Alcaicería

The Great Bazaar of Granada stretched from Plaza Nueva to Plaza Bibarrambla, and was famous in both the Christian and the Moorish realms. The origin of the Arabic name is in fact Latin. Ever since the Emperor Justinian granted the Arabs the right to sell silk, they gratefully called all bazaars al-Kaysar-ia, literally, "the place of Caesar".

Granada's bazaar survived into the 19th century, when it was destroyed by fire. A much smaller and not very faithful replica was built, in the neo-Moorish style then in vogue, occupying only a fraction of the original site.

   

Today's Alcaicería is home to Granada's souvenir shops, where local craftswork is sold: the painted ceramics known as fajalauza, the wood inlay called taracea, and the typically granadino stained glass lamps, or farolas.

Beggars, soothsayers depend on tourism just as much as restarant keepers and shop owners. Granada's gypsy palm-readers have earned themselves a bad reputation for forcing their services on tourists and then extorting money from them. Although they used to offer the tourists a carnation, they now brandish a branch of rosemary economically plucked from the hedge of a public park. Here we see one of these matronly gitanas resting at the entrance to the bazaar...

...and in this photo, taken nearby, three of her colleagues can be seen in action. Note the one in the center with the bleached blonde hair - the latest rage among our gitanas.   I say "our" because for the past few years they have been somewhat eclipsed by high-pressure competition in the form of even more picturesquely attired Romanian gypsies.

 

Lorenzo's comment: most of these women are sorry creatures who, in spite of having brutal husbands and ungrateful children, remain quite good-hearted (I know several of them personally). But they should be firmly discouraged with the words "No quiero" - unless you want to hear about your marvellous future!

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