Showing posts with label La Alhambra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label La Alhambra. Show all posts

MyItchyFeet: Hola Espana: La Alhambra #4 Palace of the Lions

Holaaaa mis amigos...

Having my recovery started, I remember that I haven't finished my traveling notes in Spain, particularly in Andalusia..


Aaa, the land of wonder..

Filled with ancient whispers and tempting signs waving at you, I have to say. 
It feels like when you hear the sirens coming and calling your name, but this one is not going to crash you. 

Yuup, the legend of La Alhambra is still waiting to be told..and shared.


Rasanya seperti punya hutang...karena belum menyelesaikan tulisan rangkaian perjalanan yang buat saya dan keluarga sangaaaaat mengesankan ini...


Okay, where were we?

Kita udah sampai mana yaaa..
Yang pasti saya sudah ngajak temen-temen jalan ke Alcazaba the fortress (you can always click it here, Nasrid et Comares palaces, where Kings and Sultans lived with their families ...dan sekarang, saya masih punya Palace of the Lions :).

Ini salah satu jewelnya La Alhambra juga lhooo......

And the Palace of the Lions is pretty famous for its ingenious fountains.

Too bad the fountains were under reconstruction when we visited this place but we still enjoyed the beauty of this palace by strolling around.



the ceiling with all its intricate details...


pillars and facades are everywhere...
One thing for sure, all the intricate details you find here will take you imagination beyond ...and questions....
How did they do that..
What does it mean..
Why it takes that particular shapes...
And more questions that are not always answered...
At least not from my audio guide or my handbook :)

Saat menyaksikan semua keindahan ini, saya harus mengakui kalau hati begitu tergetar akan keindahan hasil karya manusia yang didedikasikan penuh untuk Penciptanya. Begitu menyentuh, begitu indah...
Kaligrafi dengan cantiknya terukir di setiap sudut dinding, pilar, hingga langit-langit...mengingatkan kita akan Sang Khalik yang memang ada di mana-mana...


The ceiling....look so fragile, yet tranquilly beautiful...

Then as we got nearer to the fountain site, we had more people flocking...
But again, as I said, the fountain was temporarily closed for refurbishment...
We still managed to enjoy the beauty of it and adores its ingenious design...

Patio of the Lions, tempat pancuran singa yang begitu terkenal ini, menggunakan teknologi tradisional yang mengandalkan grafitasi, tata letak, dan alam. Jangan tanya detailnya dengan saya ya :)...yang pasti, pancuran ini begitu natural dan bahkan recycled sendiri tanpa bantuan mesin satu pun...naturally mechanical, I can say...


one of the corners near the fountain...


getting nearer...


similar details can be found...



And here's where the fountain is supposed to be...
If you noticed the basin in the photo down here, it originally homed the famous lions whose mouths flowed the water constantly ..
Such a perfect harmony between the geometric architecture, ancient technology, yet again ingenious design..
You can feel it...the air, the light, the space..the water...all perfectly display the beauty of harmony..
I can say this is the most beautiful part of the Palace...


it was temporarily closed when we came...so the surrounding hall was closed as well

Palace of the Lions was built by Muhammed V.
Not only successfully completing the previously built parts of the Palace, but amazingly add this most-loved palace adorned with the highest level of artistic touch and harmony.
Well, I'm not very good at describing it, but once you're there, you can simply feel it...
From the lovely patio, to the amazing halls and galleries..
Truly feast to our eyes ...and soul...


one corridor taking us to the Hall...


the ceiling on one of the Halls...




can you feel the harmony...from floor to the ceiling...the air and the light...

Jadi jangan salahkah saya yaaah kalau jadi nyuekin kamera di leher dan minta difoto terus dengan hubby tersayang yang sabaaaar menanggapi permintaan istrinya ..plus Bo (sedikiiiit :) )..






Another amazing details are the calligraphs ...
All hand-made, truly labour of love and affection to our one-and-only Creator.
Depicting gracious verses, we can't help but admire each and every one of them...




Dan ini beberapa foto di sekitar Patio Utama di Palace of the Lions, menuju Halls maupun galleries yang berada di sekelilingnya...













Well, I have to warn you....
I still have Generalife beautiful garden which is not yet told here. 
Mind if I come back again soon?

Happy #itchyfeet and I hope you enjoy these photos...

#MyItchyFeet: Hola Espana: La Alhambra #3 the Palaces

Hai haiii...

Jangan maraaah yaaa...karena saya baru bisa menepati janji yang sudaaah lama ini untuk berbagi lagi tentang La Alhambra yang cantik.

