Painstaking work

Although we’ve touched upon the subject of the Alhambra (which we toured yesterday) I’ve really not taken the time to cover our visit in any great detail yet. Part of this is simply due to time constraints (actually living the experiences as opposed to just writing about them) and part of this is because so much information about the Alhambra is already easily accessible and available.

That said, the Alhambra really lives up to its hype. It’s one of the modern day wonders from antiquity and deserves to be remembered on your travel bucket list.

It will be far more appreciated and meaningful if you freshen up on the history of this region and can place the fortress in its historical context. Some of the very same geopolitical issues that challenge us today were in existence 700 years ago; and for the very same reasons. So it’s fascinating to walk through the very same buildings and gardens that were once the domain of the nobility that have long since been banished, and to think about what we can learn from the past so that we don’t make the same mistakes.

But all of that isn’t what I intended to focus on… 😂

What I found thought provoking was the understanding and appreciation for the amount of restoration work that has been ongoing for nearly 100 years, and will likely remain ongoing for perpetuity.

To illustrate, take a close look at this photo, comparing the images on the left to the right.

You can begin to see how much work has gone into restoring the grounds to get them into their modern day condition.

When the Moors surrendered these grounds during the Reconquista, it is said that they only had a few conditions, one of which was that the Alhambra not be destroyed. Such was their devotion to these palaces.

It’s tempting to think that the fortress simply remained beautiful for hundreds of years. But the fact is that time and the elements ravaged everything, so it’s taken a century to get back into it’s present condition and there’s still much more work to do!

To make matters even more difficult, there are now literally hundreds of thousands of visitors wandering the grounds every year which can only be accelerating the aging process.

So I’m thankful and impressed by the armies of archaeologists, restoration and groundskeeping teams that are dedicated to keeping this important world heritage site alive and well.