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SPAIN
THURSDAY 18-2-2010
By 10 pm the ship docked and we as others
drove off and out of the port. We wasted no
time on arrival in Barcelona, but directed
our
course towards south. It was still raining heavily. The wipers
could hardly cope with the splashing water
falling from above. On the
"Autopistas" as the highways are named in Spain, one cruises with
easy. It was cold and windy. Windows closed,
heater on, hence it
was cozy in the car. JAMBO was flying with 100 km/h. Sometimes
after midnight we diverted into a service
stations parking lot,
closed the curtains, crawled into our sleeping bags and in no time
met Mr. Sandman with his bag of dreams.
FRIDAY 19-2-2010
Since 6 am
we were driving. Although we had escaped by
now the rain, a fierce wind was blowing from
the Sierra Nevada Mountain
range into the valleys below, carrying the message of ice and snow,
still visible in the higher altitudes.
70 km before Almeria a south easterly Town in Andalusia, we turned
west, onto a provincial road, direction
Granada. This is one of the
mountainous regions of Spain. Vast Sierras chains of
mountains, overgrown by shrub or tree
elevate their summits into the blue
sky.Here common folks still sing about
their heroes the contrabandistas and
bandoleros, smugglers and robbers are
the called in
plain
English.
On the foothills of the still snowcapped
Sierra with its barracanos, or ravines, the
streams with pure water, there was something
we
wanted to see.
A place where one is catapulted back in time and space, into The
Wild West, and the years around 1890 AD.
Deserted Indian Camp
A Banko, the dream of banditeros
Hardly anyone knows, that many Italo Western like Sergio Leone's
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, the all-time
favorite with
Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson, were partially
filmed here in the semi desert around Tabernas. Why would
one fly a 50 men crew and equipment to the USA?
They had allot to do those days back
To safe production costs a complete western town was erected
with bars, and anything else that was needed
in the movies.
But only the front facade. Behind is -nothing., grass, rubbish,
bricks and mortar to hold the front upright.
Haja, how are we the viewers
deceived.
Only the saloon has an interior,
needed for some "shoot out" scenes, like in
MY NAME IS NOBODY with Terrence Hill.
This Bank is secure! Made like a metal box
The main road
And so, we
wandered -back in time- along the towns
roads, passing fake buildings, ending in the
saloon for a coffee, which was
included in the entrance fee. Over Fort Bravo on a flag post flew
the American Flag, as if this would be
somewhere in Arizona
a 120 years ago.
The Arch made of brick stones is deserted now, here was the scene
filmed when young Bronson had his father
standing on the
shoulders the neck in the hangman's noose, until he collapsed under
the load.
the looser of land and dignity
with wagons and guns came the white man
a water tower
As the story goes, this bump Harun just escaped the hangman's
action. Nothing better he had to do than to
drag the maid of his heart
to the chapel, assuring her everlasting love. But she had
enough of empty promises and fought herself
free.
We did not stay long in the town of fakes,
but continued to Granada, after all it was
the Alhambra why we ventured into this
region.
SATURDAY 20-2-2010
On a hill dominating Grenada sit's Alhambra. A Muslim poet
descript the Alhambra as a great ruby in
the heart of Al Andalus,
Al-Andalus, was the Muslim empire in
Southern Spain, with its cities of Almeria,
Malaga, Cadiz, Huelva, Seville, Cordoba,
Jaen and Granada.. In 711, Arabs crossed the Straight of Gibraltar and established control over much of the Southern Iberian
Peninsula. The Muslims settled in Al Andalus
an created a civilization spanning from the eighth to the fifteenth century
They entered Spain not as aggressors or
oppressors, but as liberators. For the next
hundreds of years Al Andalus produced a
civilization far ahead of "dark" Europe. It were the Muslim who
made Southern Spain the centre of learning.
Muslim taught reading and
writing, Math, Astronomy, Medicine and Science.
Muslim Spain produced philosophers, artists and scientists from
which Europe benefited too. Al Andalus
prospered.
