A timeshare is a popular idea for a lot of reasons. You get a place to vacation for a couple weeks out of the year, but you don’t have to deal with the hassle of oh-so-fun things that always seem to happen to vacation homeowners, like busted pipes, break-ins, and landscaping. Sounds like a pretty good trade-off, but is it?

Advantages

Upkeep

One of the biggest advantages to timeshares is not having to pay for the upkeep on a place where you don’t live year-round. No mortgage, no worrying about having to hire a maid to clean your vacation home prior to you actually using it, no worrying about a hurricane wiping out your home. It’s not your problem, and it’s included in the timeshare.

You’re only paying for when you use it

Another great advantage that a timeshare has is that you pay when you use it. While you may have to use it or pay a fee each year, it is cheaper than paying a mortgage in a high-cost location and if your life situation changes, it is usually fairly simple to cancel, as compared to trying to sell a home and recoup your expenses. That’s the opposite of fun and relaxing. The beauty of a timeshare is you pay for the time you’re there, and that’s it.

Economical

A timeshare can be particularly economical for large families, or groups of friends that enjoy vacationing together. Rather than paying for many hotel rooms, or purchasing a huge vacation home that’s only used for two weeks out of an entire year, a timeshare offers a lot of benefits. It also makes it easy for groups to plan their vacations in the future, since everyone knows where they’re going, the dates when they need to ask for vacation days from work, and all everyone has to do is show up. Anyone who has ever traveled with a group, be they family or friends, knows how hard it is to coordinate schedules, and a timeshare helps alleviate this problem.

Disadvantages

Extra Fees

With a timeshare, it’s true that you don’t have to worry about paying someone for landscaping or pool maintenance, and you don’t have to pay a mortgage or taxes. However, you do have to pay maintenance fees, and those can really add up to a chunk of change. Of course, like everything in the world, these fees rise every year. What once seemed like a great deal might seem less so when faced with the maintenance bill for your timeshare.

Availability

While timeshares are usually available year-round, odds are everyone wants to use them at the same time. This is particularly bad if your timeshare is in a location that is weather-specific, like timeshares at beaches that are not warm year-round, or if you have kids and can only vacation during the summer. A timeshare won’t seem like such a great idea anymore if, say, your Myrtle Beach timeshare only has availability during the month of February.

You can get stuck visiting the same places

Some people enjoy visiting the same destination every year. It’s a comforting feeling; you know exactly what you’re getting, and it becomes a tradition. However, many people like to visit someplace new, and going to the exact same timeshare in the exact same vacation destination can get kind of old after awhile. Some timeshares will let you trade timeshares with owners in other destinations, but there’s no guarantee, and the most popular places fill quickly.

Whether or not a timeshare is a good idea for you is really dependent on your lifestyle, how often you plan to use it, and your financial stability. If you are interested in getting a timeshare, check with different companies to find one that works best with your unique situation, and make sure you have a thorough understanding of all of the costs before you sign up.

Photo Credit: Relaxing on the beach by Virtual Photography Studio/flickr

Sheldon Mathers is a loan consultant and a content contributor for online insurance companies. He suggests that you compare unsecured loans with secured loans for the best rates and terms available for your circumstances.

Queens:

For many people visiting New York, They rarely venture outside of Manhattan and are therefore depriving themselves of some of New York´s finest treats. The Borough of Queens is the most eastern of the 5 New York boroughs. It is the also largest in terms of size and has the second highest population.

Unisphere

Perhaps the most iconic symbol of Queens is the Unisphere in the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens. It is one of the largest globes in the world and is a wonderful piece of architectural brilliance. An icon of Queens.

Astoria Park and Pool

Astoria is the largest and the oldest of the parks in Queens. It is perhaps more widely known for its stunning pool. The pool is not the only sporting attraction in the park however as the park also boasts a outdoor Tennis court, an athletics track, basketball courts and a large playground. Its ideal location on the coast makes this a beutiful place to spend a day in Queens.

Atlas Park

If you fancy doing some shopping in Queens then Atlas Park is the place to go. Full of upmarket stores that offer plenty to the eager shopper. Has been open since 2006.

Citi Field<7h2>

Fancy catching a game of New YOrk´s most popular game then Queens offers some of the finest Baseball as the New York Mets play their home games at the Citi Field. Also worth a visit on non game days as the museum and tours provide a great insight into the Mets for the visitor.

