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Photo: Øyvind Holmstad, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Following the Reconquista, Islam was banished from Spain and its practitioners were persecuted, effectively stomping out any practice of the religion in Spain for centuries thereafter. But Islam has been making a comeback in Spain and this mosque, built in 2003, stands as a link with the Muslim Granada of old. The mosque maintains an open-door policy and while you need to arrange an appointment to see the main prayer spaces, you are free to enter the fragrant garden and take in the architecture of the rather humble yet beautiful building. Even if you have little interest in Islam the place is still worth visiting for the garden's marvelous view of the Alhambra and for the sight of Moorish-style architecture that's newly constructed rather than ancient and crumbling.
The Granada Mosque is a Sunni Muslim mosque, located adjacent to the Plaza San Nicholas in the Albaicín district of Granada, Spain. Opened in 2003, it is the first mosque built in the city since 1492, when the conquest of Granada by Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon concluded the reconquest of Spain by the Catholic Monarchs. Funded mainly by overseas donations and local support, the mosque was opened in 2003.
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Mirador de San Nicolas
The most popular attraction in the Albayzin for tourists, this spot offers a spectacular view of the Alhambra and the mountains behind, as well as excellent vistas of the city and up the Rio Darro canyon.
A small and shady plaza, this is the center of Albayzín for its residents, removed from the tourist crowds of the San Nicolas Viewpoint, surrounded by local shops and restaurants and home to a local market on Saturday mornings. On the west edge of the plaza, tucked around a corner, is Puerta Nueva, a passageway to Placeta de las Minas situated at the end of a remaining section of defensive wall which once protected the Albayzín. The wall itself is mostly inaccessible, but excellent views of the wall, which really speak to how imposing it must have looked from the outside, are available from the Mirador de San Cristobal uphill from Plaza Larga (alternatively you can just walk along Cuesta de Alhacaba west from Plaza Larga from excellent views from beneath the wall).
An unassuming-looking building from the outside, the Bañuelo is the ruins of perhaps the most well-preserved Arabic bath house in Spain. Once a popular socializing spot during Muslim Granada, most of the bath houses in the city were destroyed followed the Reconquista - this one survived due to the construction of a private home above. Inside you can view the beautiful architecture and learn how the bath house functioned, with its hot and cooling rooms and scenic courtyard.
Perched above the Rio Darro at the end of Carrera del Darro, this plaza was once on the busiest gathering spots in Granada, positioned along a curve of the river between the Alhambra and the Albayzin. Today it is a popular place to eat owing to the restaurants lining the north side of the square and the magnificent views of the Alhambra palace it offers.
Gran Hammam Baños Arabes
A modern spa reconstructing the ambiance and decorations of the ancient Muslim baths in Granada.
Iglesia de San José
Located in a spot previously occupied by the Almorabitín, or mosque of morabites, and is one of the oldest churches in Granada, dating back to the sixteenth century. The architecture of the old mosque is still visible in parts, particularly in the minaret-turned-bell tower.