Granada in Spain was first settled by native tribes in the prehistoric period, and was known as Ilbyr. When the Romans colonised southern Spain, they built their own city here and called it Illibris. The Arabs, invading the peninsula in the 8th century, gave it its current name of Granada. It was the last Muslim city to fall to the Christians in 1492, at the hands of Queen Isabel of Castile and her husband Ferdinand of Aragon. Anyone looking for property or a City Break in Granada will find one of the most brilliant jewels of universal architecture is the Alhambra, a series of palaces and gardens built under the Nazari Dynasty in the 14th C.
On your city break in Granada you will see the hill in facing the Alhambra is the old Moorish casbah or "medina", called the Albaicin, a fascinating labyrinth of narrow streets and whitewashed houses with secluded inner gardens, known as "cármenes". The Plaza de San Nicolas, at the highest point of the Albaicin, is famous for its magnificent view of the Moorish palace. The Sacromonte hill, which overlooks the city from the North, is famous for its cave dwellings, once the home of Granada's large gypsy community. The name Granada is ancient and mysterious. It may mean "great castle", for the Roman fortress which once stood on the Albaicin Hill. When the Moors came here, the town was largely inhabited by Jews, for which they called it Garnat-al-Yahud - Granada of the Jews. The Jews are said to have been one of the first peoples to settle in Spain, even before the Romans.
Granada is one of the pearls of Spain, most visited by tourists from all over the world. Walk through beautiful gardens, charming narrow streets filled with flowers, sit down in one of those typical taverns to have some of that famous "Trevélez" ham and local wine, and breath the centuries of history around you anywhere. There are gypsies singing "Flamenco", and on your Granada city break don't forget to visit the famous "Cuevas" (caves) in the mountain of the monastery of Sacromonte where some of them really live still nowadays making magnificent artisany. Granada's popular festivals, based as well on Moorish as Christian tradition, are most attractive. Granada is located at the foot of the "Sierre Nevada", Spain's highest mountain-massif with great posssibilities for winter-sports. The highest peak, "Mulhacén" arrives to 3,478 meters. On the other hand it is not far from the Mediterranean sea, so Granada is a great place to visit in any season.
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