The Keys of Sepharad

Visit to the old Jewish quarter of Granada

On the slopes of the Mauror hill, there is an unknown place for many visitors. A neighborhood which winding and narrow streets give off the essence of what was the last home of Granada’s Jews.

In the year of 1492, after the Edict of Expulsion, this community, so old in the Peninsula, was forced to abandon it, and there were many who kept the keys to their houses hoping that one day they could return to what was their land and that of their ancestors.

It is here that the myth of Sepharad is born.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Itinerary

________________________________________________________________________________

• Realejo and Antequeruela quarter.
• During this visit, we will discover corners of a Granada unknown to many and, with it, a very important part of its past, linked to the presence and Jewish culture
• This memory is very blurred due to the expulsion of 1492 and the passing of the centuries, which, unfortunately, erased all material traces of what was once Garnata-al-Yahud, in the bustling and dynamic  Jewish neighborhood. However, on our tour, we will be able to recreate life in this Jewish Granada thanks to historical documents and the echoes of great sages of the 11th and 12th centuries, who left us a brilliant scientific, philosophical and poetic legacy.

________________________________________________________________________________

Our itinerary will begin in front of the Church of Santa Ana, to go through the streets and slopes of the right bank of the Darro River, the neighborhoods of Almanzora, Realejo and Antequeruela, where, according to the sources, the Jewish quarter is located.

During this visit, the great characters who marked that history will occupy a very prominent place. We will explain the ins and outs and consequences of the Edict of Expulsion, we will mention the decisive contribution of Jewish scholars in the transmission of knowledge at that time, then we will enter the labyrinth of alleys, on the slopes of the Mauror, trying to relocate the mythical palace of the vizier Jewish Samuel Ibn Nagrella (Ha-Nagid), sung by poets of the stature of Solomon Ibn Gabirol, and which was located, according to the sources, under the Vermilion Towers.

We will be able to contemplate modest, but evocative remains of tombs, (macabrillas), embedded in the walls of a convent and a centenary cistern. The passage through the two doors that gave access to the Jewish quarter, the door of the sun and the door of the potters, now disappeared, indicate that, with all probability, the neighborhood would not have well-defined boundaries

In these settings, and always accompanied by an official guide who specializes in the subject, we will recall significant fragments of daily and cultural life, of the once very dynamic and populous Garnata-al-Yahud.

Meeting point/Duration

• Meeting point: Plaza Nueva, next to Santa Ana,s Church
• Duration:2,5,h

________________________________________________________________________________

What,s included

• Official and expert guide
• All taxes

________________________________________________________________________________

FOTOGRAFÍA: Antonio Maldonado