Granada and the Inquisition / Granada y la Conquista

Last weekend I went to Granada (literally means pomegranate in English) to experience the beauty of the Alhambra (Arabic name meaning red castle), a former fortress/palace. Granada was the last city under Muslim rule before the los reyes catolicos Isabella and Fernando conquered it and its structural remains come from Arab influences. If you’re familiar with Islamic architecture, then you will know that they use geometrical designs, playing with shapes rather than murals or pictures. For instance, from my experiences with Islam, I know that they have no pictures of the prophet Muhammad, who God chose to relay the Quran to. On the other hand, Christian church decoration embodies murals, pictures, and portraits of the holy family. Islamic décor is characterized by interlaced geometric ornaments and also includes a water element like fountains and baths.

Granada

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Personally, out of the obligatory visits that we’ve had, I’ve always preferred the Islamic architecture rather than the gothic style of churches. Maybe that’s because I’ve visited so many churches in my life, so mosques seem more unique and stand out to me. This visit had me thinking about the Inquisition. If you don’t know what that is, basically, during the 15th century the Catholics (led by power couple Isabella and Fernando) aimed to conquer all of Spain and turn it Catholic as at that time it had been under Muslim influence. I don’t remember all of the details clearly, but I would say that’s the gist of it. Anyways, you can imagine that there was a lot of blood involved in all this as it normally does when a certain kind of people conquer another set of individuals. Think: Christopher Columbus, Francisco Pizarro, Hernando Cortez.

I don’t have any enlightening or didactic opinions about colonization or evangelization, but I’ve just been wondering what the world would be like if Spain never conquered the Americas or how Great Britain took over what is now the United States. Obviously, there are negatives and positives but that’s a whole other blog post. Mainly, I think it’s crazy that a few centuries ago (and still now of course), people were killing others or forcing them to align to a certain religion. Yet now, most Spanish people don’t even practice the Catholicism. They are baptized, but no one is practicing. This just represents how our world is evolving. Just some thoughts.

Apart from that, during my visit to Granada, we went to see the actual tombs of Fernando y Isabel which was super cool. I don’t have any pictures of that because they were prohibited, but the fact I was in the same room of the people who united Spain and who were responsible for making Spain Catholic again is mind-blowing.