Muhammad Badawi Derani
A master calligrapher from Syria, I strongly advise you to visit his site at:
http://www.calligraphyislamic.com/Profiles/BadawiDeraniGallery.htm
With thanks to his grandson Talal Deirani.
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Toledo
Driving northwards from Andalusia to Madrid, we decided to spend our last night in Spain in Toledo, a very interesting city that is usually overlooked by Arabs visiting Spain and heading directly towards Andalusia. The results were mixed: the city is definitely very attractive and interesting, with its peculiar skyline, but the time was short, and we really were exhausted after our Spanish odyssey.
Toledo, is the city of El Greco, a city of major importance in the history of Spain and bestowed with a romantic setting: surrounded on three sides by a looping river, the Tagus. When our car approached the city, the skyline of Toledo reminded me of a painting of Toeldo I saw at the Metropolitan in New York when I visited with my friend Samer Farah a couple of years ago. Look at the El Greco painting and you will easily recognize the two important monuments of Toledo: the Alcazar and the Catedral. What made the comparison most striking was the coincidence that the day we arrived to Toledo witnessed the only rainfall Spain had throughout our visit. It was cloudy and dull when we had our first glimpse of Toledo, exactly as depicted in El Greco’s famous painting.
Next day, we drove back to Madrid’s airport and took the return flight to Washington, thus ending our Spanish adventure. Next time we go to Spain, it should be Barcelona and Majorca.
Cordoba
Once we entered Cordoba coming from Granada, we realized that this would be the most ‘Arabian’ of all Andalusian cities. Even the roads signs were pointing at ‘Medinet Al-Zahraa’, which made Rafif recite Ibn Zaidoun’s famous poeme (Ini zakartuki bil Zahraa mushtakan...). Driving through the maze of narrow streets, trying to achieve the impossible: reaching the Mezquita, or the most famous mosque in Andalusia, proved to be a more formidable challenge than I already thought. But believe me, for a while I totally forgot that I was in Spain, it was exactly like driving through the old town in Damascus. What a feeling.
Cordoba was the capital of Andalusia for centuries. Ten centuries ago, it was the cultural capital of Europe and the most glamorous city in the world, even outdoing Baghdad itself. Time has not been very kind to Cordoba, yet we can easily find traces of its past glory, and I can say that Cordoba has best preserved it Arabian legacy as compared to Seville and Granada. Of course, I don’t need to remind you that Cordoba was the city of Averoess (Ibn Rushd), Moses Mimenodis (Ibn Maimoun) among many other brilliant poets, philosophers, scientists and artists.
Our hotel was across the street of the Mezquita, in the very heart of the old city. From our room window that overlooks the walls of that fascinating mosque the prospect of rushing immediately to visit the mosque was tantalizing, but we did not venture into its realm till the next day. We spent the night exploring the narrow streets of Juderia and the major landmarks of the surroundings.
We started our second day by visiting the mosque. This fantastic labyrinth of red and white arches remains one of the glories of Arab Islamic architecture. For hours, Rafif and I kept walking around the inside of this grand mosque unable to leave its spiritual tranquility and transcendental expression of sublime devotion.
For lunch, we went to one of the splendid Arab baths, which serve food as well, after the best Arabian traditions of having a banquet after spending a day in the Hammam. In the afternoon, we hired a horse cab for a breathtaking excursion in old town Cordoba, which allowed our tormented feet to rest while savoring the hidden delights of this charming city.
By the end of our trip, Rafif’s eye caught the sight of a marble stone with some Arabic engravings. We approached it and had goosebumps to read two tender love poems exchanged by Ibn Zaidoun and his eternal beloved Wallada bint al Mustakfi, engraved in Arabic with a Spanish translation.
