A good article about one of my favourite Spanish cities.

Sorry to be pedantic, but your article has quite a few inaccuracies :(

The translation is wrong – it means “The Moors Last Sigh”. Suspiro del Moro isn`t a high mountain pass as such, it is a rather unremarkable piece of land, adjoining the motorway between Otura and Padul. Has a really tatty campsite next to it. Shame. Sure it is at 860M, but to be fair, Granada is on a high plateau, but “Suspiro” is pretty damn flat location. Be curious to know where you were, given that Oturn/Padul are 20Km(ish) outside Granada. Death-defying? Only if you ran across the motorway to get to it ;)

Boabdil (Abu `Abdallah Muhammad XII) was on his way to the Alpujarras, where he was to begin his exile, when this event took place. He stayed there on an estate provided for him, before finally returning to Fez, Morocco much later.

Alhambra means “Red Castle” and not “Red Palace”, although the original Arabic would translate more accurately as “The Red One”. Look at the Alhambra in late afternoon/early evening and the sun bathes it, er, red, hence it´s name.

Re accessing the Alhambra – you have to book or buy tickets in advance. You can`t rock up and expect to get in – as a UNESCO site, they take the number of visitors quite seriously and are unusually strict (for Spain, that is) about this.

Finally, Teteria means Tea Room and has nothing to do with breasticles. Shame.

Soz

Yossa

(Brit in Granada)
I`ll get my coat…

Ah Yossa, well I guess we all have different sources here!

Legends are often inaccurate and mysterious and Granada seemed to be full of them. I did explain that I was writing about legends that I was told on my travels, so I hope people do take them with a pinch of salt, as I did.

Our tour guide told us we were in the spot where Boabdil cried (on El Suspiro del Moro) but who knows, hey? Maybe he didn’t deserve the €5 tip I gave him! And the mountain-like hill was so steep. We had to climb on our hands and knees past caves (you most definitely wouldn’t be able to do a tour like that in the UK – health and safety and all.) We had fun though!

El Alhambra does have a rosy glow in the afternoon but legend has it, it’s not just down to the sun, so who knows…

Thank you for some local information that perhaps tourists don’t receive. If you ever come to the North of Spain, I hope my blog will be useful in the same way. Enjoy Granada – it’s a wonderful place.

It seems to me that Yossa is quite correct about the translation and location of “Suspiro del Moro”. The “Puerto del Suspiro del Moro” sign is indeed right there on the freeway, just beyond the Boabdil Motel & Truck Stop.

On the other hand, perhaps this presents a challenge to we denizens of Granada, and the Lecrin Valley. Instead of complaining that the Olive Press never writes about our area, or that they get it wrong, why don’t we all dig through our local photos, knowledge, and anecdotes and start sending them in.

Thank you Katie for your good intent, and for your compliments to the exotic and beautiful region we residents sometimes take for granted.

Hi Alun – we’d be more than happy to set you up with the facility to upload a regular blog about your local area to the Olive Press website.

Let me know if you’re interested.

Katie – glad you took my comments in a supportive way and not as a critique of an otherwise excellent article.

Alun – Good ideas about anecdotes/photos etc. A little local knowledge can only be beneficial to others and is an excellent way to find out all about this magnificent area.

Katie – nice stories, getting things wrong is all part of it. Granada was taken by Fernando and Isabel in 1492, and they paid for Columbus to go way off course, even though he believed he had found a new part of Asia.El Suspiro del Moro has two roads named after los Reyes Catolicas, as they are known, crossing another wo (heading South) named after Boabdil and Aixa, his cold-hearted mother. Not really worth a visit, nice story and a humerous use of street names.

Katie, the “storm” you created is just right for you and Granadans to get out the most tested and accurate stories and best translations. You’ve sparked an expandable and accountable mini-wikipedia for Granadans and appreciative visitors. Atta-way to write!