This Islamic civilization reached its peak in the 10th century. For
example, in Cordoba there were 200.000
houses, 900 public bath,
600 mosques, lit up and paved streets. Libraries sprung up when
most of Europe was still illiterate.
Muslim designed and described 200 surgical instruments and
gave in astronomy Arabic names for well over
100 stars.
One of the magnificent masterpieces of Islamic architecture is the
very Alhambra here in Granada,
Alhambra comes from the Arabic word, "Al-Hamra"
meaning "the red." Construction of
buildings begun somewhere in the 9th century
and ended with the the Nasrid period from 1232 - 1492, which was
the last Islamic state on the Iberian
peninsula.
The Alhambra was a city with palaces, build for the sultan his
officials and workforce. Within nest the
complex Alcazara. She was the
palace complex of the sultan and his closed family, with rooms for
ministers meetings and audiences. Several
palaces were build in different times, all set between courtyards
and gardens in which water and vegetation
played an essential role.
We set foot by 7;00 am on the entrance
Pavilion, two Japanese girls where already
waiting although tickets are sold from 8:00
am
onwards. Such is the demand for a visit at the Comares and Nazrid
palace.
At 7:00 am; short skirt for
the beauty; but freezing to the bones...
By 9:00 am, a crowd was waiting for access
There is no way one can describe the
magnificent beauty exposed before our eyes,
nor is it possible the create a overall
image,
What we could, is select at random sections, like slices of a
cake. To understand a bit and come closer to
the thinking and beauty,
one has to come here, see and reflect himself. Our photo
selection is by no means complete.
The Oratory
Nasrid architecture
Decorative wooden ceiling
The court of Myrtles in the Comares palace
Beautiful
alcoves; we have never seen anything like
that
South facade of
the Comares palace
Access to the court of Myrtles
ornament
passage to Sala de la Barka, from Arabic al
barkara (the blessing)
the court of the
lions
A view down to Granada
Everywhere calligraphic writings along the
wall like this: "To Allah belongs grandeur,
glory, eternity and power"
The cupola,
maximum splendor of the Nazrid architectural
decorations
When military power in the Christian North began to strengthen, Al-Andalus
gradually shrunk. A few centuries later, the
Muslims and
Islam disappeared from Spain entirely.
The splendor of the Alhambra and its gardens
have inspired many artists and authors and I
like to share the legend of the "Arabian
Astrologer" with you honorable reader, as a typical story for
the time back then. Free interpreted.
There was a Moorish king many years ago up in the Alhambra, named
Abdul Aziz. He reign over the kingdom of
Grenada.
He was a
retired conqueror, that is to say, one who, having in his more
youthful days led a life of constant foray
and desperation, now that he
was grown old he liked nothing more than to live at peace with all
the world, and to enjoy in quiet the
possessions he had wrested from
his neighbors. It so happened, however, that this most reasonable
and pacific old monarch had young rivals to
deal with; princes full of
his early passion for fame and fighting, and who are disposed to
call him to account for the scores he had
run up with their fathers.
Thus he had foes on every side: and as Granada is surrounded by
wild and craggy mountains, which hide the
approach of an enemy,
the unfortunate Abdul Aziz was kept in a constant state of
vigilance and alarm, not knowing in
what quarter hostilities might break out.
It
was in vain that he built watch-towers on
that mountain and station guards at every
pass with orders to make fires by night and
smoke by day, on the approach of an enemy. His alert foes, baffling
every precaution, would ravage his land
beneath his very nose,
and then make off with prisoner and booty to the mountain.
While Abdul Aziz was harassed, an ancient
Arabian physician arrived at his court. He
had traveled almost the whole way from Egypt
by foot, with no other aid then a staff, marked with
hieroglyphics. His fame had preceded him.
His name was Ibrahim Ebn Abu Ayub:
He was said to have lived ever since the days of
Mohammed, and to be son of Abu Ayub: the
last of the companions of the prophet.
He remained many years in Egypt, studying the dark
sciences, and particularly magic, among the
Egyptians priests.
