What to see in Sacromonte

reply to what to see in sacromonte takes us to the beautiful city of Grenada, world famous for its Alhambra and its sunsets. It is one of the six neighborhoods that make up the Albaicin district and is located on the banks of the Darro river.

The Sacromonte extends over the slopes of the Valparaiso Valley, just looking at the Alhambra. But, above all, it will call your attention for its famous cave houses. They are houses excavated in the rock that use the walls of the hill as facades. In this article we will talk about them as the most typical, but also other places to see in Sacromonte.

the cave houses

We have just explained what these houses consist of, but now we will tell you that their exterior walls were whitewashed and that, together with other houses, they form squares full of charm. The pita, the prickly pear and other plants complete the set. It is believed that the origin of these typical houses dates back to the XNUMXth century, when persecuted Muslims and Jews left Granada and settled in the area.

However, there are a beautiful legend about the creation of the cave houses that is worth telling you. He rightly says that, when the Catholic kings expelled Arab nobles from the city, they marched to North Africa. However, fearing that the robbers would rob them his riches along the way, they hid them in Sacromonte.

In turn, the authorities freed the black slaves they had. They knew that their masters had buried their wealth in that area and they set out to find it. to find them, they dug numerous holes in the Sacromontebut found nothing. Exhausted from the effort and having nowhere to go, they took advantage of the cavities as dwellings. Thus, the cave houses were born.

On the other hand, they never stopped looking for those treasures, often using witches. Not in vain, due to the race of those first inhabitants, the place is also known as the ravine of the blacks. But, later, nomadic groups of the gypsy ethnic group settled in Sacromonte, making it famous for its singing and dancing.

Another curiosity of the cave houses is that No two are the same. As the rooms were excavated on the fly according to the needs of the family that inhabited them, they are all different. But, if you want to know more about the history and present of these houses, we are going to recommend its museum.

Sacromonte Caves Museum

Precisely, to preserve this curious tradition of cave dwellings, this museum was created, which also includes a Darro Valley Interpretation Center and that it is another of the obligatory places to see in Sacromonte. It also has an impressive gazebo that offers you unique perspectives of the Alhambra. Its opening hours are from 10 a.m. to 18 p.m. between October and March and from 10 a.m. to 20 p.m. the rest of the year. Also, it only costs five euros per person.

The museum allows you to visit eleven caves that are in their original state, as when they were inhabited by their inhabitants. Each one of the cavities shows you aspects related to lifestyles of those. Thus, you have a cave dwelling, another block and several more dedicated to the traditional trades of the place (basketry, ceramics or loom). Likewise, the museum is completed with a cave dedicated to the flamenco history and another that exposes the tradition of this type of architecture in the world. This is what has expressly been called troglodyte architecture.

Sacromonte Abbey

This impressive monastery was built at the beginning of the XNUMXth century after the discovery in the area of ​​the remains of Saint Cecilius, disciple of the Apostle Santiago. At the same time, the so-called Sacromonte Leads, a fake that we will talk about later because of its uniqueness.

In any case, all this led to the construction of this abbey. Its style is classical, with galleries of semicircular arches on Tuscan columns that open onto a central cloister. Also, in this there is a large fountain. Regarding the church, it is consecrated to the Virgin of the Assumption and has three ships. In it, the choir, the altarpiece of the main chapel and a carving of the Christ of Consuelo also dated to the XNUMXth century and attributed to jose laughing.

On the other hand, the abbey also has a magnificent museum. It was inaugurated in 2010 and has works of great value. Among these, incunabula and codices from the Arab and medieval times, texts of San Juan de la Cruz or a map of the world Ptolemy. It also has an excellent pictorial and sculptural collection, with works by Goya, Gerard David, Alonso Cano o Peter of Mena. However, the most peculiar thing about the museum are the so-called Leads or Sacromonte Lead Books, which we mentioned before.

It consists of 223 printing plates with drawings and texts in Latin and Arabic that reproduce a supposed fifth gospel revealed in the latter language by the Virgin Mary to their authors. But actually it is one of the most famous forgeries in history. According to the hispanist Henry kamen, were prepared by Miguel de Luna and Alonso Castillo, two Moors who tried to reconcile Islam and Christianity. However, the texts were declared heretical as early as 1682 by the pope. Innocent XI.

Viewpoints and neighborhood festivals

As we have told you, this neighborhood extends over a hillside of the Valparaiso Valley. To ascend to the highest part you have to go through the so-called Sacromonte path. And, along the way, you will find magnificent viewpoints that offer you spectacular views of Granada and, especially, of the Alhambra, which is opposite. Among these viewpoints are those of La Lola, the Green of Enmedio, of the Cuestecilla Alborea and of the Abbey.

On the other hand, in addition to knowing what to see in Sacromonte, you will also want to soak up the neighborhood life. To do this, we advise you to visit it when it celebrates one of its festivities. The most important are two. A first takes place on the first weekend of September. It is the popular festival and has open-air meals and street parties. But, above all, an old costume parade is held that reaches the neighbor Albaicín.

As for the second festivity, it is the San Cecilio pilgrimage, which takes place the first weekend of February. Also, they are important Carnival, Holy Week and Mariana Pineda Day, which pays homage to the heroine executed during the reign of Ferdinand VII and immortalized by Lorca in a play.

traditional bars

Nor can you miss its traditional bars in this beautiful neighborhood, which have managed to preserve all their charm. This is not the place to advertise any of them, we will only tell you that they all have something special. But, above all, we will talk about what you can eat in them, because there is also a typical gastronomy of the place.

It's basically tapas, but just as delicious as any great recipe from an accomplished chef. Perhaps the dish par excellence is the sacromonte omelette. It has ram brains, criadillas and other offal. But nuts, peas, potatoes and even breadcrumbs are also thrown into it.

Lighter is the gooseberry salad, a recipe that comes from the Arabs. It has cod, peppers, tomato, onion, dried zucchini, black olives and olive oil. But, possibly, they are even tastier beans with ham. They are made with these two local products (the ham comes from Trevelez). In addition to them, he takes cumin tomato, oil and pepper. Likewise, a poached egg or omelette is added. As a curiosity, we will tell you that you should eat them hot, because, otherwise, the small beans can remain oily.

Finally, as a dessert for your meal in the Sacromonte, you have pastry delights made in the different convents of Granada. It is the case of San Jeronimo puff pastry or Moles de San Antón eggs. But you can also choose other wonders of Muslim origin such as aljojabanas, which are honey and cheese dumplings, or pillows, a kind of fritters.

Flamenco art shows, another thing to see in Sacromonte

Regarding what to see in Sacromonte, we are now going to talk to you about an activity other than visiting monuments. We talk to you about enjoying the most genuine flamingo art. In this neighborhood there are currently numerous tablaos in which shows of this type are performed.

They are the so-called zambras or meetings in which they sing and dance to the rhythm of palmas and guitars. They are parties full of vivacity and strength that last until the wee hours of the morning and fascinate foreign tourists. So it's a great way for finish your day visiting Sacromonte. We advise you not to miss them.

In conclusion, we have shown you what to see in Sacromonte de Grenada, as well as other activities that this typical neighborhood offers you. However, since you are in the city, you should also visit its great monuments. Among them, of course, the incomparable Alhambra and the no less spectacular Generalife. But also the Cathedral of the Incarnation and Royal chapel. All this, naturally, without forgetting other typical neighborhoods such as the one already mentioned Albaicíndeclared Heritage. Dare to travel to the Andalusian city and enjoy its wonders.