5 Pointz

5 Pointz is the point at which the 5 boroughs of New YOrk unite. However, the main reason to visit this spot in Queens is for the amazing grafitti on display at this location. It has featured drawings from all over the world from Canada, Switzerland, Holland, Japan and Brazil. A good place to visit.

Flushing Meadow Corona Park

As I have mentioned above this is the location of the famous Unisphere but it is soo much more. It has become one of the most important locations in Queens. The park has hosted the United NAtions General Assembly, 3 Baseball world series and the US Open Tennis tournament.

Gantry Plaza State Park

Here you will find a series of free, outdoor performances showcasing the best that Queens has to offer. There is such a wide variety of acts performing that you could catch some Afro-Peruvian pop or some traditional Chinese theater. Something for everyone no matter what your interests are.

Louis Armstrong House Museum

Come enjoy and celebrate one of the most famous jazz players, Louis Armstrong. This is the great mans former home and enjoy learning about a truly extraordinary man and enjoy listening to some of his finest songs.

New York Hall Of Science

If you want to be educated whilst enjoying a attraction then New York Hall Of Science is appropriate for you as this museum will keep you interested but you will leave with a wealth of knowledge freshly acquired inside.

Queens Botnaical Garden

Queens Botanical Garden is a great place to visit and take in the undeniable beauty of this beautiful place and see some visual treats while again being provided with an education about some of earth´s creatures.

Queens Museum Of Art

A great place to visit not least for the chance to walk through the 5 boroughs of New York in 15 minutes thanks to the scale model that was produced forthe World Fair in 1964 and that is now housed in the museum. There are also lots of other interesting articles on display too.

Queens Symphony Orchestra

Queens only has one professional Orchestra and this is them so if you are interested in hearing a live Orchestra then I would strngly recommend the Queens Symphony Orchestra.

Queens Zoo

Everyone loves a zoo and going and seeing the animals on display and the zoo in Queens is a very good zoo. It has a number of rare species particularly from the Americas as well as housing all of your favourite animals such as Bears, ALigators and more.

Rockaway Beach & Boardwalk

Home to 170 acres of perfect sand, Rockaway is perfect for fans of beach sports. It is also a great place to go surfing as well as is the only place to New YOrk to go surfing. A great beachside location for a seaside break.

USTA: Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

The home of Tennis in the U.S is here. The center offers year round Tennis coaching and accepts people of all ages. It is also home to the U.S Open Tennis Tournament and has been since 1978. If you want to see Tennis at the highest level then this is the only place in the U.s to find it during the 2 weeks in September.

As you can see, Queens is a bustling borough that is full of different activities to try and you will always find something to do. As I have mentioned the scope of Queens means that it is impossible to mention everything in one article so there is of course many more attractions not mentioned here. If you have any personal favourite things to do in Queens then feel free to comment below.

Article written by traveller and blogger for apartime.com, providers of vacation rentals New York.

Whether you are traveling inside the country or out, rental cars are an excellent option to enhance your vacation. Not only are they affordable, they can provide the flexibility and luxury to control how you spend your time and how much you enjoy it. Here are 5 reasons why you should rent a car for your next holiday vacation:

1. Lower Costs

Generally, the closer you are to the city, the more expensive your hotel and eating costs. Renting a car will allow you to find a cheaper hotel just outside of an urban area without sacrificing time. You can save money dining at smaller mom and pop establishments before heading out to the city for a more exorbitant dinner. For late night activities, having a rental car will help you dodge the cost of taking a taxi cab.

If you are planning a long road trip, a rental car saves you money on wear and tear. Car parts and repair can get expensive, especially if the car you own is older and requires constant servicing. Additionally, a more fuel efficient rental car can save you hundreds of dollars on gas.

2. Less Anxiety

A road trip to an unfamiliar neighborhood can come with some fear and anxiety. Having a rental car can save you from fretting over potential breakdowns or theft. Insurance will cover your loss and bring a new vehicle out to you shortly. For those vacationing in areas outside of the country, a rental car can remove the need to figure out subway and bus schedules, especially in places that speak a different language. There is no need to panic over misreading a sign and missing the last train.