This wonderful old man was honorably entertained by the
king: who, like most superannuated monarchs,
began to take the
physician into great favor. He would have assigned him
an apartment in his palace, but he
astrologer preferred a cave in the side hill
which rises above the city of Granada, being the same
on which the Alhambra has since been built.
He caused the cave to be
enlarged so as to form a spacious and lofty hill, with
a circular hole at the top, though which as
though a well, he could see the
heavens and behold the stars even at mid-day. The wall
of this hill were covered with Egyptian
hieroglyphics with cabalistic symbols,
and with the figure of the stars in their signs. This
hall he furnished with many implements,
fabricated under his directions by cunning
artificers of Granada, but the occult properties of
which were known only to himself.
In a little while the sage Ibrahim became the bosom
counselor of the king, who applied to him
for advice in every emergency.
Especially as in restless vigilance he had to observed
to guard himself against invasions:
One day when he had finished, the
astrologer remained silent for a moment, and
then replied,
"Know, O king, that, when I was in Egypt, I beheld a
great marvel devised by pagan priestess of
old. On a mountain, above the city
of Borsa, and overlooking the great valley of the
Nile, was a figure of a ram, and above it a
figure of a cock, both of molten brass,
and turning upon a pivot. Whenever the country was
threatened with invasion, the ram would turn
in the direction of enemy, and the
cock would crow: upon this the inhabitants of the city
knew of the danger, and of the quarter from
which it was approaching, and
would take timely means to guard against it".
"God is great!" exclaimed the pacific Abdul Aziz, "What
a treasure would be such a ram to keep an
eye upon these mountains
around me: and then such a cock, to crow in time of
danger! Allah Akbar! how securely I might
sleep in my palace with such
sentinels on the top!"
"O wise son of Abu Ayub," cries Abdul Aziz, "better
were such a talisman than all watch towers
on the hills, and sentinels upon the
borders. Give me such a safeguard, and the riches of my
treasury are at thy command".
The astrologer immediately set to work to gratify the
wishes of the monarch. He causes a great
tower to be erected upon
on the top of the royal palace. The tower was
built of stone brought from Egypt, and
taken, it is said, from one of the pyramid.
In the
upper part of the tower was a circular hall, with
windows looking towards every point of the
compass, and before each window was a
table on which was arranged, as on chess board, a mimic
army of horse and foot, with the effigy of
the potentate that ruled in that
direction, all carved of wood. To each of these tables
there was a small lance, no bigger than
a toothpick, on which were engraved
certain characters. This hall was kept constantly
closed, by gate of brass, with a great lock
of steel, the key of which was in
possession of the king.
On the top of the tower was a bronze figure of a Moorish
horseman, fixed on a pivot,
which a shield
on one arm, and his lance elevated perpendicularly.
The face of this horseman was towards
the city, as if keeping guard over it: but
if any foe were at hand, the figure
would turn in that direction, and would level the
lances as if for action.
When this talisman was finished, Abdul Aziz was all
impatient to try its virtues. His desire was
soon gratified. Tiding were brought,
early one morning, by the guards appointed to watch the
tower, and his lance pointed directly
against the Pass of Lope.
"Lets the drums and trumpets sound to arms,
and all Granada be put on the alert, :Said
Abdul Aziz.
"O king," said the astrologer, "let not your city be
disquieted, nor your warriors called to
arms: we need no aid of force to deliver you
from your enemies. Dismiss your attendants, and let us
proceed alone to the secret hall of the
tower."
The ancient Abu Habuz mounted the staircase
of the tower, leaning on the arm of the
still more ancient Ibrahim Ebn Abu Ayub.
They unlocked the brazen door and entered. The window that
looked towards the Pass of the Lope was
open." In this direction,"
said the astrologer, "lies the danger: approach, O king, and
behold the mystery of the table."
