Discover the Alhambra through the eyes of a child

Discover the Alhambra through the eyes of a child. This is the objective sought by the Council of the Alhambra for the new edition of the ‘Summer in the Alhambra’ programme aimed at boys and girls of between 7 and 14 years old. From a vertical garden to exploring the fauna and flora of the ecological Alhambra, everything will be “fascinating” and will allow the children to view the monument from another perspective through a series of guided visits and educational workshops.
This morning the Director of the Council of the Alhambra and Generalife, María del Mar Villafranca, visited the children who this week are enjoying the educational and fun activities being organized for them in the Monument. A total of 163 schoolchildren have taken part in this educational program in July. During her visit Villafranca tried to make the youngsters aware of the importance of conserving and taking care of “the Alhambra, a place that conserves the essence of integrity and authenticity, two fundamental principles for a monument declared a World Heritage site”.
This year the children taking part in the ‘Summer in the Alhambra’ are mainly from Granada and its province (141), although there are also some from other provinces of Andalusia such as Málaga, Cádiz, Sevilla, Jaén and Almería (7) and from other more distant climes such as Madrid, Burgos and the United States. Some of the children are temporary residents in our city and others are spending their holidays visiting relatives in Granada. A large number of boys and girls have chosen this option for their holidays for the fourth year running.
The programme combines guided itineraries around different parts of the monument with complementary workshops in which the participants develop their capacity to understand and interpret a space with such a wealth of art and history. The activity takes place over the course of one week from 8:45 to 15:15. During this time the boys and girls will be attended by heritage guides who will be leading the various activities.
The Lions –the group with the younger children, from 7 to 11 years old, will visit among other spaces the inside of the Bell Tower (Torre de la Vela), the Royal Water-Channel (Acequia Real), the mediaeval entrance and the Medina, where they will learn about the different trades carried out by the people of this busy neighbourhood, which flourished on the hill of the Sabika between the 13th and 15th centuries. These visits will also be complemented by workshops in which amongst other activities the children will discover a vertical garden, an alquerque (a sort of ancient draughts board), a plasterwork panel and a darbuka, a musical instrument that resembles a cymbal. They will also improve their skills with the brush and with colours by decorating a clay tile, a maraca and a kite.
The older children –those between 12 and 14 years old – will form a group called the Gazelles. Amongst other itineraries they will have the chance to follow the route once taken by those coming up from the city of Granada to visit the souk of the Alhambra. The route will pass through the Gate of Arms, the Gate of the Mill, and the Souk Square, to continue along through the vegetable gardens and in through the mediaeval entrance to the Palace of the Generalife. The children will also be given detailed explanations about some of the most important pieces in the Museum of the Alhambra and the Ángel Barrios exhibition on display in the Granada Fine Arts Museum on the upper floor of the Palace of Charles V.
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