3. Personal Traveling Time and Schedule

A rental car provides you with flexibility. You can come and go when and where you please. If you want to change your destination, you can do so. As most countries have roads and highway systems that are far more expansive than public transportation, renting a car expands the territory of which you can explore. This is handy especially in larger continents with a variety of different cultures.

Moreover, a rental car provides a more personal traveling experience. You can be as loud and obnoxious as you please in a car as opposed to a plane or train. In contrast to flights, the scenery itself becomes its own tourist attraction, and the stops in between a lesson in the cultural idiosyncrasies of the location.

4. Ideal For Family Outings

A road trip with the family is far more personal than any other form of transportation. There is none of the spatial and social confinements that come with public transportation. However, the vehicle you own may not be ideal for such an outing. If you’re going on a camping trip, you want a larger, all terrain vehicle that carry your equipment. If you plan on sightseeing as you drive, a convertible will provide better views. Renting gives you the flexibility to find the right car to suit the occasion.

5. Added Luxury

An especially long road trip may mean a lot of time spent behind the wheel. Pampering yourself with a luxury vehicle can help mitigate some of the accompanying dullness. For others, the thrill of driving itself is a type of reward, and upgrading to a luxury car can be exhilarating. Although it’s wise to save money where you can, ultimately this is your vacation time, and renting an exotic car is an easy and affordable way to feel extravagant.

Article by Claire Harris of Car Hire UK. Claire writes on a wide range of travel topics including how to find the bestcar hire in ibiza.

Does this sound like you? You dream of a real vacation in some resort destination that’s wonderfully different – such as Hawaii, or the Caribbean, or the Mexican Rivera. Maybe even a place really exotic, like Thailand. But your income is stretched as it is, and the thought of how expensive just the accommodations would be, let alone having money left over for activities outside the hotel room, makes you close the book on your dream and put it away.

There’s a secret to how you can have your dream vacation. It’s called timeshare rental. Many people are unaware that when timeshare owners can’t use their weeks, they’ll list them for rent. This allows people like you who are looking for a budget-friendly vacation to get a great deal.

Timeshare ownership is still going strong for a reason. Instead of a cramped hotel room, you get spacious accommodations that include separate bedrooms, a living area, a dining area, a patio or balcony, and even a full-sized, fully-equipped kitchen. And the resorts are luxurious.

So, you ask – if I can’t afford even a hotel room, how can I afford to vacation at a timeshare resort? As we said, the secret is renting the timeshare.

Since the 1960s when the timeshare concept began in Europe, timeshare resorts have sprung up all over the globe, so that today there are over 6,000 world-wide. You can find a timeshare resort just about anywhere you would want to go, and many will have a timeshare rental available.

Let’s just take a look. In Hawaii you can rent a timeshare on each of the four main islands. For example, stay on Oahu or Maui for just $79/night. In the Caribbean there are numerous choices: Aruba for just $86/night and the Bahamas for no more than $100/night.

Even Thailand – Forget the exotic hotel prices of $400-500/night – you can stay on tropical Phuket Island for an amazing $170/night.

Besides saving money on the accommodations themselves, and on meals since you have a kitchen, you’ll also save on activities. Many of the resort’s amenities will be included in your low rental price. These can be multiple swimming pools, often with waterpark features, hot tubs, kiddie pools and children’s playgrounds, tennis courts, and even arcade game rooms. The larger resorts can cover several acres, such as one in Orlando that has 135 acres of on-sight fun (and by the way, timeshare rentals start there at just $56/night).

You can even find timeshare resorts in the middle of big cities. Just a few examples are Las Vegas, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., downtown Manhattan in New York City, and even London, Paris, and Rome. You won’t find resorts here, but the cost of nightly accommodations can be up to 50% less than the hotels in the heart of a city.

Now, when it comes to vacations you can dream big – because you know the timeshare rental secret!

Alice Perkins is a timeshare travel blogger for RedWeek.com, the largest online market place for timeshare rentals, where vacationers can find luxury accommodations for less than the cost of a typical hotel room.

For many, thoughts of vacation conjures images of lounging on a beach watching the sunset as waves lap against the shoreline. But such “conventional” vacations also include crowded beaches and large meals, with little physical activity. Such high-calorie, low activity trips generally kill the metabolism, which often-times leaves vacationers feeling like they need a vacation from their vacation.