King Abdul Aziz approached the seeming
chessboard, on which arranged the small
wooden effigies, when, to his surprise, he
perceived that they were all in motion. The horses pranced
and curveted, the warriors brandished their
weapons, and there was a
faint sound of drums and trumpets, and the clang of arms, and
neighing of steeds: but all no louder, nor
more distinct, than the hum
of the bee.
"Behold, O king, "Said the astrologer, "a proof that the enemies
are even now in the fields. They must be
advancing through the
Pass of Lope.
"Would you produce a panic and confusion
amongst them, and cause them to retreat
without loss of life, strike the effigies
with butt-
end of this magic lance: would you cause bloody feud and
carnage. No sooner he said this the king
trust the magic lance into some
effigies which fell as dead upon the board, others begun a
fight among themselves. Abdul Aziz
said in joy." I shall have all my
enemies in power. Oh wise son of Abu Ayub, what can I bestow
on thee in reward for so much blessing?
"The wants of an old man are a few; grant me the means of
fitting my cave as as suitable hermitage
only"
"How noble is the moderation of the wise" exclaimed the
king and gave orders. He had the cave
enlarged, carpets from Damascus
covered now the damp floor, silver and crystal lamps
were filled with fragrant oil. The treasurer
of the king groaned at the sums daily
demanded. The royal word had however been given.
At the end of these days he appeared again before
the treasurer and said. One more thing is
necessary for my studies, that is a few
dancing women. And let them be young and fair to
look upon; for the sight of youth and beauty
is refreshing.
A few only, for I am a philosopher of simple
habits".
While the philosopher passed his time, Abul Ayub
carried out furious campaigns in his effigy
in the tower. War was made easy.
One day the horseman in the tower veered suddenly
around, lowering his lance towards the
mountains of Guadix. However the magic
table remained quiet. The king send forth a troop to
scorn the mountains. They returned after 3
days. We have searched 3 days, all
we found is this Christian damsel.
She brought before the king, Pearls of dazzling jewels
sparkled on her forehead. Around her neck
was a golden chain to which was
suspended a silver lyre, which hung by her side.
"Fairest of women" he cried," who are you?"
"The daughter of on of the Gothic princes who once
ruled over this land. But the armies of my
father had been destroyed as if by
magic among these mountains."
"Beware, O king!" whispered the astrologer." this
maybe one of the sorceresses of whom we have
heard.
"This damsel is no harm to me, she is fair to
look on and finds favor in my eyes."
exclaimed the king.
"Give me then this stray captive to solace my
solitude with her silver lyre," "What! More
women!" cried Abdul Aziz and refused.
This damsel I have marked as my own.". The
sage shut himself up in his hermitage in
disappointment, but before he departed give
the king one more warning to beware of his
dangerous captive. But where is the old man
in love that will listen to counsel?
He had no youth to recommend him but he had
riches and when a lover is old he is
generous. The treasures of Granada were
ransacked at his commands and lavished at
the princess. She seemed to take a secret
pleasure seeing his treasure shrink. At
length an insurrection broke out in
his capital; the palace was surrounded by an
hostile army. Then he remembered the
astrologer
who still remained shut up in his
hermitage.
Abdul Aziz approached him. "O wise son of Abu
Ayub" he said "what shall I do to quell this
rebellion?"
"Send the damsel away, who is the cause"
"Sooner will I part with my kingdom" cried Abdul Aziz.
"You are in danger of loosing both," replied
the astrologer.
"Do not be harsh and angry, O most profound
of philosophers; consider the double
distress of a monarch and lover and devise
some
means of protecting me from evils".
"And what would you give me if I could protect you?" "You shall
name your own reward" said the king."
Alas!"
replied he" I'm an old
man, and a philosopher, and easily satisfied; all the reward
I ask is the first beast of burden with its
load, which shall enter the magic
portal I'm about to build. The monarch gladly agreed and the
astrologer begun his work. The gate tower
had a lofty arch. On the
keystone of the portal the astrologer with his own hand,
wrought the figure of a huge key, as
potential talisman. When the gateway
was finished he went to the king. "At length king," he said
my labor is accomplished.
