April 11
I spent the day today wandering around in the Albaicin, also spelled Albayzin and I don’t know why one chooses one spelling over the other.
So I asked the guy who owns the hostel where I’m staying and it was a total crack-up to watch him try to explain, his face going into all sorts of twists and his body language soo loud.
He really really really doesn’t like Albayzin, or worse yet, Al-Bayzin. He says it’s a new thing the stuck-ups and ‘they’ (ie the growing Muslim population) are doing to make it seem more ‘original’ but, says he, ‘Albaicin has been perfectly fine for generations and there is no reason it should not continue to be perfectly fine’ Double Exclamation Point.
I think it is true that since Cynthia has been here the Gypsy influence is fading in the Albaicin and the Muslim influence is very much on the rise with a new large mosque and many women in covered dress.
Look! Sun! That’s the Alhambra up there and down here under that arbor are areas full of tables served by small cafes on the right.