Mungkin masih ingat cerita saya tentang jejak indah dan bersejarah Islam di tanah Iberia yang sekarang menjadi Spanyol. Baca  #MyItchyFeet: Hola Espana: La Alhambra #1 di sini and  #MyItchyFeet: Hola Espana: La Alhambra #2 Alcazaba di sini.

Akhirnya, saya bisa langsung melanjutkan seri #MyItchyFeet in Espana, terutama di Granada, dan lebih spesifik lagi...La Alhambra..

Subhanallah....

You know what, whenever I mention that place, rasanya hati ini berdesir, membayangkan keindahan dan keagungannya. 


Sejak kecil, saya biasa memelototi salah satu buku koleksi Kokak, kakekku tercinta, termasuk buku tentang Alhambra. Buku itu pemberian tante Mira, yang telah lebih dulu mengunjungi tempat bersejarah ini dengan suami dan keluarganya saat mengunjungi ibu mertua yang saat itu memang tinggal di Granada. Mungkin karena sejak kecil sudah begitu ingin mengunjungi tempat ini, secara tidak sadar semesta pun mendukung :). Sang Khalil dengan rencana indahnya pun mengarahkan hati dan sepasang kaki gatalku ke sini. Alhamdulillah. .

Setelah kebiasaan 'menyiksa' diri sendiri tidak terpuaskan dengan hanya browsing sana-sini (ya iyaaaah...info gratisan kalii :D). saya pun akhirnya mempersenjatai diri dengan buku panduan. Well, memang terlihat mini, tapi isinya maksi...pas kan dengan prinsip kita untuk tetap hemat tapi mendapatkan apa yang kita mau :D.

Setelah daerah sekitar la Alhambra dan Alcazaba, alias si benteng megah (baca ceritanya di sini), kali ini beneran saya akan mengajak teman-teman menyusuri Istana Nasrid, alias Nasrid Palace yang keindahannya begitu memukau.

This place is also famously knows as the First Palaces..Why the first? because we also have Charles V Palace, built after the fall of Islam in Granada. 

at the Comares....

Who's looking down behind that window....

Why Palaces? because this complex is the home of several  palaces, including the Nasrid Palace (my fave); the Comares Palace; and the Palace of Lions (where the famous fountain resides).

Now, let's see the Nasrid Palace first, then Comares Palace.




Sesuai dengan jadwal, saya baru bisa memasuki Nasrid Palace pada pukul 14.30. Ini merupakan satu bukti keseriusan Pemerintah Spanyol dalam menjaga kelestarian tempat yang kaya akan cerita dan sejarah. Jumlah orang yang berada tempat ini dibatasi sesuai dengan kapasitas yang tidak mengganggu keutuhan dan keselamatan bangunan ini. Banyak yang sudah antri dan satu per satu dengan tertib kami memasuki tempat indah. Once you are in there, you usually can stay longer and it really suited us as we really took our time to admire every corner of this palace and took pictures of it.




by the pillars :)..don't blame me from taking pictures again and again..
The Palace was built by Abu I-Waleed Ismail, the fifth king in Nasrid Dynasty. Well, the record before could not be found but there were possibilities that this historical palace has been founded even before that.

If you see the pillars and the surrounding, you will definitely be amazed by their intricate details. Sepintas seperti sarang lebah, dengan ukiran yang bernuansa arabesque. cantik sekali. Saya sering bertanya, apa maknanya? mengapa seperti sarang lebah? Apakah karena lebah hidup dalam komunitas yang serba teratur dan tertib dalma menjalankan ritual sehari-harinya so umat Muslim diharapkan juga demikian? Entahlah...

The more we wandered around the Palace complex, the more awed we were..It's really mind blowing to think how advance the architecture at that time. To think all these majestic corners were built by hands with no intervention of modern machinery... Impressive! 
Let's take a look at those details...most photos were captured by my hubby, Udi and some by me...

the beehive structure I've mentioned before...
one of the doors of Nasrid Palace...

the ceiling...

the reflection on the water just makes the Palace looks more beautiful...


Lucky me, my hubby just couldn't get enough of taking the pictures..so although I had my own camera with me, but I was more than happy to be his amateur model...together with Bo of course...:)


looking at Albaycin through the window of Nasrid palace...and look who's busy taking pictures too besides me..Bo :)

The windows at Nasrid Palace...


Then in the Comares Palaces, everything is as amazing as the other parts of the Palaces.... The façade of the Comares Palace was built for Sultan Muhammad V back in 1370..almost 650 years ago...

cheers from Bo et mommy ...

