GRANADA PAVED STREETS: ITS PEBBLES
Do you like the typical Grenadian streets covered by pebbles of different colors?
If you have not seen them yet, walk around the old town, Albaicin, or take a look at the little narrow streets around Granada’s Cathedral.
People are not really happy walking on them for the very first time.
However, after getting a wonderful massage on the feet, you will feel comfortable and you will admire the different designs on the floor.
THE ORIGIN OF THE DESIGNS
The origin of these magnificent decorations on the pavement is really old.
In the Aegean Civilization, Neolithic Period 1.600-1.000 b.C, people used the boulders of the rivers for the paving of the streets.
Greeks first and Roman after, decorated their constructions with marvelous mosaics, made of small pieces of colors called tesserae.
Granada’s pavement is derived from the Roman’s tesserae.
However, it was born with the Arabian culture in the city of Cordoba during the Umayyad Caliphate in the IX th century.
The paving was only used in wealthy houses and, of course, on the roads.
PEBBLES FROM RIVERBEDS
The material used was pebbles naturally rounded by the effect of erosion, obtained from riverbeds.
In the Medieval cities, pebbles are extremely useful because they keep streets cleaner.
However, you can not find muddy streets in winter or dusty streets in the summer thanks to their use.