The white quarters of Granada
Peter is a
better juggler than Andrew. We wait for the bus to
By the time we arrive in the
After dinner it's too late for another bus. All a bit tipsy from the wine we
decide to walk our way back, but this turns out to be quite difficult. Nobody
had bothered to bring a map or watch the route closely, so the only option left
are the road signs. Streets are empty at this our, especially when we leave the
old centre.
Early next day we climb the steep hill that leads to the
We decide to have our breakfast pick nick here at the gates of the palace,
among the morning mists hanging under the trees.
La 
I assume this place was build for Allah, he must be satisfied. I which I could
live here, among the engraved walls, pillars and the fountains. I might dream
that, tonight.
In the afternoon we leave the 
People living here are older than the ones in the centre. Most of them are really
old. It's amazing to see them climb the low stares and hills with so much ease.
Welcome at plaza Langa.
We find a small restaurant and enter the terrace. This is no fancy place at
all, but the waiters here are so happy to meat our large group of costumers
that they treat us as kings. Rushing through the kitchen they try to find us
all cutlery as quick as possible. Almost everyone receives forks and knives of different
sets, of different colours and forms. But we are seated and order paella for
lunch.
Some waiters climb the tables to pick fruits from the trees and hand it to us
as desert, we get drinks from the house as well.
This place is called
When the night falls we
pick nick uphill, where we have the most wonderful sight on the
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I've written about this place in my journal entry of Granada and I feel like everyone should go here just to meet those friendly owners.
We went there with a group of about twenty people. Though this place is really small we could sit outside on the terrace. We all had different types of cutlery and glasses, but we didn't bother. The waiters climbed the tables to pick us fruit from their trees and offered us drinks, chants and stories.
The paella we had here was also good. Who ever is in Granada's old Albaicin should go here to meet them. The really deserve a huge tip!
In the late 16th century two men came to the place (there wasn't anything build back then), to look for a treasure. They never found it, but instead they noticed a cave in which they found some lead plates with Arabic inscriptions. Those lines told the story of the martyr "Sint Tesiphon", and when the archbishop heard this he ordered investigations. More plates were found, telling different parts of Tesiphon's story and the story of two other saints: Cecilio and Hiscius. Apart from that an oven with ashes was discovered as well. People assumed that this was the place were the holly men were murdered, and decided to build an abbey to honor them.
Two years after the first plates were found, money was raised for the constructions. The symbol of it was a star, still visible everywhere in the building. When the archbishop was send to Sevilla in 1610, construction works were stopped... But inside the library one can see the original plans, which were never executed. Later on a college was added to the building, so now there are three parts: the seminar, the abbey and the school.
In the museum many artworks are to be admired, among which the leaden plates and some valuable paintings. There is a statue for every martyr, under which the ashes are preserved. The catacombs under the church can be visited as well. You'll find some small chapels here, the oven in which the martyrs are said to be burned, and a collection of paintings and sculptures. Remarkable is the stone of which is said that every woman who kisses it, will find a husband in the next year. It didn't work for me though, but I go back there in some weeks, so who knows... I might get a second chance ;)
