In Sweden, it is common to take summer vacations to visit other countries. All employees are entitled to a minimum of four weeks paid summer vacation. Since last year, due to the covid situation, we have not been able to leave Sweden. This year the covid situation improved a bit and after vaccine certificates were issued for ease of travel in Europe, while thinking of going somewhere during the summer holidays, Haris’ son suggested a trip to Andalucia region of Spain.Four years ago we did a tour of Andalusia, during which we agreed to go to Cordoba, Granada and Malaga, but still the thirst was still there, because we did not see many important places of Andalusia. In the last visit, we could not see the Alhambra because we did not buy tickets in advance, and to be honest, the Alhambra is the biggest and most important place in Andalus, which is visited by people from all over the world. Apart from this, we could not reach Ashbelia (Suya) and Tariq bin Ziad’s country of Gibraltar. Therefore, it was decided that we once again see the history of Andalusia and the Muslim era with our own eyes.
Our three-member delegation, which included my wife and son, arrived at the beautiful coastal city of Malaga in Spain from the airport in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. The fun of traveling comes with spouse and kids and that is our routine. Japan, China, South Africa, Canada, Europe, Middle East and Umrah also with family, and all trips were very enjoyable. Now our journey was starting from Malaga, Spain.The Arabic name of Malaga was once Malacca. On arrival at Málaga International Airport we were thoroughly screened for covid and allowed to enter after seeing our corona vaccine certificates. We had booked a car for ourselves before leaving Sweden. As soon as we got out of the airport, the employee of the car rental company was standing with our name plate and greeted us very cheerfully. He handed over the car key to us and said that after completing the tour of Spain, we can park the car here at the airport.
Rent a car is very convenient and one can go everywhere with ease just by passing the car. We thanked him and soon our car was speeding from Malaga to Granada. Spain’s motorways are spectacular and it’s always been a pleasure to drive there. The sides of the motorway are equipped with reflectors so that it is very easy to drive even at night. To be honest, I liked this motorway much better than Scandinavia and many other European countries. Malaga to Granada is one hundred and thirty kilometers, which was covered in an hour and a half and we arrived at our hotel.Our hotel was located in the old and historical area of Granada city. The hotel was located in a historic building and was luxuriously decorated. The way to reach the hotel was a one-way and narrow road, which was not easy without Google navigation. The lady at the hotel reception greeted us cheerfully and informed us of the necessaryinformation.
We had to stay in the same hotel all the days during our tour of Andalusia. After visiting different places in Andalus during the day, we had to return to the same hotel for Shab Bashi. The hotel was in the center of the city near the Palazzo Isabella in the old town which made it even easier to get around. Food shops and markets were also very close by, so it was very convenient.This tour of Andalucia included plans to visit Al Qasr in Seville, Malaga, Gibraltar and Marbia, in addition to various historical sites in Granada. We started our tour from the city of Granada. Granada is the capital of the province of Grenada in Spain. The city is located at the foot of four rivers and Spain’s highest mountain, Malhassan, named after Spain’s first and last Muslim ruler, Moulay Hassan. Its current name is Sierra Nevada.
The World Ski Championships were held here in 1996. There is also a huge shopping mall in Granada called Nevada, from where we also got the opportunity to shop. Granada is a semi-mountainous and lush city. Pomegranate, olive and other fruit trees are abundant here. During the 260-year Muslim rule, which lasted from 1232 to 1492, the city flourished. It was the center of knowledge, literature, science and arts. There was a university, several educational institutions and about seventy libraries. Looking at the ancient area of the city, one had to admire the architecture and skillful hands of that era.Not only Al-Hamra is worth visiting in Granada, but there are many other important historical places and if one could not visit Granada, consider that the visit was incomplete. The city of Granada has four places of Muslim era which are masterpieces of architecture. There are arches and beautiful carvings, including Quranic verses. All these four places are within the city of Granada. There is a monument in the city itself with a huge statue of Queen Isabella and Columbus. After the fall of Granada, King Ferdinand and his Queen Isabella occupied it and Columbus was with them. Columbus needed the resources to discover America, which the queen gave him in celebration of the Granada victory. This monument reflects that.
Very close to al-Hamra is the tomb of Roza Gharnata, the Muslim cemetery, where the blood of those martyrs who gave their blood to save this last state of Europe is buried. There are also many unknown tombs that we don’t know about today, but they were closely related to Granada. Allama Muhammad Asad, a great figure of Islam and Pakistan, is also buried in the same cemetery. The date of his birth is July 2, 1900 and his death is February 20, 1992. Sweden-based researcher and writer Deen Chaudhry told us about Allama Asad’s grave. He also said that the inscription on the grave had fallen, which he had fixed.Allama Muhammad Asad was born in a Jewish family in Austria and his name was Leopold Weiss, but he converted to Islam and was called Muhammad Asad. In 1932, he met Allama Iqbal and fell under his care. His scholarly services include the English translation of the Holy Qur’an, The Message of the Qur’an. He was a prominent Islamic thinker, writer, journalist and diplomat. Quaid-e-Azam had great confidence in him and he was the first foreigner to be granted the citizenship of Pakistan. He played an important role in making the constitution of Pakistan in accordance with Islamic principles.
He was also Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations. Later, he had differences with the government of Pakistan and he left Pakistan and settled in Granada. President Ayub Khan and Zia-ul-Haq tried to bring him back, but he decided to stay in Granada. There are specific times to enter the cemetery, so he had the opportunity to enter due to lack of time in his previous visit. It was not found, but this time it was determined with commitment that Muhammad will go to Asad’s grave and recite Fatiha for this great leader of the world of Islam and Pakistan. After standing for a while in this historical cemetery, the mind went back six centuries and lost in the events of the fall of Granada.