Fortunately, there are a myriad of ways to spend your vacation, and some of the best include exploring the outdoors. A vacation to the high desert, although unconventional, offers some of the most unique sights to be found in the United States. The Tucson, AZ area puts outdoor enthusiasts within striking distance of a number of parks and activities to entertain even the most hard-core hikers, national park goers, and fitness-minded vacationers. So check out these 3 Tucson-area destinations for a week of unique outdoor activities.

Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park, which is located less than an hour drive west of Tucson, is the picture of the American West. The park has five trailheads, and includes over 165 miles of hiking trails that wind through the Sonoran Desert, which straddles the U.S. – Mexico border. Hikes can take explorers to heights of 8000-feet above sea level, and those willing to brave the outdoors are treated to the iconic saguaro cactus, which only grows in this unique landscape. Saguaro cacti, which have been know to live for over 200-years, and grow to a height of up to 20-feet and weigh over one ton, appear as silent guardians over the desert landscape. The park also offers overnight camping opportunities for the most adventurous hikers.

Ventana Canyon

The 6.5-mile Ventana Canyon Trail, which begins at the well-known Loew’s Ventana Resort, is one of the least visited, yet most beautiful trails in the Santa Catalina Front Range. The trail follows a stream-bed which is dry most of the year, yet there are frequently small pools of water to be found along the hike. There are two main landmarks to be found, with the Maiden Pools being the first at 2.4-miles into the hike. Continuing the full distance will push your heart rate up as you ascend nearly 4500-feet to a rock ventana, or “window,” which is a 15×25-foot opening in solid rock that rewards hikers with a panoramic view of the desert below. The trail area is a Bighorn Sheep management area, so hikers may be afforded the opportunity to observe these majestic animals.

Sabino Canyon

Located in Tucson’s Coronado National Forest, Sabino Canyon is the least strenuous and the three popular outdoor destinations. Located only minutes from downtown Tucson, Sabino Canyon offers less strenuous options to vacation-goers. The two trails in Sabino Canyon include a combination of tram rides and hiking, with plant-life similar to those to be found along the Ventana Canyon Trail. Some of the tram rides are narrated, giving participants an opportunity to learn about the habitat and history of the area. Naturally, the greater ease of access draws larger numbers of visitors, so if you’re searching for solitude, Sabino Canyon may not be your first choice. But for a less strenuous day, it’s a wonderful destination.

A vacation to the high desert is a unique opportunity to explore a part of the world many people will never have the opportunity to enjoy. Furthermore, rather than returning exhausted from a week of relaxing, a few days spent hiking will invigorate the metabolism, and allow those willing to brave such a trip to return refreshed and ready to tackle the challenges of everyday life.

Greg Hayes is the author of Live Fit Blog, where he writes about fitting fitness into busy lives. For more tips on how to boost metabolism through everyday choices, check it out!

The story goes that at the end of Rio Carnival one year, someone finally thought to ask the guy who had been dancing non-stop for a week what he was carrying in the plastic bag he’d had with him the whole time. Opening the bag revealed some bread rolls, a week-old newspaper and a carton of (very) spoiled milk. Apparently he’d left home a week before with the words “OK honey, I’ll be right back!”

That’s the true spirit of the Rio Carnival but it’s a spirit that many feel is in danger of disappearing as hotel and ticket prices rise, sponsorship logos appear everywhere and corporate entertainment companies start to get involved. However, the Rio Carnival is still easily the biggest in the world, with half a million tourists flocking to Rio on their Brazil holidays to join the locals in 2011 alone, and that original spirit is still there – you just have to know a few secrets to get the most out of it all…

Go For Cheaper Sambadrome Tickets

The centrepiece of the Rio Carnival is the parade by the leading samba schools through the famous Sambadrome. Although the most expensive Sector 9 tickets for the Sambadrome will ensure you have a prime view and a reserved seat, they will seriously hit your pocket, and many feel that the atmosphere is a bit ‘sanitised’ here. If you definitely want to see the main parades, then cheaper seats are available in other sections of the Sambadrome and although they are unreserved (so if you go to the bar you might lose your seat) the atmosphere is much livelier and it’s much more of a true Rio Carnival experience.