Granada 1 and 2
This would seem like a betrayal: after the pleasures of Madrid and the charm of Seville, Granada easily won our hearts as the jewel in the Andalusian crown. We might be wrong about it – appearances deceive, but Granada seemed to us the liveliest and most elegant city in Andalusia, but, probably we were lured by the prospect of visiting the dream place that was behind our whole trip: the Alhambra palace. In day one, we strolled across the Street of the Catholic Kings Calle Reyes Catolicos toward the most walked street in Granada, the Carrera del Darro, which is described as Andalusia’s most romantic street, which runs north along the Darro river. This street ends at the Passage of the Sad Ones Paseo de los Tristes (I told you it was very romantic). The street lies directly beneath the tower of the Alcazaba which is a Middle Ages fortress built for defensive purposes and became integrated with Alhambra complex.
Next day, as of early morning, we started our guided tour through the most magnificent Arabian edifice that was ever built: the eternal red castle Calat Alhambra. Muslim architecture reached its apogee at this pleasure palace built by the Nasrid dynasty. As usual with typical Arab architecture, the exterior of Alhambra is somber and unprepossessing, the true delights of this remarkable palace lies within.
From the Court of the Lions, to the Hall of the Ambassadors, to the Hall of Kings, to the Court of the Window Grille, to the Royal Baths, to the Ladies Tower, to the lovely and resplendent Mirador de Deraxa the caliph’s private balcony onto Granada. However, the story does not end by visiting the palace only.
Seven minutes walk from the palace we reached the legendary Generalife or the Caliph’s Paradise (jannet al khalifeh in Arabic), which is a mini palace surrounded by luscious gardens, orchards and pastures. Pools and gentle water flows help alleviate the summer heat while rows of water jets make graceful arches above these pools.
Leaving Granada after spending a whole day in the Alhambra left a feeling in our hearts that everything else would be an anticlimax. How could Cordoba and Toledo impress us after Granada remains to be seen.
Marbeilla and Ronda
After an exhausting six-day exploration of Madrid and Seville, we drove southwards towards the Costa del Sol to relax for a couple of days on the sea shore of this world famous resort. Well, I know what you would think: there, we will encounter the rich and the beautiful of the world in this chicest of resorts with some of the regions most upsaclae hotels and restaurants. I am afraid this is not the case.
I can’t deny that Marbeilla is beautiful and entertaining, but we found it overvalued and extremely overpriced. Rich people go there because other rich people go there, and ordinary people go there because other ordinary people go there in order to have a look at rich people! Not our cup of tea. We both agreed that the next time we visit the Costa del Sol, Marbeilla would not be our destination.
However, en route from Seville to Marbeilla we stopped for lunch at a gem of a town: Ronda, which is one of the oldest and most aristocratic places in Spain. The main feature of Ronda is a deep gorge, spanned by three bridges over the river.
On both sides of this gorge are houses on the very edge of the cliff that look as if they might plunge into the deep valley at the slightest push.
Finally, describing how exquisite Ronda is, should not allow me to neglect mentioning the fact that I ate there the best mussels marinated in spicy garlic sauce I have ever had in my life.
Seville 1, 2 and 3
The first thing we did on arriving to Seville was to ‘get lost’ in the old city there trying to reach the famous Al-Geralda the minaret that was erected in the 12th century and was later integrated to the Gothic cathedral that was built after the reconquistad . Both Rafif and myself could not believe our eyes, the Barrio de Santa Cruz is a larger replica of our own Bab Touma quarter in the old city of Damascus: narrow alleyways that shade you from the hot Andalusian summer sun , and simple houses from the outside revealing splendid patios and courtyards to the peering eye.
I
If we look through the wrought-iron gates into those patios we find the same fountains and plants we expect to see in our own dear old Damascus. We spent the whole of day-two walking and walking across Seville, our feet became sore, and no water or ice-cream could quench our thirst or sooth our dry throats, but nothing surpassed our joy to be walking through old Damascus in the middle of Europe.
