Long-form editorial on Granada, Spain — the Alhambra, Albaicín, food and day trips from Explore Granada. Newest articles first.https://www.exploregranada.orghttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/aben-humeya-morisco-rebellion-alpujarras-1568https://www.exploregranada.org/articles/aben-humeya-morisco-rebellion-alpujarras-1568Fernando de Válor became Aben Humeya, rebel king of Granada, on Christmas Eve 1568. His guerrilla war lasted less than a year before his own men killed him.Sun, 26 Jul 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/women-of-the-alhambra-nasrid-courthttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/women-of-the-alhambra-nasrid-courtThe Alhambra's harem was never what films imply. Behind Nasrid law, women wielded power: two sultanas ruled by regency, one captive became a sultan's favourite.Sat, 25 Jul 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/granada-great-mosque-history-precathedralhttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/granada-great-mosque-history-precathedralGranada's 11th-century Great Mosque had 130 columns and 11 naves. It served 450 years until the Renaissance cathedral replaced it. Little survives above ground.Fri, 24 Jul 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/stargazing-near-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/stargazing-near-granadaReal stargazing near Granada means driving into Sierra Nevada after dark, not touring the OSN observatory by day. Where to go, when, and what's certified.Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/isabella-castile-granada-burial-connectionhttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/isabella-castile-granada-burial-connectionIsabella I of Castile chose Granada over Toledo for her burial. Her Royal Chapel tomb, the 1504 will, and the 17-year journey from Medina del Campo to Granada.Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/lorca-last-day-assassination-viznar-1936https://www.exploregranada.org/articles/lorca-last-day-assassination-viznar-1936Arrested on 16 Aug 1936 and killed before midnight on 18 Aug 1936. The 48 hours that killed Federico García Lorca, reconstructed from witness testimony.Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/travel-writing-workshop-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/travel-writing-workshop-granadaGranada in Story is a five-day travel writing workshop that uses the Alhambra, Albaicín and Sacromonte as material, plus who leads it and what it costs.Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/maristan-granada-islamic-hospital-historyhttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/maristan-granada-islamic-hospital-historyGranada's 14th-century Maristan was Islamic Spain's first hospital, built by Nasrid sultan Muhammad V in 1367. Its remains quietly reopened to visitors in 2023.Wed, 08 Jul 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/alcazaba-granada-fortress-historyhttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/alcazaba-granada-fortress-historyThe Alcazaba predates Alhambra's palaces by 350 years: a 9th-century refuge fort rebuilt by Zirids, Nasrids, and Castilians into the fortress standing today.Sun, 05 Jul 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/arab-bath-tradition-granada-banuelohttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/arab-bath-tradition-granada-banueloGranada had 21 public hammams at its Nasrid peak. From El Bañuelo's 11th-century star skylights to Philip II's 1567 ban and the modern Albaicín revival.Fri, 03 Jul 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/interesting-facts-granada-spainhttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/interesting-facts-granada-spainInteresting facts about Granada Spain that guidebooks skip: disputed etymologies, the soldier who saved the Alhambra, and a river buried under Plaza Nueva.Thu, 02 Jul 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/corral-del-veleta-glacier-sierra-nevadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/corral-del-veleta-glacier-sierra-nevadaCorral del Veleta held Europe's southernmost glacier — active until 1913 at 37°N. Relict ice and permafrost still cling on in Sierra Nevada, shrinking fast.Wed, 01 Jul 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/darro-river-granada-historyhttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/darro-river-granada-historyWhy does the Darro river vanish under Granada's streets? The full story: Roman gold-panning, Ibn al-Ahmar's Acequia Real, and the 1854 decision to bury it.Tue, 30 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/carrera-del-darro-granada-historyhttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/carrera-del-darro-granada-historyGranada's Carrera del Darro: 11th-century Moorish bridges, Renaissance palaces, and the only open stretch of the Darro river, buried underground since 1938.Mon, 29 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/alpujarras-morisco-villages-historyhttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/alpujarras-morisco-villages-historyAfter 1492, the Alpujarras sheltered Granada's Morisco community for 80 years. Their tinaos, acequia channels, Berber chimneys, and flat launa roofs survive.Sun, 28 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/convivencia-granada-three-faithshttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/convivencia-granada-three-faithsChristians, Muslims, and Jews in Nasrid Granada: the legal framework, the intellectual exchange, and the episodic violence that convivencia contained.Sat, 27 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/moriscos-granada-history-expulsionhttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/moriscos-granada-history-expulsionForced converts from 1502, surveilled by the Inquisition, and expelled by Philip III in 1609. Who the Moriscos of Granada were and what they left behind.Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/alhambra-decree-1492-jewish-expulsionhttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/alhambra-decree-1492-jewish-expulsionThe Alhambra Decree of 1492 expelled 100,000–200,000 Jews from Spain. Learn what was signed at Granada's palace, why it happened, and where the exiles went.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/zirid-dynasty-granada-medieval-historyhttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/zirid-dynasty-granada-medieval-historyThe Zirid dynasty (1013–1090) founded Granada as a city-state, built the Albaicín's urban fabric, and gave rise to Samuel HaNagid's Jewish Golden Age.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/granada-cathedral-renaissance-architecturehttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/granada-cathedral-renaissance-architectureDiego de Siloé turned Granada's half-built Gothic cathedral into Spain's first Renaissance church in 1529. The circular capilla mayor had no precedent.Tue, 23 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/mudejar-art-granada-architecturehttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/mudejar-art-granada-architectureMudéjar art in Granada: after 1492, Muslim craftsmen built Albaicín churches with horseshoe arches, sebka lattice and artesonado ceilings for Christian patrons.Mon, 22 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/tortilla-sacromonte-history-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/tortilla-sacromonte-history-granadaHow 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.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/alhambra-political-history-roomshttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/alhambra-political-history-roomsEvery room in the Alhambra was a political act. Yusuf I built the throne room; Muhammad V built paradise. Here is what each sultan commissioned, and why.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/alhambra-geometry-for-architecture-lovershttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/alhambra-geometry-for-architecture-loversDecode the Alhambra's geometric language room by room: girih tiles, muqarnas mathematics, and the hidden proportion systems that still baffle modern designers.Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/royal-chapel-granada-flemish-paintingshttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/royal-chapel-granada-flemish-paintingsInside the Royal Chapel sacristy, Isabella I's Flemish paintings wait: Van der Weyden, Memling, Bouts, and a lone Botticelli. Most visitors never enter.Thu, 18 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/nasrid-civil-war-granada-successionhttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/nasrid-civil-war-granada-successionGranada didn't fall to military conquest. A Nasrid succession crisis and three-way civil war handed Ferdinand and Isabella the keys to the last Moorish kingdom.Wed, 17 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/abencerrajes-granada-nasrid-clanhttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/abencerrajes-granada-nasrid-clanAbencerrajes of Granada: the noble clan who shaped Nasrid court politics for a century and became legend through a massacre story set in the Alhambra.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/convent-sweets-granada-tornohttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/convent-sweets-granada-tornoNine convents in Granada sell sweets through the torno, a revolving shelf in the convent wall. Cash only, mornings only, and the greeting ritual is mandatory.Mon, 15 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/ibn-zamrak-alhambra-poet-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/ibn-zamrak-alhambra-poet-granadaIbn Zamrak (1333–1393) was the Nasrid court poet whose Arabic verses were carved into the Alhambra's stucco. His casidas still line the Fountain of Lions today.Sun, 14 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/roman-granada-iliberis-council-elvirahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/roman-granada-iliberis-council-elviraGranada was Roman Iliberis for over 700 years before the Moors arrived. The Council of Elvira, c. 306 AD, was the earliest church council in all of Hispania.Sat, 13 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/court-of-lions-alhambra-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/court-of-lions-alhambra-granadaCourt of the Lions, Alhambra Granada: 124 marble columns, a lion fountain 650 years old, a Quranic paradise built by Muhammad V. What to see and when.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/albaicin-aljibes-cisterns-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/albaicin-aljibes-cisterns-granadaTwenty-six medieval cisterns survive beneath the Albaicín, built 10th–15th centuries. Fed by the Acequia de Aynadamar from Alfacar into every home and mosque.Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/carmenes-albaicin-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/carmenes-albaicin-granadaGranada's cármenes are walled garden villas from Arabic karm (vineyard). Found across the Albaicín since the Nasrid period, two are open free to visitors.Wed, 10 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/lead-books-sacromonte-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/lead-books-sacromonte-granadaLead tablets found in Sacromonte's caves, 1595–1606. Condemned by the Vatican in 1682. The Morisco scholars behind Granada's greatest religious forgery.Tue, 09 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/cave-houses-sacromonte-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/cave-houses-sacromonte-granadaSacromonte'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.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/fajalauza-ceramics-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/fajalauza-ceramics-granadaFajalauza ceramics are Granada's tin-glazed tradition since 1517. Cobalt blue, pomegranate motifs, and one Albaicín family still making each piece by hand.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/federico-garcia-lorca-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/federico-garcia-lorca-granadaLorca wrote his major plays in Granada, was shot nearby in 1936, and his grave has never been found. His house-museum, the grave site, and how to visit.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/generalife-gardens-water-geometry-islamic-paradisehttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/generalife-gardens-water-geometry-islamic-paradiseThe 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.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/granada-silk-road-alcaiceriahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/granada-silk-road-alcaiceriaGranada's Alcaicería was the commercial heart of a silk empire. How Nasrid silk funded the Alhambra, reached Flanders, and was dismantled by decree after 1492.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/ibn-al-khatib-nasrid-vizier-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/ibn-al-khatib-nasrid-vizier-granadaIbn al-Khatib ran Nasrid Granada for 30 years, wrote 60+ works, and argued contagion theory 500 years before Pasteur. His poetry lines the Alhambra walls.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/jamon-de-trevelez-dop-ham-alpujarrashttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/jamon-de-trevelez-dop-ham-alpujarrasJamón de Trevélez IGP: cured at 1,476m in the Alpujarras by cold mountain air, not salt. How the blue/red/black seals work and where to buy in Granada.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/manuel-de-falla-composer-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/manuel-de-falla-composer-granadaManuel 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.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/nasrid-architecture-muqarnas-mocarabes-zelligehttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/nasrid-architecture-muqarnas-mocarabes-zelligeMuqarnas, mocárabes, zellige: the three techniques behind the Alhambra's ornament. What each is, how craftsmen made it, and where to see it in Granada.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/palacio-de-carlos-v-alhambrahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/palacio-de-carlos-v-alhambraThe Palacio de Carlos V sat roofless for 330 years. Now it holds Granada's finest Nasrid art. Circular courtyard, two free museums, one great paradox.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/pionono-pastry-santa-fe-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/pionono-pastry-santa-fe-granadaA single pastry chef in Santa Fe, 1897, rolled sponge around egg-yolk cream and named it after a pope. Why Granada's iconic sweet has outlasted everything else.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/realejo-jewish-quarter-granadahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/realejo-jewish-quarter-granadaThe Realejo was Granada's medieval Jewish quarter, home to Samuel HaNagid. Walk it today and you're crossing the site of a 1066 massacre and a 1492 expulsion.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/taracea-granada-marquetry-woodcrafthttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/taracea-granada-marquetry-woodcraftTaracea is Granada's wood marquetry tradition, alive since the Nasrid Kingdom. How the inlay technique works, where it came from, and how to spot a fake.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/washington-irving-tales-of-the-alhambrahttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/washington-irving-tales-of-the-alhambraWashington Irving lived in the Alhambra in 1829 and wrote the book that turned it into the most-visited monument in Spain. Here is what actually happened.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/zambra-cave-flamenco-sacromontehttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/zambra-cave-flamenco-sacromonteZambra is Granada's flamenco form, born in Sacromonte's limestone caves from a Moorish-Romani fusion. Three acts, 500 years of history, still performed nightly.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/granada-artisan-craftshttps://www.exploregranada.org/articles/granada-artisan-craftsGranada's taracea marquetry, Fajalauza ceramics, leather goods, and luthiery trace directly to Nasrid workshop traditions. A guide to finding the real thing.Fri, 29 May 2026 10:00:00 GMT