Alhambra (7) - from Mirador de San Cristóbal

Mirador in Spanish means viewpoint. It is used for places where there is a view. Granada have several "miradores" The mirador de San Cristóbal has excellent views of the Sierra Nevada, The Alhambra and the city of Granada. In this photo de can see the "Torre de la Vela" The watchtower of the Alhambra. We can also see the city walls which were constructed in the 13th century. Many years ago these wall would have been manned by troops guarding the city. You can often see a series of square holes running along the top of the walls. These holes would have had crossbeans in them to hold up a walkway for the patrolling soldiers or they could have been used as scaffold supports during construction. These types of holes aare called putlogs. Putlogs are small holes in the walls of a building designed to accomodate the ends of beams or logs.
The mirador de San Cristóbal is right at the top of the Albaicin. Not a bad idea, is to catch a bus up here and then walk back down to the centre of Granada via Mirador de San Nicolas and the cobblestoned streets of the Albayzin. If you like like this idea Click here to see a good route