This is another one of those locations that I love to get multiple cards of 'cause it is so lovely. :)
From Rafal's vacation RR group when he visited Granada.
I was lucky enough to have a friend who lived in Granada and sent me the next two cards. Thank you very much, Elizabeth! :D
This one was mailed from the US, so she taped a Spanish stamp to the front. Awesome.
This last one is basically one of my most favorite postcards ever. Gorgeous castle. Gorgeous mountains. What's not to love?
The Alhambra was built in the 14th century by the Moorish rulers of the Emirate of Granada. Each new ruler added onto the original building, so it doesn't follow a unified plan; however, certain elements of architecture and design were preserved. In 1492, the area was taken over by Spanish Catholics. They used part of it and allowed the rest to fall into disrepair for several centuries. Restoration began in the 19th century, and now the Alhambra is a major tourist attraction. It was listed as a UNESCO site in 1984. The name "Alhambra" comes from the Arabic for "red fortress," referring to the red clay from which it was built.
My friend wrote, "The Alhambra is one of the only places in Spain where you can see Moorish architecture that wasn't made over by the later Christian rulers, trying to show that they were bigger and badder than the Muslims they had defeated. It's a pity that Spain's nearly 8 centuries of Muslim history has been largely overwritten."
I would love to visit this place one day.
Three U.S. definitives: Navajo jewelry from 2004, American clock from 2003, and bighorn sheep, not sure what year that one was originally issued.
2005 issue on the theme of "struggle against poverty."
From a 2009 set of four on renewable energy. This one is geothermal energy. It's the same stamp on the front of the middle card, above.
