Granada is the capital city of the province of Granada, Spain. It is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of four rivers. From the 11th century until 1492, Granada was a flourishing Moorish stronghold. During the following years, Muslims and Jews were forced into the Albaicín, a neighborhood north of the Alhambra. In modern times, the whitewashed houses of the medieval Muslim quarter still stretch down the hillside along narrow streets. Cafes and tapas bars hang over switchbacks and stairways that offer views of the Alhambra with an edge-of-the-world feel.
Granada joined the Nationalist uprising in 1936 when the Spanish Civil War broke out. There was local resistance against the Nationalists, particularly by the working classes of Albaicn, which was violently suppressed.
There are many monuments of architecture and art in Granada. The city has fine Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical churches, convents, monasteries, hospitals, palaces, and mansions. In the center of the city stands the Gothic Cathedral of Santa Mara de la Encarnación (1523–1703), which includes the Royal Chapel (Capilla Real) with the tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella and heraldic decorations.
