"Granada" a Granada Travel Page by smschley

We drove to Granada from Seville and the trip was uneventful till we entered the city. Driving in Granada reminded me of driving in LA or San Francisco. Traffic everywhere and backed up. We missed out car rental agency and spent an hour going around the block again. After dropping of the car, it was buses and trains for me.

Granada was first settled by native tribes in the prehistoric period, and was known as Ilbyr. When the Romans colonized 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. 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. From the time historical records began Granada was ruled by many Caliphs, Arabic sultans and dynasties. The Arabic/Moslem empire once stretched right up into the north of Spain.

The various Christian groups settled their differences, joined together and steadily drove the Arabs out of Spain. Granada was the last stronghold and finally succumbed to Isabel and Ferdinand (the catholic monarchs) in 1492. The Moslems and the Jews were forced to leave the country or convert to Christianity. A period of what would nowadays be described as ethnic cleansing ensued. At the same time Christopher Columbus came to Granada to ask Isabel and Ferdinand for a grant to build ships so that he could conquer the Americas. They gave him the money and I am sure you already know the rest.