Travel. Spain. Andalusia.

The Hidden Beauty of Andalusia’s Golden Triangle

Spain’s best-kept secrets are hidden in the south.

Having landed at Seville airport, I look back at the plane I once said I wouldn’t dare travel on, the dreaded Ryan Air.

Fortunately, the journey was over relatively quickly, and for the first family holiday in a decade, things seemed to be going smoothly (partly because I organised it). However, my dad had to fiddle around with our rented Mercedes.

Not only was it his first time driving abroad, but it was also on the wrong side of the road! (We’re from the UK) However, the Spanish were soon forgiven for that decision as the views on the way to our villa were breathtaking.

I was worried that something would go wrong by this point, but after seeing the villa appear over the horizon, things started looking more promising. Five thousand square metres of land along with a pool and a private gazebo awaited us.

And I have to say that considering this was our first ever villa; we made a good choice.

Córdoba

Our first destination for the day was the old capital of medieval Al Andalus, Córdoba. It had quite a history, founded by the Romans, then taken by the Visigoths, the Arabs and finally the Castilians.

At its zenith during the 9th century, it even had the second largest population in Europe, and though it no longer had its medieval splendour, there were plenty of sights to take in.

We started by visiting the medieval bathhouses, which had been buried for centuries and only recently excavated. It felt almost intrusive to be wandering through the tiny corridors once used by the Moorish nobility, as though their presence had lain undisturbed for millennia.

We then visited the Alcazar of the Christian Monarchs, a Mudejar style palace so-called because it was built by the Muslims who continued to live there after the city’s reconquest in 1236.

My mum particularly enjoyed walking through the garden and admiring the myriad of flowers that were grown there. Like medieval bathhouses, these gardens were once exclusively for the nobility, so it felt like a privilege to see them in their pristine state.

The crowning jewel, however, was the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba. Like the city itself, the building was first a Visigothic church, then later constructed as a mosque, before finally being converted into a cathedral.

With its Arab arches and Gothic inscriptions, it was a sight to behold. You can almost imagine hearing the echoes of century-old footsteps dancing across the worn marbled floors.

It’s one of the few historical monuments that blends different cultures together. I’d compare it most to the Hagia Sophia, which is the polar opposite; a church converted to a mosque.

The following day took us back even further in time to the old town of Carmona. This was particularly fun because as we walked along the ancient cobblestone walkways, we came across a traditional Spanish wedding.

You can imagine the embarrassment as men in suits and women wearing flamenco dresses start waving at us while my dad yelled, “Señora, señora!” They were so welcoming towards us and didn’t mind that my dad was disrupting their big ceremony.

With that well and truly over, we visited the museum, seeing how the city had evolved from having mammoths and cavemen to becoming the home for Phoenicians and Visigoths during antiquity.

Of course, coming to Spain also means eating paella, and our villa had a large kitchen just waiting to be used. So, armed with about two months of learning Spanish beforehand, I braved the seafood aisle of Dia Maxi (the equivalent of Tesco or Walmart) and just about managed to get the bemused lady to hand over twice the number of prawns I had initially asked for.

Dos Bolsa, not Dos Gamba!

Seville

Seville is the capital of the Andalusian province and had a grander atmosphere than Córdoba. It was where some of the fiercest battles took place between the Christians and the Moors and also the place where Christopher Columbus set sail from to reach the New World.

Unlike other European cities, it retained a somewhat warm and pleasant atmosphere, a feeling I can’t quite explain. The contrast between the Moorish Alcazar and the Renaissance Cathedral right in the centre, however, was spectacular.

The Royal Alcazar of Seville was historically known as the Verdant Palace and, like the Mosque-Cathedral, had a blending of architectural design. Its themed gardens were once again a winner in my mum’s mind, and you could probably spend hours walking through them.

One fun fact is that the courtyard was used to portray the Dornish palace from Game of Thrones.

Of course, no family holiday has a day where humour isn’t involved, and in this case, after we left Torre de Ores, an old Almohad watchtower, we came across a crowd of tourists from Beijing.

They didn’t just smile or wave, no no, they went further. They began posing with us and taking at least a dozen selfies and other photos. The hilarious thing was when even the old ladies ran towards us to take pictures.

On our way to the bullfighting ring, which was sadly closed, we came across… You guessed it, another group of Chinese tourists. Like the others, they didn’t hesitate at all in taking lots of pictures.

Who knows, maybe we’ll be in some framed picture overlooking an elderly village bedroom. Now isn’t that a scary thought?

Granada

The second half of the trip would be spent in Granada, home to the Sierra Nevada mountains and the best-kept treasure of Andalusia, the Alhambra. But before we went there, we made a stop near Córdoba.

We were entering Madinat Azahara, the Shining City.

Constructed between 936–940 AD, it was the largest known city built from scratch in Western Europe and designed to be a luxurious capital rivalling Constantinople and Baghdad.

According to contemporary sources:

Pools of mercury could be shaken to spray beams of reflected sunlight across marble walls and ceilings of gold, according to contemporary records.

Doors carved of ivory and ebony led to sprawling gardens full of exotic animals and sculptures made of amber and pearls.

Leaving the ‘city of dreams’ behind us, we finally made it to our apartment in Granada, conveniently located near the city centre. The first site on our list was the Alhambra, a massive Moorish fortress later expanded and modified by the Castilian monarchs.

There aren’t words to describe its exquisite beauty, both in the Generalife gardens with its many fountains and the palace with its arches and marble interior.

We spent the entire day, and even then, the complex had so much more to offer.

‘The Alhambra in Granada is the most fertile source of inspiration of all those from which I have drunk’ — Maurits Cornelis Escher

Of course, you can’t go to Spain without seeing the coast, so the next day, we drove to Costa Tropical, a less busy but still breathtaking coastal town.

The drive was far more enjoyable as we were treated to sights of gorges, mountains and forests, all blended harmoniously to create the perfect picturesque setting.

Perhaps one of the most iconic areas in Granada is the Albazaiyn quarter. This honestly felt more like Morocco (though I’ve never even been there) as the narrow winding streets were littered with stalls selling spices and small trinkets, and it’s probably one of the few parts of the city which retained its old Moorish traditions.

There is one last thing to note, big supermarkets in Spain are very strange as they not only sell groceries, but they also offer haircuts, souvenirs, and even pets. Yes, you read that right; there were €40 exotic rabbits and €300 puppies on sale.

They were super cute, but it makes me think the UK could never get away with something like that…

I’ve been to both the north and the south of Spain, but I always felt the south was more welcoming, more beautiful, and more authentic.

The people always stop to smile, and although this family trip happened in 2016, to this day, my parents still talk about how their favourite destination was Andalusia.

Its culture, history and warmness of its people made our trip an unforgettable experience.

If you enjoyed reading this, then check out my other travel stories:

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