The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-23
AN INDIANIAN ABROAD.
Picturesque Sights Do Not Wholly
Atone for Unheated Houses.

Correspondence of the indianapolis Journal.
ROME, March 1S.-At an altitude of
nearly five hundred feet, looking down
from the ruins of the once magnificent
palace of the Alhambra, former dwelling
place of the Moorish kings, upon the city
of Granada and the sun-kissed, fertile plain
below. one can appreciate the full extent
Of the loss the Moors sustained when
forced to quit southern Spain, which they
had called their own for many centuries.
To behold. all this is one of the sights
never to be forgotten; it is unsurpassed
anywhere. Washington Irving, in his tales
from the Alhambra, daniels and others in
terested most of us in the subject in the
days of our childhood and kept alive in US
the desire to behold with our own eyes this
evidence of departed Oriental power and
| splendor.
The city Of Granada, which at one time
contained a prosperous population of half a
| million. has dwindled away to 5000 SOULS
| a goodly number of which are gypsies. who
inhabit the hill mountain side of the AL
| baicin, situate on the other bank of the
River Daro, where many of them burrow
| in caves dug into the side of the mountain.
When the Arabs and the Jews were driven
out of Spain and the church established
| the Inquisition, with its prosecutions and
| cruelties, decay set in and has continued
| to the present day. The top and sides OF
! the hill of the Alhambra are at present
| covered by heavy growth of elms
| brought from England in 1872 by the Duke
| of Wellington; 1t is the only bit Of forest
have seen anywhere in southern Spain
| Its thickets harbor large numbers of
| sweet-voiced nightingales, but at this sea-
| son Of the year. when the snow yet reaches
/ far down the sides of the Sierra Nevada, we
| anticipated their coming and had to con-
/ tent ourselves with the chirp of the SPAR
1 row and the ubiquitous hand-organ of the
| Dago. All description in books, however
| faithful and eloquent, falls far short OF the
| reality of the beautiful and fairy interiors
| of this former habitation Of heroic men
and charming women. Contemplation OF
/ as exemplified in castles, palaces and
churches Of northern Europe disposes the
| mind of man to sombre and serious
/ thought; here the soft and rounded outline
/ OF the dome and the circular arch which
| undoubtedly had its origin in the tent of
| the Arab, its interior embellished in gay
/ colors, creates in the beholder, on the con-
| trary. a temper of joyousness as does SUM-
shine I'm flower garden. Such. at least.
was the feeling which animated
wandered through the reception rooms Of
| Toned court Of the lions, and many other
enchanting places. The finish of fine
| needlework is no more fascinatingly beau
i tiful than the interior ornamentation of
| these halls and patios; what would ravish
/ the eye If wrought on the silklooms of
| Lyons or in the work shops of the Gobelin
/ tapestries was here by the cunning hand
| of the Arab artist daintily executed in
| marble, wood and stone and illuminated
with the brightish, warmest and most
cheerful cheer colors. Let your fancy people
| turbaned sons OF Africa and their almond
| eyed Sultanas clad in shining Oriental
| fabrics and decked out with lustrous pearls
| and sparkling gems and the enchantment
| of fairyland becomes reality as much so
| as did in our childhood the pictured
fairy stories of Cinderella, and the sleeping
| beauty of the wood. Think of all this un-
/ der the balmy skies of Granada, where in
! the month of February violets and pansies
are everywhere. where the geraniums
bloom perennially. where the stately Gala
lily rears its bill-shaped head, the spicy
| odor of the myrtle hedge rows scents the
air and the orange trees hang full Of last
! years golden fruit.
The cathedral of Granada down in the
| city. aside from its architectural grandeur,
is noteworthy because it contains in two
| leaden iron-bound caskets the remains of
| Ferdinand and Isabella. On visit to the
church we descended into the vault where
| we reverently laid hands on what contains
| the ashes of the patrons of the man who
| discovered that part of the world now "the
| land of the free and the home OF the
| brave" our home, the best land on earthi
We were attracted 10 Cordova mainly by
the form of the mosque of Abderrahinan
| /. 1t was begun by him in the ninth CEN
| fury, and enlarged from time to time by
his successors until it ranked second IN
| size only 10 the the kaaba at Mecca. It's
length Is $40 feet by width of 425. AT
one time there hung from its ceilings 240
chandeliers, supporting over 1000 lamps.
After the reconquest OF that part of Spain
| a large Christian church was. under
| Charles V, erected within the walls OF this
| mosque temple, leaving yet standing I'M
disturbed $50 of the original columns, which
| support that part of the roof not displaced
by the church. To wander about i'm this
| wilderness of stone pillars Is much like
| being in a forest of trees. differing only
that, In lieu of leaves, these columns bear
up the universal horseshoe-shaped arch.
| This monster OF double house of prayer.
containing under one roof different forms
of worship of the one living God stands
on the north bank of the River Guadal-
quivir. 1t rests upon a raised and spa
cious platform, the sides OF which and the
walls of the mosque overlooking the river
are sadly eaten into by the elements, and
show the ravages of the tooth OF time. The
was built by the Moors. With its sixteen
arches resting on old Roman foundations
1t is rusty and time-worn structure. Be
low. IL, in the river, are several quaint
Moorish watermils and a semi-circular
dam. A view from the farther side OF the
river is picture worth seeing, composed,
as IL Is: or the massive pile OF the mosque.
the Anticipated bridge. with its fortified and
battlemented approach, and the decaying
masonry OF the retaining walls of the river
bank, here and there overgrown by luxur-
liant verdure, worthy of the brush OF a
Fortuny. Nowhere in all my travels have
seen the effect OF the gnawing tooth OF
the centuries so strikingly and picturesque
~ shown as here, on the banks of the River
Guadalquivir, In old Spain.
There is in all OF Andalusia and Granada
not as much timber growth as yet remains
In one OF the townships of Marion county.
Except for the olive orchards and corktree
groves the mountains and hillsides OF this
country are absolutely bare OF all forests.
The valleys grow good crops OF wheat,
| sugar beets and beans. The neighborhoods
OF Mantilia and Malaga produce celebrated
| wines, and the sherry. which is drunk In
| all corners OF the earth. made from grapes
| grown in the vineyards around Terez. has
| brought wealth TO Its producers and to the
| merchants Of the town. Elsewhere there
are large mountain districts and unproduc-