The fantastic and beautiful Alhambra Castle in Granada, Spain

Maybe the most beautiful place in the castle is this water pool with the fantastic reflections as displayed here on a fine November day. (This photo stitched from 3 horizontal photos).

A great place for the dove to have a little refreshing dip in the pool.

From the net:

The castle of the Alhambra was added to the city's area within the ramparts in the 9th century, which implied that the castle became a military fortress with a view over the whole city. In spite of this, it was not until the arrival of the first king of the Nasrid dynasty, Mohammed ben Al-Hamar (Mohammed I, 1238-1273), in the 13th century, that the royal residence was established in the Alhambra. This event marked the beginning of the Alhambra's most glorious period. 

"Off the beaten paths" - Malaga, Spain

Get yourself a good map or app, then rent a bike and set out for a tour along the coast to the west of the city.  After no more than an hour you will come to the little National Park West of Malaga: 

Guadalhorce River Estuary Natural Area .

Enjoy the sea, the landscape, the ruins and stop to watch the rich life of many sorts of birds - like here: Black necked Grebes:

Alhambra in Granada, Spain as seen from the Gardens of Generalife

Alhambra photographed in November from the gardens of Genralife . In its time these places was connected by a covered walkway.

(Wiki: Alhambra, the complete form of which was the Moorish Calat Alhamra,  a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain.

Chikito the big tourist trap:
After hrs walking in Alhambra maybe you, as us, end up for a lunch at this place down in Granada City. My advice: Stay away this is nothing but a tourist trap pricewise. For a tiny portion of serrano and 2 glass of wine €30 - twice the "normal price" asking me....

Winter in Malaga, Spain

White boats along the beaches in Malaga - November

Pedestrian street along the harbour in Malaga

Another Gibraltar ape portrait

Up on the Rock - the high cliff in Gibraltar - you will find those guys very active in their day to day business - taken care of themselves and also stealing what they can from visiting tourists.

On the way up to the apes you are clearly warned along the road.

The Madam tries to establish some contact with this guy who already have secured something from another visitor...

Newly married - out for photos along the coast by Malaga, Spain

The happy pair after the wedding - out along the coast with the photog. and of course a big smile for the passing photographing biker.....

The meeting was someplace along the coastline east of Malaga

El Limonero - on top of Malaga, Spain

Take a look at this peaceful artificial lake (stitched with 2 photos): El Limonere that you can find right outside of Malaga City.

Just follow the dried up river bed of Guadelmedina from the city and the coast - through the city and up to a dam in the backland.

For several of the days we was in Malaga we liked to do some biking tours and rented bikes for trying out some "Off the beaten paths" tours. This day we come to this fine place a small hour to bike up from the coast and the city center.  In spite of heavy traffic there are bike paths and roads everywhere.

This is the bike lane on the road out of Malaga - close to the big stadium.

Panorama of Granada, Spain, as seen from Alhambra

Panorama (3 photos stitched) of Granada as seen from Alhambra

In the pano regard the old city wall up the hill in the middle of the photo

From wiki:

Granada, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Andalucía, has many important examples of medieval architecture dating to the Moorish occupation of Spain. It’s best known for the Alhambra, a grand, sprawling hilltop fortress complex encompassing royal palaces, serene patios and reflecting pools from the Nasrid dynasty, as well as the fountains and orchards of the Generalife gardens.

City street in Granada

Europa point - Punta de Europa. Gibraltar

Europa point Lighthouse. Gibraltar

Europa point - Punta de Europa. Gibraltar (Camera iphone6+)

From wiki:

Europa Point (Spanish and Llanito: Punta de Europa or Punta Europa), is the southernmost point of Gibraltar.

The Southestmost point of Europe being Punta de Tarifa at 25km southwest of Gibraltar.

At the end of the Rock of Gibraltar, the area is flat and occupied by such features as a playing field and a few buildings. On a clear day, views of North Africa can be seen across the Strait of Gibraltar including Ceuta and the Rif Mountains of Morocco; as well as the Bay of Gibraltar and the Spanish towns along its shores. It is accessed from the old town by Europa Road.

There are five notable buildings, Harding's Battery, the Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque, the Roman Catholic Shrine of Our Lady of Europe, the Europa Point Lighthouse and the Nun's Well. Europa Point is also the location of Gibraltar's only dedicated cricket oval[1] where the Gibraltar national cricket team play and since 2013 Europa Point has been the location of the Sikorski Memorial.

Atarazanas - The central market in Malaga, Spain

From the net:
Atarazanas - Malagas central Market
La Puerta de AtarazanaAs with so many buildings in Malaga, the market, offers a fascinating, but hidden history.

The name Atarazanas comes from Moorish times, and when translated literally from the Arabic means a ‘place where ships are repaired’.

