The streets of Alhambra & Spain, a study of stone (pic hvy)
May 19, 2019 2:48:50 GMT -5
captbob, mohs, and 5 more like this
Post by NevadaBill on May 19, 2019 2:48:50 GMT -5
During my last week or so, I've been on a bus tour of Spain, and once outside some of the larger cities it became obvious that this country (and Portugal) take stone roads and paths to a new level.
Before I left for my trip, I looked up the geology of Spain, and tried to find some places where I could find a rock maybe. I found very little online.
Off topic - If you are coming to Spain, be brave, rent a car, book your hotels in advance, and take 3 days or more at each city destination. It is only tricky (read: like Rome) driving in Madrid central, and Barcelona central. Other than that, it is mostly wide open highways with no traffic at all, great infrastructure, and no stress in the other major cities.
Starting in Madrid, I didn't really notice the roads and paths, as they are not as well done.
Once arriving in smaller locations, such as Ronda, I started to notice the streets, plazas, and walkways were different:
Here is another from Ronda:
Rather than write a travel quide, I am going to stick to the streets. Seville is done very well (all over), but in particular I liked the use of stone outside this palace:
The streets of Lisbon were completely covered in artistic stone. I can't imagine how much time it took to lay all of this down:
But when I arrived in Granada, I saw that they had taken stone to a whole new level of decor. Notice the stone work on the building in this shot:
Walls, archways, paths, benches, and fountains all done in decorative stonework:
When I actually got right down on the ground to examine some of this rock, they appeared to be not bad looking. There are Quartz in here, some Chert, Granites, and other types of stone that I am not sure of. This is a close up to a rough road, leading to the palace.
I promise you that in my stage of rock hobby, that some of these qualify for taking home and polishing. These averaged about 3-4 inches wide:
Check out the pillars of stone in this shot! They are formed, using various types of stone, solidified with a matrix, and then as a man made conglamerate of sorts, somehow turned (like on a giant lathe, and formed as you see here:
NOTE: Bye the way, close ups of any of these shots can be had, if you <right click> on the picture, and use "open in new tab". They are higher definition shots.
Check out the cool checkerboard pattern here, using some herringbone type borders:
Walkways, benches, and walls, all done in stone:
Just look at the intricate tree branch-like weave with leaves, all done in stone (in front of a fountain)
Elaborate patterns and depictions of art, done in stone. This is more beautiful up close, actually.
I really like the herringbone type effect they used in places. They needed rocks that were 3 or 3 inches long, and also narrow. I don't know if they found them this way, or fashioned them in to this shape using a tumbler perhaps, but this is interesting to me:
Very impressive. These walkways have stood the test of time. They are rather old, and they see millions of little feet walking all over them every single year.
A detail of a section of the prior picture:
After leaving Alhambra Palace, walking down in to the city of Granada, I noticed that all streets, pathways, isles, and squares were also paved with decorative stonework.
The town sits at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountain. And it located next to some hills of elevation 3500 feet or more. There were some hills that I would have loved to get out and explore more.
Every once in a while, the bus would park at a roadside (truck stop), and the driver take a mandatory break. During this time, I would often wander off to the non-paved areas looking for stone. Occasionally I would find Quartz, and other various rocks that I am not familiar with. I had one picture of a rock I found, but it appears I deleted it earlier.
Well, I thought that I would share. I hope everyone that comes here can really take their time and appreciate the level of detail work that this country of Spain has deliberately decorated their country with.
I will try not to be a stranger, as I am back in Madrid, and will be here another week or two. I will share anything else that I find interesting, here in this thread topic too!
Thank you for coming along.
Before I left for my trip, I looked up the geology of Spain, and tried to find some places where I could find a rock maybe. I found very little online.
Off topic - If you are coming to Spain, be brave, rent a car, book your hotels in advance, and take 3 days or more at each city destination. It is only tricky (read: like Rome) driving in Madrid central, and Barcelona central. Other than that, it is mostly wide open highways with no traffic at all, great infrastructure, and no stress in the other major cities.
Starting in Madrid, I didn't really notice the roads and paths, as they are not as well done.
Once arriving in smaller locations, such as Ronda, I started to notice the streets, plazas, and walkways were different:
Here is another from Ronda:
Rather than write a travel quide, I am going to stick to the streets. Seville is done very well (all over), but in particular I liked the use of stone outside this palace:
The streets of Lisbon were completely covered in artistic stone. I can't imagine how much time it took to lay all of this down:
But when I arrived in Granada, I saw that they had taken stone to a whole new level of decor. Notice the stone work on the building in this shot:
Walls, archways, paths, benches, and fountains all done in decorative stonework:
When I actually got right down on the ground to examine some of this rock, they appeared to be not bad looking. There are Quartz in here, some Chert, Granites, and other types of stone that I am not sure of. This is a close up to a rough road, leading to the palace.
I promise you that in my stage of rock hobby, that some of these qualify for taking home and polishing. These averaged about 3-4 inches wide:
Check out the pillars of stone in this shot! They are formed, using various types of stone, solidified with a matrix, and then as a man made conglamerate of sorts, somehow turned (like on a giant lathe, and formed as you see here:
NOTE: Bye the way, close ups of any of these shots can be had, if you <right click> on the picture, and use "open in new tab". They are higher definition shots.
Check out the cool checkerboard pattern here, using some herringbone type borders:
Walkways, benches, and walls, all done in stone:
Just look at the intricate tree branch-like weave with leaves, all done in stone (in front of a fountain)
Elaborate patterns and depictions of art, done in stone. This is more beautiful up close, actually.
I really like the herringbone type effect they used in places. They needed rocks that were 3 or 3 inches long, and also narrow. I don't know if they found them this way, or fashioned them in to this shape using a tumbler perhaps, but this is interesting to me:
Very impressive. These walkways have stood the test of time. They are rather old, and they see millions of little feet walking all over them every single year.
A detail of a section of the prior picture:
After leaving Alhambra Palace, walking down in to the city of Granada, I noticed that all streets, pathways, isles, and squares were also paved with decorative stonework.
The town sits at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountain. And it located next to some hills of elevation 3500 feet or more. There were some hills that I would have loved to get out and explore more.
Every once in a while, the bus would park at a roadside (truck stop), and the driver take a mandatory break. During this time, I would often wander off to the non-paved areas looking for stone. Occasionally I would find Quartz, and other various rocks that I am not familiar with. I had one picture of a rock I found, but it appears I deleted it earlier.
Well, I thought that I would share. I hope everyone that comes here can really take their time and appreciate the level of detail work that this country of Spain has deliberately decorated their country with.
I will try not to be a stranger, as I am back in Madrid, and will be here another week or two. I will share anything else that I find interesting, here in this thread topic too!
Thank you for coming along.