The Veranda...breathtaking...


One of the lovely doors...

Look at the details...


The beehive ceiling ...
So, bear with me, while I'm trying to get more details on the captions...
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did...
I have to warn you though, that I will come back with more stories, details and photos for sure for another part of this beautiful huge complex :)

Cheers et viva #MyItchyFeet :)

#MyItchyFeet: Hola Espana: La Alhambra #1

Oke....saya harus ngaku..

Selesai baca buku #99CahayadiLangitEropa (hadiah menang kuis #SB2014 KEB via twitter...yipeeee), saya langsung ingin berbagi kisah perjalanan saya menyusuri negara di selatan Eropa yang memang menyimpan banyak sejarah (manis maupun kelam) Islam...Kalau kata Pakdhe Abdul Cholik, this version is inspired by others...In this case, Mba Hanum S. Rais dan Mas Rangga :)..Lagipula, novel cantik itu tidak dilengkapi dengan foto-foto (narsis), so tanpa mengurangi rasa hormat, kami ingin (mencoba) menggambarkan kekaguman kami akan hebatnya dan indahnya Islam dan peninggalan-peninggalannya.

Sudah lama sebenarnya saya ingin berbagi...tapi karena DL (sok sibuuuk euuuy) serta ini dan itu (alesaaaan teruuus), baru kesampaian sekarang.

But swear...I wrote the first part of our trip #HolaEspana in May 2013 (cek di sini, sini dan sini untuk first three parts of our visit to Barcelona and awesome Gaudi Tour :p ). So that means, I haven't immortalized our road trip to Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Granada and Valencia. Hah...a lot to work on!

And as I as previously, it all started with our dream to see La Alhambra...
Sounds familiar, rite....but waaay before the aforementioned novel was published. Yup, the journey took place in 2010.

Oke..sekarang kita mulai dari mana yaa....
Langsung ke La Alhambra aja?
Siapa takuuut :D...

...."a most picturesque and beautiful city, situated in one of the loveliest landscapes that I have ever seen," admited Washington Irving, on his biography written by Jones in 2008.



La Alhambra in the evening...seen from Albaycin...


How many hearts have been thrilled and captured...
How far imagination has wildly wandered.. back to the glorious past..

Termasuk kami...tiga orang Indonesia (saat itu Obi belum lahir :D) yang niat menempuh perjalanan panjang dari Jenewa, Swiss, demi melihat salah satu peninggalan Islam yang dijamin membuat hati bergetar karena keindahannya.

Alhamdulillah...

How lucky we are to witness one of the magnificent masterpieces of mankind...


La Alhambra..

As we have said before on the previous album, this is the main reason why we were coming to Spain..to see Alhambra with our own eyes...and how we were amazed by its timeless beauty ..


Bermodalkan budget airlines EasyJet (thanks for taking us there...), kami berangkat dari Jenewa menuju Barcelona, kota hip di Spanyol yang menjadi 'rumah' Antonio Gaudi dan karya-karya nyelenehnya yang mendunia (baca yang ini yaaa :D..). Sebelumnya mama Bo et Obi sudah pernah ke Madrid et Toledo di tahun 2004, tapi kali ini lain karena Bapak Udi dan Bo ikut :p

Karena mama Bo et Obi memang ambisius (didukung Bapak Udi dan Bo tentunyaaa :p), kami pun menyewa mobil (via novacarhire.com untuk Alamo Rent-A-Car) untuk 9 hari perjalanan kami di Bumi El Toro ini. Untuk 7 hari sewa mobil Citroen C4 1.6 4DR Manual with AirCon - or similar Compact, kami haru membayar kurang lebih 400 Euro kala itu (mahal jugaaa yaaa ternyata #barusadar)...Tapi dengan pertimbangan 7 hari keliling Spanyol dengan anak kecil dan melihat La Alhambra, asliiii ngg rugi...

Ya, soalnya kami memang berencana menjejakkan kaki di Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada, Valencia, dan balik ke Barcelona. Tuh, banyak aja kaaan...kebayang ribetnya kalau mengandalkan moda transportasi umum (walaupun sebenarnya bisa siiih :D ). Jadi, roadtrip kali ini memang diawali dengan bismillahirrahmanirrahim dan dipenuhi dengan doa agar kami bertiga selamat di jalan hingga tujuan akhir. Plus si garmin tercinta yang setia menjadi penunjuk jalan :D...

