I presented my paper this morning, and I'm happy to report that it went soooo well! I had at least twenty people in my audience - which is huge considering there are eleven papers being presented concurrently - and there were some good, interesting questions after. So, all in all, I'm very happy with the whole experience! Spent most of the morning at the conference and then slipped off this afternoon to journey into Al-Andalus...
Granada was occupied for almost 700 years by the Moors, and thus the culture and space of the city still has very strong traces of this Arabic influence. The most obvious example is the Alhambra, but Moorish design and aesthetic can be seen all over the city. When Isabel and Fernando reconquered Granada in 1492, they destroyed all the mosques in the city. However, many of the minnarets were saved and become the bell towers of new churches. The result is that many of the church bell towers are very Arabic in their design, as you can see in the arches and the mosaic:
This afternoon I experienced an Arab bath at one of the two Arabic bath houses in Granada, Hammam Al Andalucia.The procedure is as follows: You book a two hour time slot, with the option of including a fifteen minute massage. The bath house consists of three baths or pools, one warm, one hot, and one cold, and also a change room with showers, a steam room and a massage room. The idea is to arrive, don your bathing suit, shower, and then move from pool to pool, stopping to drink mint tea in the tea room, and then be called for your massage. It was possibily one of the most relaxing environments I have ever been in! The setting is beautiful, with low ceilings and dim lighting. Tranquil music plays in the background and everyone moves around very quietly and speaks in hushed voices. You obviously can't take photographs, but here is a link to their website - I think there's a photo gallery of the various rooms and pools to get an idea.
Hammam de Al Andalucia
I think I may have been the only person there in my session to fully submerge myself in the cold pool - it was frrrrrreeezing cold! But it was such a rush to spend fifteen minutes in the hot pool - pretty much like a very hot bath - and then go and jump into the cold pool, and then back again!
In keeping with my Arabic theme for the day, after my "bath" I headed into the Arab quarter for a little bargain hunting in amongst the stalls. I also made a stop for a glass of mint tea and an almond pastry, and finally, after a bit more wondering, I ended my day with a dinner of lamb tagine and moroccan flat bread - yum!
Another fun little experience today was buying convent sweets or dulces... R. and I had bought some biscuits from a convent in Madrid, but this time I got to use the little "Lazy Susan" procedure. This involves buzzing the intercom and when a nun answers, saying "quiero comprar dulces" and then making your selection from the list pasted on the wall. The nun then pops your order on the lazy susan and swings it round to you - you take your sweets and pop your money on the tray and send it back! It's quite fun! I got lucky today though and the little nun stuck her head round as the lazy susan turned and flashed me a big grin and a "Hola!"
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