Winner’s Parade

The main carnival parades on Sunday and Monday may be the climax of Rio Carnival for many, and if you want to be part of that then the best way to save money will be to go for cheaper unreserved seats. However, there is another alternative that not many people outside Rio are aware of and it’s one of our top tips to enjoy the Rio Carnival like a local! The weekend following the ‘main’ parades, the champion samba schools from the Carnival are rewarded by being allowed to strut their stuff through the Sambadrome one more time to allow the crowds to show their appreciation. Many locals will tell you that the atmosphere is actually better for this Winners Parade than for the Carnival itself as the performers are more relaxed and able to just enjoy themselves.

Best of all, however, is that tickets are half the price of the main parades, even though you get to see the crème de la crème of the schools!

Stick to the Streets

Another option would be to avoid the Sambadrome entirely, and just enjoy the plethora of street parties and street parades that take place throughout Rio during carnival. In many ways this is the true way to enjoy carnival, with the literally millions of people who couldn’t get tickets (or couldn’t afford tickets) for the Sambadrome. Mornings are usually fairly quiet, but as you get into the afternoon, people start hanging out on the streets and once the parades start in the evening, things get into full swing as the Carnival spirit takes hold.

Stay in an Apartment

Most hotels triple their prices for Rio Carnival, and they usually insist on a five-night minimum stay as well, which can put a real dent in your Brazil holidays spending money! Something many people find better value is to rent an apartment for carnival rather than staying in a hotel. It still won’t be cheap, but if there are a few of you then it can work out very good value indeed – particularly because you’ll have a kitchen so you don’t have to eat out all the time, and you can also stick some beers in the fridge as well!

Dan Clarke works for Real Brazil Holidays – the UK specialist for tailormade holidays in Brazil, whether that’s partying at the Rio Carnival, relaxing on Brazil beach holidays, or marvelling at Iguazu Falls.

If you are looking for a place to travel to this summer, put Asia on top of your list. Many people are discovering how great it is to vacation in Asia. It offers many tourist friendly destinations that you cannot find in other parts of the world.

Many visitors to Europe often complain about how expensive it is to go to Paris, London, Madrid and other European cities. In Asia, you can find destinations that will not break your bank but at the same time will provide you with unique experiences that you will never forget. This summer, here are our top six Asian destinations:

Malaysia

The tagline for Malaysia’s current advertising campaign is “Malaysia, Truly Asia.” It’s true. When you visit Malaysia, whether you go to Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Pangkor or any of the other places in Malaysia, you will be in for a truly Asian experience. It is a melting pot of many Asian cultures. Experience the traditional and the modern in Malaysia.

Philippines

One of the best beaches in the world is found in the island of Boracay. But that’s not the only place you can have fun in the sun while in the Philippines. It is a country rich in history, culture and people. Many travelers are wary of the country. But once they get there, there are surprised to find a warm people who speak very good English. Famous for inexpensive tourist destinations and bargains, the Philippines is worth the visit.

India

Forget about Bollywood. India has more to offer than dancing and singing in the streets. The sights and sounds in the different cities of India will surely surprise you. There are a number of historic places to go to plus cultural attractions and cuisines to experience. Start by visiting the capital city of Delhi and make your way to other cities in India.

Thailand

If you are on a budget, visit Thailand. It is one of the most budget friendly destinations in Asia. Thailand’s cultural attractions are different from its neighboring countries. Don’t just stay in Bangkok. Make sure to visit the other tourist friendly cities in Thailand and experience one-of-a-kind entertainment and cultural shows. If shopping is your passion, then Thailand is the place to go.

Cambodia

Unlike its Asian neighbors, Cambodia has not yet developed its tourism potential to the fullest. Cambodia has so much to offer if you are interested in historic and cultural attractions. There is no place in the world like the temples in Angkor Wat. It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Get your inner Tomb Raider on and see Cambodia.

Asia has vacation spots for every kind of tourist (backpackers, honeymooners, families, etc.). Many places in Asia are unbelievably inexpensive yet the attractions they offer cannot be found anywhere else on the planet. For your next summer vacation, visit an Asian country and experience a whole new world.

Swing away from all the anxiety of everyday life and cherish your summer getaway by spending a week or two in Asia. Why don’t you try doing people search and invite all your pals to discover the awe-inspiring beaches, colorful festivals, authentic cuisines and genuine Asian hospitality and cheap buys. You will for sure enjoy the fun shopping in a bunch of locations in Asia.