Tomorrow with the first light we come down to take
possession" cried the king. As they
approached the gateway the astrologer
paused and pointed out to the king the key carved upon the
portal.
While Abdul Aziz was gazing with open mouth the princess on
her mule was proceeding into the portal.
"Behold" cried the astrologer "my promised
reward". "Son of Abu Ayub " said the king
sternly. "You know the meaning of my
promise. The first beast of burden with its load, that
should enter the portal. Take the strongest
mule load it with most precious
things, it is yours,
"The princess is mine by right, your royal word is
pledge" cried the philosopher.
"Do not juggle with your master and king"
"My master my king echoed the philosopher.
He struck the earth with his staff and sank
with the Gothic princess into and
disappeared.
The
king ordered thousand workmen to dig and
dig, but in vain.
Some time to time music is heard from under the gateway. When I
stood there on the cold February morning and listen, nothing was
heard.
Perhaps the visitors around were too loud.
hereunder sunk the princess
The magic key of Abu Ayub
Astonished and tiered we left the Alhambra.
It was 4:pm already.
SUNDAY 21-2-2010
Today is
Web site day. That you dear reader is able
to follow the events.
MONDAY 22-2-2010
There was a problems with our web site, as it was impossible to
load pictures. Only this evening we
had overcome the stubbornness
of the Web site and our travel log resumes as she should be.
We
left Granada in early morning directing
JAMBO towards Cordoba on the banks of the
Guadalquivir trough the farmlands of the
Sierra Morena where one sees nothing but Olive trees by the
millions, producing "virgin olive oil"
as it's best, found in Supermarkets
around the world.
Olive
trees by the millions
Brunei Halal in Spain
Hills up and down in clean and neat rows
stand this tree which can live and produce
well over 5 lifespan of a commoner. While in
the
Palm oil industry, for millions of square kilometer, the land is
raped and poisoned by herbicides pumped from
a tank at the back of an
unfortunate worker, (often hungry and illiterate Indonesians,) to
suppress grass grow, here the soil is
plowed, mechanically cleaned
and hence without any vegetation.
I wonder how much of these Oil palm pesticides end up in the body
of such field man and creating cancer, or
birth defects at his kids.
How much is taken up by the roots of the tree and end perhaps via
the cooking oil in our liver. Who knows the
answer?.
Fact is that such a reckless maximizing of production is banned in
Europe and elsewhere, a farm applying such
practice as done in
some parts of Asia, would be shut down, the bosses wealth
confiscated and they themselves charged with
crime against Environment.
"Let him work and clean up the environmental mess he created for
the rest of his life. Swap his Mercedes with
a wheel barrow!"
Unfortunately, greed goes with corruption like man and wife. Their
offspring is more greed for money!
Before such a "success" the commoner bows his head instead of
asking, how did you get it and tell me how
far have you been
honest and responsible?
But I veered to far away from the olive trees in Spain.
Rolling on the Autopista over the last hill, we could see
Cordoba down in the valley. Right on the
Guadalquivir river which due to heavy
rains rushed yellow muddy waters. There she was the reason we came.
The Aljama mosque.
The angry
river bursting banks
South face of the Aljama Mosque
Cordoba is rich in history. Already the Romans had a town build
here and as always, nothing last for ever.
Their empire declined, the
Visigoth dominated for a while until by 711 AD, Cordoba was conquer
by the Moors. Not actually by fight, but by
a pact in which the
victors promised to respect the life and religion of the
inhabitants. Five years after their arrival,
Cordoba became the capital of
Al- Andalus
Again as usual, fighting broke out among them self, between the
Omeyads and Abasidas, when Omeyad Prince
Abderraman seized
control.
Former entrance, closed since
details of a window
Two centuries later in 929 AD under the domination of Abderraman
III and his son Alkahern, Cordoba
reached the maximum splendor,
becoming renowned as the most important cultural centre of the
West. Breaking up of the Caliphate due to
internal fighting (always
the same) occurred. In 1236 Cordoba was conquered by Christian
armies of "Ferdinand the Holy".