Singkat cerita (Madrid, Toledo, dan Cordoba kita 'loncati' dulu yaaa...janji akan diceritain jugaa kooook :D ), tibalah kami di Granada....Kota kecil yang memang tipikal kota-kota di Spanyol. Dari Cordoba kami berangkat siang agak menjelang sore ...setelah memacu mobil sesuai batas maksimalnya (Bapak Udi memang supir Lampung sejati :D) sambil sesekali menikmati pemandangan yang dipenuhi ladang olives dan jeruk, kami sampai di Granada diiriingi gerimis.

Ternyata, setelah tiba di Granada, tidak mudah untuk langsung menuju hotel. Mau tau email yang dikirim oleh Antonella, resepsionis Hotel Plaza Nueva tempat kami menginap?

If you came to Granada with your own car, please, send us, before the
check-in date, the following datas: name and passport number of the owner
of the car and the plate’s number, in order to send this information to
the traffic police and avoid a fine. If you are going to rent a car, do not forget to give these datas once you get the car.

There are some streets: Recogidas, Reyes Católicos and Gran Vía de Colón
where the access is forbidden for private cars from 07:30 to 22:00, seven
days per week. Avoid these streets because you will be fined. And there is
no option for the hotel to send the car datas to the police as they will
not take care of them. The Calle Elvira and Calle San Matias, had restricted access, but you are ALLOWED to drive as a hotel’s client.


Oke, intinya, parkir bayar lagi, dan hotel kami terletak di tengah-tengah zona pejalan kaki :D...Tapi hotelnya enak bangeeet...so inspired by La Alhambra. Dan resepsionisnya supeeer ramah...yang asyiknya lagi, semua dijelaskan secara details, supaya klien tidak terjebak, terbukti dari email yang dikirim! Coba, kalau di tempat laiiiin.....

Anyhow, menlewati malam kami di Granada, kami memutuskan untuk mencari makan malam yang yummy et mengenyangkan..Maklum, abis perjalanan jauh dari Madrid ke Cordoba dan lanjut ke Granada. Seperti biasa, restoran China, atau Restaurante Chino dalam bahasa Spanyol, menjadi andalan. Untuuuung...menu kesukaan Bo alias telur, juga tersedia di sana.  Kenyang makan, kami memutuskan untuk beristirahat dan bersiap untuk one full day in La Alhambra and Granada...

Dan pagi puuun datang (ini nulisnya aja ngg sabar..kebayangkan the real situation :D)...huuup huuup sarapan, dan kami pun siap berangkat...La Alhambra, kami dataaaang....

Berbekal email konfirmasi pembelian tiket masuk kami:

indah nuria,

You have purchased tickets for: www.servicaixa.com
Event  Visita General Diurna
Venue  Alhambra y Generalife, Granada
Day  Wednesday, 06 January 2010
Session  visita general diurna
Quantity  2(standard) 
Entry time Nasrid Palaces 14:30h





13 Euro per person (2010) and you better book in advance to avoid long queeing..you can choose whether you wanna visit in the morning or in the afternoon..

Asli, karena semangat '45, kami asli kepagian tiba di La Alhambra....
Untungnya tiket sudah dibeli, tinggal dicetak di mesin. Tapi karena belum buka, kreatiflah mama Bo et Obi, Bapak Udi dan Bo mengitari areal sekitar La Alhambra...


Albaycin...seen from the outer wall of La Alhambra...it was a risky shot, as Udi has to stand with one leg with cliff on the other side ..but the picture is breathtaking...

haaaaiiii...Bo was still fresh...it was a cold morning..but we were warm enough :D...

one of the inner wall of La Alhambra, seen from outside...
still..the outer wall...can you feel the aura...


Dan.... even seeing the neighborhood outside of the wall, we were amazed already by the natural landscape of this place!

Gimana saat melihat the real La Alhambra nanti coba....
Dari hasil 'terawangan' di Mbah Google, kompleks bersejarah ini luas dan besaaaar....
Consists of La Alcazaba, the fortress; t
he fortified Alhambra; the first Palaces which includes the Nasrid Palace; the Comares Palace; the Palace of the Lions; Charles V Palace; and of course the beautiful Generalife garden. Surely a lot to see :D....

So, bear with me, and get more details on my next post...which will be posted soon as well...


Meanwhile, here are some 'teasers' :D..most of the photos were beautifully and passionately taken by Udi, my beloved hubby :D...


La Alcazaba in winter... 

Albaycin in the background..happily posed for my hubby :D...

One part of the Palace of the Lions...we'll take you there :D..

So, stick around....Be right back with more and more.....


Untuk perjalanan lain di Spanyol, mungkin ada yang mau dolan ke sini :D..monggooo...