China is a country with one of the oldest civilizations in the world. As a kid I have always been fascinated with their culture and history. I think this was partly because my grandmother had Chinese blood and she would tell me Chinese folk tales every night before I went to bed. That is why when I was given the chance to visit the country I immediately grabbed it. For those of you who are planning to visit China, let me reveal to you the top 3 tourist spots you should see.

The Great Wall of China. No visit to China will ever be complete if you haven’t been to this immense structure. As the saying goes, “If you haven’t been to the great wall, you haven’t been to China.” The Great Wall of China is the only man-made structure that can be seen on the moon. It is virtually impossible not to be amazed by it. Construction first began in the 7th Century BC. But it wasn’t until the 16th Century AD when it was finally finished. It was originally built to keep out invaders. Now it is one of the most famous tourist spots in China.

The Forbidden City. This extensive complex of buildings lies in the middle of China. For more than five hundred years this has served as the dwelling place of emperors and their families and staff. The Forbidden City is called a city with a city because of its immense dimensions. It has 9999 rooms sprawled across more than 250 acres of land. From the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, it has played a valuable role in China’s history. Today, as one of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, it still continues to do so. It remains to be biggest collection of ancient structures made by wood in the world.

The Temple of Heaven. This piece of Ming architecture reflects an abundance elegance and beauty making it one of the most popular tourist spots in China. It was constructed in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty. This was where emperors would go to pray to the Gods for a bountiful harvest. Now in present day China, it is frequented by tourists in droves.

There are many other beautiful places to see in China. But for me, these are the top 3. So what are you waiting for? Visit China and be amazed by these man-made structures.

Amy C. is an interior decoration aficionado and online marketer. She also likes testing and trying new home and office decorating themes. In addition to being an interior decoration hobbyist, she enjoys designing calming indoor fountains and glass art. Amy invites you to browse her delightful collection of glass vases

For many teens, their gap year is their first taste of true independence. A well planned gap year can be a life changing experience, arming them with the skills they will need to get through university, and survive the working world. However, a gap year can also be an intimidating experience. Spending time in a foreign country, alone, can be difficult for a teen who has never spent a long time away from home. These tips will help you to ensure that your son or daughter has a great experience.

Choosing a destination

The right destination can be a big help. One popular destination for a cultural gap year is Argentina, while those who are looking for a more adventurous experience may take a gap year in Australia. A student with an interest in a specific profession or foreign language may choose to take their gap year somewhere that will give them experience that will help their career.

Planning a gap year: Argentina,

There are a lot of organizations that will help your teen plan a gap year in Argentina. If your teen is unsure exactly what they want to do on their gap year, then a package deal is a good idea. Argentina is an exciting and varied country, and a package would allow them to experience a huge range of activities during their gap year in Argentina.

Some of the activities on offer include volunteer work, Spanish language learning by immersion,
backpacking, sports training, and nature trekking.

Planning a gap year: Australia

A gap year in Australia is sure to be an exciting one. Australia is a popular destination for working gap years, as well as for sporting ones, and for those who want to explore the bush.

Australia tends to attract adventurous students, and those who are looking for a social experience. Once again, there are package offerings, including low-cost packages that offer a couple of weeks of accommodation and support for finding a job. For those who are independent and resourceful, and looking for a full Australian experience, this kind of package is a great deal.

Whether your teen decides to learn Spanish on a gap year in Argentina, or go surfing as part of a gap year in Australia, it’s important that they do a lot of research before they go. They will need to find out what is and is not included in the gap year deal, and also make sure that they’re up to date on any travel papers and immunizations that they might need.

Before your teen sets off on their gap year, it’s a good idea to run through basic travel safety with them. It’s easy to get caught up in the holiday atmosphere when you’re away, and forget about simple things such as keeping valuables out of sight, and not leaving bags unattended. Travel safety is especially important for female travelers, who should be reminded to try to stick with friends when out at night. Most people get through their gap year without any problems, and come back with great stories to tell, but it’s always worth taking a minute or two to think about safety!

This post was written by James Harper on behalf of Sport Lived, experts in gap year
Argentina and gap year Australia vacations.

The Alhambra is a place of Moorish construction situated to the north of the city of Granada, the capital of Andalucía, a region in southern Spain, famed for its distinct cultural identity, formed by the historical power struggles between Muslim rulers and the Catholic Monarchs who displaced them.

