A Swing through Iberia

A swing through Iberia

                                               

                                                                                                        By Lee Hyon-soo

 

“Recuerdos de la Alhambra” (Memories of the Alhambra) is perhaps the most iconic composition in the classical guitar’s solo repertory. It is a piece every guitarist aspires to play. Although I am not a guitarist, I love the piece so much that I wanted to go see the Alhambra which inspired Francisco Tarrega to compose it.

 

Although my destination was Granada where the Alhambra is located, I decided to take the opportunity to explore the Iberian Peninsula. My wife and I flew to Barcelona, and on our way to Granada, we visited Montserrat and Valencia.

 

The Alhambra (meaning “the red one,” or “the red castle”) sits on a hill overlooking the city of Granada. It is a complex of 13th century palaces and gardens wrapped within a fortress. The Alhambra’s iconic architecture is characterized by stunning frescoes, decorated columns and arches, and highly ornamented walls. We spent hours roaming through the complex, admiring the Islamic architectural splendor and impressive garden design.

 

The Alhambra was the last stronghold of the Muslim Moors who ruled large areas of the Iberian Peninsula for almost 800 years. It was finally conquered by a combined Castilian and Aragonese force in 1492. With this victory, Spain became a unified Christian country and Muslims and Jews were ordered to convert to Christianity or face expulsion. Many of them fled to North Africa and the Ottoman Empire, while others remained and publicly converted to Christianity. But many of the new converts continued to practice their former religion in secret. This primarily gave rise to the infamous Spanish Inquisition.

 

From Granada, we moved on to Cordoba, Seville, Lisbon, Cabo da Roca, Fatima, Salamanca, Madrid, and Toledo. In each city, we visited major tourist attractions. We saw more churches than anything else. They are sublime old churches, some of which were originally mosques but later refurbished as Catholic churches.

 

Palos de la Frontera is famous for being the place from which Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492 for what he thought was India. The discovery of the new world was an event of monumental historical significance. By colonizing the new world, Spain became a world power. Also, with the opening-up of new sea routes, Spain and Portugal dominated the world’s maritime trade for quite a while. 

 

In Seville we saw a live performance of Flamenco. Flamenco is a genre of dance native to the southern Spanish regions. It includes singing, guitar playing, foot-tapping and handclapping. We found Flamenco to be very passionate and solemn in nature.

 

Back in Barcelona, we visited the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia (Basilica of the Holy Family), which is Antoni Gaudi’s magnum opus and a synthesis of his architectural evolution. He worked on this project for almost 40 years until his death in 1926. The church is still under construction. The first thing that strikes you is its odd-looking exterior; it has gnarled towers. Inside the church, massive pillars stretch from floor to ceiling and the natural light enters through towering stained glass windows. It is unlike any other church anywhere in the world. It is truly one of a kind.

 

We also visited another work of art by Antoni Gaudi. Park Guell is located on Carmel Hill in Barcelona. This park was built in the early 1900s and was opened as a public park in 1926. We were impressed by the unique layout and structure of this park that clearly displays Gaudi’s genius as an architect.

 

We were fascinated by the sights, sounds and tastes of Spain and Portugal. Indeed, we came away with lots of wonderful memories.

 

The writer (tomhslee43@gmail.co) is a freelance columnist and the author of “Tales of A Korean Globetrotter.”