Although hard to believe now, most of current day Malaga was underwater during the Moorish rule and the Atarazanas was right at the sea’s edge.

The are records well into the 18th century of people still fishing from the market (ship building yard’s) walls.

Alcazaba de Malaga. A castle in Spain

A fantastic fine November day. Perfect for visiting the well maintained Alcazaba Castle and Gardens in Malaga - situated right behind the old roman Theatre in Malaga - one of the oldest cities in the world.

Under: Walking up the hill to the gate of Alcazaba

From the net:
The building that dates from the Muslim period is located at the foot of the Gibralfaro hill, crowned by the Arab defence works to which the Alcazaba is connected by a walled passage known as the Coracha. With the Roman Theatre and the Aduana Customs Building, this special corner offers the chance to observe Roman, Arab and Renaissance culture, all within a few yards of each other.

According to Arab historians, it was built between 1057 and 1063 at the instructions of Badis, King of the Berber Taifa of Granada. Transported material was used in its construction and columns, capitals and other materials were taken from the nearby Roman Theatre.

There is no victor but Allah - inscription in Alhambra, Spain

Alhambra in Granada, Spain was the capitol for the Moors that ruled the Andalucia for 800 years. Reapeted countless times on the walls is the text: "There is no victor but Allah". The motto of Nazrid dynasti.

More from the net:

The motto of the Nazrid dynasty – "There is no victor but Allah" – is repeated hundreds of times on walls, arches and columns. Isolated words like "happiness" or "blessing" recur, seen as divine expressions protecting the monarch or governor honoured in each palace or courtyard. Aphorisms abound: "Rejoice in good fortune, because Allah helps you," and "Be sparse in words and you will go in peace."

Researchers built upon studies begun 500 years ago by the conquerors of the Nazrid dynasty, who ruled the kingdom of Al Andalus and created this fabulous pile. The Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella ruthlessly purged Muslims from Spain after 1492, but they were sufficiently curious about their vanquished enemy's heritage, or impressed by the Alhambra's unique beauty, to order specialist translators to study the inscriptions that cover every nook and cranny.

Norwegian Schooner in the port of Malaga, Spain

It was a pleasant surprise to see the Norwegian schooner and schoolship "Christian Radich" in the port this day in Malaga. On a good anchor place not far from the big ferris wheel in the new port.

Under: The port side - popular for a walk in the weekends

Spain: Malaga City - Plaza de Toros (La Malagueta)

Plaza de Toro as seen from the way up the hill to the fortification Gibralfaro in Malaga

From the net:

La Malagueta itself was built in 1874, by the architect Joaquín Rucoba. The first fight took place on 11th June 1876, and the matadors who fought were Rafael Molina, Antonio Carmona, Luque El Gordito, and Manuel Rodriguez. A century later in 1976 the site was declared an Historic Artistic Monument, and in 1981, it was declared an Official Site of Cultural Interest.

LA MALAGUETA TODAY

The plaza de torros is currently owned by Fernando Puche Doña, (former president of Málaga Football Club) and the toreros, Javier Conde and Francisco Rivera Ordoñez. The stadium seats 14,000 people and measures 52m in diameter. It has four corrals, stables for the horses, a ménage for training the horses, dressing rooms for the matadors and their assistants, an infirmary, and its own museum celebrating the history of the site and the sport 

Say "HI" to the Gilbraltar Ape

It was interesting to see and meet the Gibraltor Rock apes when visiting this British Crown colony in November. And of course some visitors lost their opened snacks and biscuits to theft by the apes.

As known the legend says that the colony will last just as long as those apes is living at the top of the Rock - a reason why Churchill during WWII imported some more apes from Africa as the colony was deminished in a periode....

Under: The madam found the apes most interesting....

3 photos panorama of Malaga, Spain

This 3 photos stitch is taken from the old fortification Alcazaba de Malaga - starting to the left just above the harbour displaying the huge Catedral of Malaga and continuing to the west of this city - one of the oldest in the Earth. History going back more than 8000 years.

EXIF from the first photo in the pano:
Camera:Panasonic DMC-GX7
Lens:OLYMPUS M.14-150mm F4-5.6
Shot at 14 mm
Exposure:Auto exposure, Program AE, 1/800 sec, f/11, ISO 200, Compensation: -0.33
Flash:Off, Did not fire
Focus:Auto
AF Area Mode: Tracking
Focus point highlight: [ click to hide ]

Below a photo from inside this fine old fortification in Malaga: Alcazaba de malaga

Iphone6+ Malaga, Spain: World champions in twins?

After many days strolling around in the old town of Malaga our conclusion is that you meet a great number of parents pushing their twins carriges around.

How come the high population of twins?