"Granada - "The great castle"" Granada by chagi1

The name Granada is ancient and mysterious. It may mean "great castle", for the Roman fortress which once stood on the Albaicin Hill.

The population of Granada is anywhere between 250-350, 000 depending on the time of the year. Since Granada is a University town when the students are back in school the population rises.

The best time to visit Granada is in the Spring and Autumn when the temperature is just perfect with warm sunny days. During July and August it can be very hot and some days the temerature reaches 40C. Granada has a dry heat which is much more bearable than the humid heat which you will find in Barcelona. There is very little rainfall although every few years there are spells when it rains very heavily.

Granada has its usual quotient of churches, museums etc. typical for a southern European city. However, Granada has the Alhambra which is considered by some to be one of the 10 wonders of the world. In case you don't know, the Alhambra is a massive castle constructed over many centuries. It consists of gardens, fortifications and sumptuous palaces. It was the home of many of the Arabic Sultans who ruled the whole province so I suppose for centuries it received the optimum in interior decoration and architecture. If you read the Koran it continually repeats the idea that heaven is a garden with running water. From this perspective you could say that the Alhambra is an Arabic attempt to create heaven on earth. Nowadays it receives 8000 visitors per day and is Spain's most visited monument