(What was holy on that man? One wonders).
The Muslim population was expelled, most fled back to Morocco, and
the largest mosque of the West was partially
converted into a
cathedral.
Cordoba lost its splendor and became a mere stop over point only.
The Patio de los Narabjos, here in
Islamic times the faithful had their
abolition
The former minaret
Ablution area, now orange garden
And
look at the cathedral tower. This was before
the first great minaret to be build in
Spain. But "restoration" in the 16th century
concealed his original structure.
The mosque was formally reached through this courtyard. At the site
of the mosque was long before a church. In
786 AD Abderramam I
bought the Christian section and in a matter of years only, this
splendid mosque was erected.
The
mosque was constructed using columns,
capitals and stone from Roman and Visigoth
buildings in Spain and even Africa.
The arches are Visigoth in style and are formed in red bricks and
white stone, superimposed to heighten and
lighten the building.
Due to the constantly increasing population she was successively
extended until she took the form which we
see today.
The mosque consisted of 11 longitudinal and 12 transversal aisles.
,.
Aisles, Arches and pillars, kiblat at the
far end
double arches to lighten weight
Mihrab dome; the shell shaped dome is made of a single block of
marble
originally 1,013 columns, now only 856
survived
Why only 856 survived? Well, after the Muslim were driven out
from Spain, a Christian church was
integrated in the mosque.
Christian prayer benches and Islamic art
see the cross?
The white marble is the Christian section, the red one is Islam,
here under one roof. In history they fought
countless wars against
each other. But do not blame the builder, only stupidity and
fanatism are the cause.
In Istanbul the Hagia Sphia a Christian architectural
masterpiece, build long before the birth of
our prophet (pboh), on which the
Roman emperor went almost broke, was to be converted in the course
of time into a mosque, priceless paintings
were destroyed,
gold plated images scratched from the walls, until Ataturk the
father of Turkey declared it -wise as he
was- as a museum.
(Likewise, the destruction of Buddha images by the Taliban).
the Mihrab a architectural
masterpiece of stunning beauty
In old days, lamps
with perfumed oils hung from the ceiling
Calligraphy around the aisle
Our visit had to come to a close. We could not pray there, as
tourists scramble over each other for the
best "flash" shots.
And while the couple in deep affection and "last night
memory" perhaps, held each it other; and the
horse hoped that a tourist will
come to ride the "Kalescha" for only Euro 45.-/hour,
as otherwise there would be not enough hay
to feed on, we the travelers out of
Brunei Darussalam greeted JAMBO again, who waited patiently in a
parking lot close by.
By
the turn of the key the engine sprung into
action and we set course to Malalga's Summer
resorts, with many white European
ladies, foremost English, long beyond desires and affection.
Pensioners of 70 years and above escaping
their expensive
country as well as the rough winter weather. We checked into such a
hotel, at a reasonable price, I must say.
TUESDAY 23-2-2010
Praise the traveling pensioners. The buffet
was prepared for 150 persons. 4 rows,
in-between the "make for you a fresh omlete"
chef.
Well presented, with flowers decorated, was sausage and cheese,
fresh fruits and yogurt, eggs and the ever
English delight, beans
in tomato sauce.
Just to take and that is, was we did. It was a pity we did not have
cheeks large enough to staff in for
tomorrow.
Now it is 1030 am, we are leaving to Algeciras, where
the ferry take us to Morocco.
"Europe and Spain by by".
Today is Independence day in my beloved country. Here I raise our
flag proudly in the gardens of the Alhambra.
May
Allah preserve her and grant our leaders the
wisdom to guide her into a bright future,
that our youth enjoy one day what we have
taken for granted. I call upon them; "Work hard with clear mind and
strong arms" Keep peace and stability. Then
we all can call us
patriots, in love with our small, but great Nation.
May Allah bless Brunei Darussalam.
Norhayati Abu Bakar in Spain
Click Morocco for continues adventure.
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