Granada

Dale limosna, mujer,
que no hay en la vida nada
como la pena de ser
ciego en Granada.

Francisco de Icaza

(Give alms, lady;
for there is no fate on earth harder
than to be blind — and in Granada)

One has to resist the impulse to rave about Granada, and I'm doing my best, believe me. But I cannot resist pointing out that in the dying days of the Kingdom of Granada, while the hardfaced Reyes Catolicos were circling and plotting their ruin what was the absurd Boabdil and his retinue doing? Building castles? Fortifications..? Raising armies? No, he and his minions were still building the Alhambra. This wonderful, gorgeous, absurdly over-the-top Patio of the Lions. is so encrusted with decorations that the capitals are longer than the columns they cap. Bless him. Go and see it

OK, now I'll stop.

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