This history is embodied beautifully by the Alhambra, the fortress which overlooks the city, built for the Nasrid kings and eventually taken over and added to by papal forces. The wonders within the Alhambra, though dating back to the early Middle Ages, were lost to history until being rediscovered a couple of hundred years ago.

Though, on the outside, the Alhambra looks almost brutal, with sheer battlements rising out of the rock, glowing red in the late sunlight, inside you find dazzling examples of the delicate and detailed work of Islamic architects.

Unsurprisingly, many of the common features found in Islamic architecture, regardless of the era or region in question, take inspiration directly from the Qur’an. One, such feature is the use of gardens, the garden being employed throughout the religion’s Holy Book as an analogy for paradise. Indeed Jannah, the Islamic concept of heaven, takes its name from the Arabic word for garden.

Hence, in nearly all the palaces created for rulers of Muslim regions you’ll find a garden often acts as a centre piece. In the Alhambra this is certainly the case. Gardens and courtyards abound and, though they feature some beautiful fauna (especially in the Generalife, the outlying Summer palace) it is water that provides their chief attraction.

For example, the ‘Court of the Myrtles’ towards the centre of the Alhambra’s royal complex features a shallow birka (Arabic for pool) filled with flat still water, which mirrors the battlements at the end of the courtyard. These birkas are a prominent feature of architecture inspired by Islam, the most famous probably being that which leads to the entrance of the Taj Mahal in India.

Again, the reason for this reverence for water is, whilst functional (the birkas cool the palace and, as water can be scarce, act as symbol of power) also largely informed by scripture, with the Qur’an’s descriptions of paradise mentioning water repeatedly.

The Court of The Lions, arguably the Alhambra’s most famous feature, is homage to this fact. The courtyard features a beautiful central fountain formed of an alabaster basin which sits astride the back of 12 marble lions, stood in a circle facing outwards.

Water feeds into the fountain from four channels, which come in from the four sides of the courtyard, flowing from within the palace itself to this central point. These four channels represent the four rivers of paradise mentioned in the Qur’an; Saihan, Jaihan, Furat and Nil.

However, wonderful as this fountain is, the architectural facet which is more perfectly executed at the Alhambra than any other place on earth is the technique of intricate plaster work, known as Murquana, which adorns the ceilings of many of the palaces grand chambers. This ingenious design creates a ceiling which, viewed at from below, looks like an inverted dome, a vault formed of geometrically perfect stalactites, all of which form a honeycomb leading the eye upwards, creating the effect of a seemingly infinite heaven-bound recession, or indeed ascension.

This is most staggering in Hall of the Abencerrajes, though it is hard to tell if it the ceiling is most impressive now, or if it would have been yet more marvelous during the reign of the Nasrid kings.

At that time all of the individual murquanas would have been painted a different colour on each of their three sides. As the ceiling consists of an estimated 5,000 murqanas the resulting patchwork of blazing colour would have been truly mesmerising. Today they are all white, having been bleached by time. However, this is itself pleasing, making all the different shapes harder for the eye to fix on and separate, almost creating the illusion of movement through the sheer multiplicity of competing plains.

It will come as little surprise to learn that the artist MC Esher, famed for inking visions of impossible landscapes and buildings with circular stair cases that only ever go up and yet lead back to their starting point, was inspired by the Alhambra as a young man.

When one thinks of Escher one also thinks of tessellation, of beautiful patterns formed by interlocking shapes, lent beauty by there unfaltering mathematical logic. On the walls of the Alhambra this is just what you find.

Myriad lines run in different directions, turn a set number of degrees at certain intervals and then repeat the motion over and over again, combining to make first one star, then another, then an entire galaxy.

These arabesques are a hallmark of Islamic art, which differs greatly from western traditions by largely ignoring figurative representation. It is considered blasphemous to depict Allah, his angels or his prophets and therefore artists celebrate his creation by attempting to tap in to its underlying logic and indeed many of the shapes, angles and ratios that occur in the formulations Islamic art have been shown to correlate with governing principles of the natural world. The fact that these patterns are able to repeat again and again in self contained, self replicating patterns is intended to draw attention to the infinite nature of the universe as conceived by Muslims.

Author Bio: Nathan Long is a travel writer you searches the examining cultural artefacts. He writes about his discoveries and helps people plan their own trips, from arranging where to go, to organising travel insurance.