance to snap few photos of the garden, the mosque and Alhambra from there.
I figured it’d probably best to continue my walk to other places there. Went to bid him farewell when he mentioned,
“Can you do me a favour? Do you know Layla? Anwar and Layla own a teahouse on the right and down from that corner. She loves to get contacts of Muslimahs from all over the world. Maybe you can meet her and leave your name and number there.”
So I went searching for Layla following his directions while enjoying the scenic view of local settlements of Albaicin quarters. I came to few small teahouses, bar and restaurants, none looked like being owned by a Muslim couple. I stopped and asked a worker from a restaurant, he referred me to a guy who gave me a simple direction of forward and right. Nothing too. I gave up. It was not my rezki I figured. I began walking in reversed directions where I came from, engulfed in my own thoughts before realizing that I walked the wrong way. Well you know me and directions..
When I reached San Nicolas (the viewing place) the skies had begun turning red. I quickly took few photos and spent some times just sipping the evening air while listening to the live guitar and singing from a group of young hippies. Not bad at all. I then packed my stuff and went to wait for the bus to go down, realizing if I stayed any longer it would caused worries to the parents (the truth was they were still asleep when I reached the room, probably very tired from all the walkings).
Kebab Ahmad (bukan nama sebenar)
I actually took a small detour to the last kebab shop I went last winter before walking back to the place I stayed. I can still remember how tasty the kebab was, probably the best kebab you can find in Granada (OK I might be wrong due to the fact that we only tasted 2 different kebabs last time). I remembered Ahmad, the pleasant Egyptian guy who made the kebab for us. We agreed that he was more than just a kebab guy, well if he’s not then he’s certainly an opiniated one! I remembered he talked about Islam in Spain. I was a bit disappointed to learn that Ahmad was no longer there, there was a new Algerian guy who gave me the same ol’ delicious kebab with discount. It was nice to trace back the old memories though..
If you ask me whether I'd like to go for a third round trip, I would say yeah without a single doubt. The past two visits had served some very random, sweet and exciting vibes in my life, and I think I need more of those, very certainly..
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