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Stories, history, and planning essays from Granada (Page 5)

Long-form editorial pieces written by resident correspondents — cultural deep-dives, food traditions, and practical planning essays for visiting the city.

Interior view looking up into nasrid architecture muqarnas dome in the Hall of Two Sisters, Alhambra Granada, honeycomb of stucco mocárabe cells radiating from a central eight-pointed star, raking natural light

Nasrid Architecture: Muqarnas, Mocárabes, and Zellige Explained

James Walker Updated

Muqarnas, mocárabes, zellige: the three techniques behind the Alhambra's ornament. What each is, how craftsmen made it, and where to see it in Granada.

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Tortilla del Sacromonte history origin Granada: a thick golden tortilla in a rustic clay cazuela on a wooden table inside a Sacromonte cave kitchen, whitewashed stone walls and iron cooking pots visible behind

Tortilla del Sacromonte: history of Granada's cave dish

Sarah Mills

How 16th-century refugees in Granada's Sacromonte caves turned sheep offal into a fiercely local dish, and the feast day that keeps the tradition alive.

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Exterior of Sacromonte cave houses in Granada, whitewashed facades cut into the Alhambra-Formation conglomerate hillside above the Darro River valley, with the Alhambra visible in the background

Cave houses of Sacromonte: how Granada carved its hillside

James Walker Updated

Sacromonte's cave houses were dug from Alhambra conglomerate after 1492: Romani history, the 1963 floods, the museum, the abbey, and how to stay in one.

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Patio de la Acequia in the Generalife gardens Granada at morning light, long water channel with arching jets, myrtle hedges and cypress trees, 14th-century Nasrid colonnade pavilion at the far end

Generalife gardens Granada: water, geometry, paradise

James Walker Updated

The Generalife gardens above the Alhambra are a 14th-century argument in stone and water. Here is what the Nasrid sultans built, and why it still works.

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Carmen de la Antequeruela, Manuel de Falla's Granada home at Paseo de los Mártires 11, white-walled Andalusian carmen with garden, Alhambra hill visible in the background

Manuel de Falla in Granada: Composer, Exile, Legacy

James Walker Updated

Manuel de Falla lived in Granada from 1921 to 1939, composing at the foot of the Alhambra and co-organising the landmark 1922 Cante Jondo contest with Lorca.

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The narrow lanes of the Alcaicería in Granada — horseshoe arches and hanging lanterns above craft stalls selling taracea woodwork and fajalauza ceramics

Granada's Markets: A City's History Told Through Trade

James Walker Updated

From a Nasrid silk monopoly to Sunday flea markets, Granada's five markets map the city's history. Where to go, what's worth buying, and what each reveals.

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