In the evening we attended a highly sophisticated and artistic classical Flamenco show at the courtyard of an old Andalusian house, the casa de la memoria. While most Flamenco clubs in Spain are geared to satisfy a tourist’s taste, that is, a commercialized easy-version of Flamenco, we wanted to see the real authentic thing: formal, harsh, austere, and very powerful.
On day-three, we visited the Ibn Khaldoun exposition, and were impressed by the tribute and homage paid by the Spaniards to this great genius; the founder of sociology and modern day anthropology. We ended our third day to Seville visiting the Reales Alcazar (or Royal Palace) which was built by the Ommayad caliphs in 712 as a fortress, then converted into an Arab palace by a succession of Arab kings and princess, the palace is only outshined by the lavish and exotic gardens surrounding it.
Rafif, having walked around these gardens looked at me and said: those Ommayads, they really had a good time here!
Madrid 2 and 3
Anyone can easily fall in love with Madrid; it has the ability to satisfy all tastes: a mixture of a big European metropolis and a lively Mediterranean city. Old Madrid is fascinating. There, you stroll along a maze of narrow lanes and historical plazas with an abundance of cafés, restaurants, and street music. A night time walk there is a relaxing and pleasant experience.
We particularly liked the Plaza Puerta del Sol (Sun gate square) and its environs leading to Plaza de Oriente or in the opposite direction to the Plaza Mayor. But Madrid can also remind you of Paris, particularly in the upscale Salamanca quarter where the buildings and shops remind you of parts of Paris. We walked there along the Serrano and Velázquez boulevards and had refreshments at one of the many street cafés sitting on a pavement table a la parisienne.
However, the jewel of Madrid is the Prado Museum where more than 7000 masterpieces by great European painters are on display. The works of Italian, French and Dutch masters are aplenty there, but the most treasured collection is that of the Spanish school: El Greco, Velázquez, and Goya. However, works of Miro, Dali, and Picasso are not in display at the Prado, to see them, you have to go to the Queen Sofia Museum. Fortunately, a theme exposition was held at the Prado when we visited; Picasso: traditions and avant-gardism where works by old masters were displayed next to works by Picasso that were inspired by the original masterpieces.
Madrid without music and flamenco would not be a complete experience, so we spent the last evening in Madrid at the Teatro La Latina attending a show of Spanish dance accompanied by the great music of famous Spanish composers; namely: Albeniz, Granados, and de Falla. Walking back by the end of the night from Plaza La Latina through Plaza Mayor to Gran Via, we were full of the flavors, perfumes and scenes of Madrid. However our appetite was insatiable: we want to come back another time. Tomorrow: Andalusia.
Madrid 1
Our first reaction on arrival to Madrid’s Baraja’s airport early in the morning was how modern, spotless, and creatively designed the airport was. The second impression was the searing heat. En route to our hotel on Gran Via, Rafif noted that the ‘look’ of Madrid’s outskirts reminded her of Damascus and Beirut. However, Gran Via (or the Grand Boulevard) itself is more Viennese than anything else.
After a lengthy night trip from New York, we arrived exhausted for our vacation in Spain, so decided to take it easy on the first day. Today would be dedicated to explore the Austrias (the Hapsburg Madrid) because it happens to be the area near to our Hotel. From Gran Via we walked towards the magnificent Palacio Real (royal palace) that was built in 1734 by the ‘enlightened’ despot Charles III, onto the Austrias, or the quarters that were built in the 16th and 17th centuries by the Hapsburg royal family having in mind to transform medieval Madrid into a European glamorous capital en par with Vienna.
For lunch, we went to the Plaza Mayor (main square) and had the famous sea food paella, Rafif did not particularly like it, she found it too heavy for the hot weather. Madrid is a city that does not sleep. At midnight it was still bustling with activities and people enjoying their time out. Here we need to adjust our eating an sleeoing habits. We both fell in love with Madrid.
Hadi Toron 2
Some of my favorite works by distinguished Syrian artists.
