Carmen de Pepita

Our house is a traditional town house on the corner of Calle Real. Like most Spanish houses it doesn't look very big from the outside, but inside it's a different story. We have three floors and the top floor is a guest apartment. It has a little studio kitchen leading onto a terrace with fabulous views over the countryside. It's going to be a great place to sit with a gin and tonic and watch the birds in the apple tree below. The living space is one big room with a wooden floor and a cosy woodburning stove for the cooler months. We decided to decorate this in a mix of contemporary and Moroccan which fits in with its history as a new addition to the old house- you can still see traces of the old beams of the former roofline. The bathroom is tiled with limestone and there is a shower and a huge bath big enough for two. This apartment is an ideal space for a writer's retreat.


Looking out from the terrace

The middle apartment is far more rustic in its appearance. We are still renovating this section but hope it will be finished by the end of the summer. It will have a bedroom with terracotta tiles and painted beams and a lovely old iron bed painted blue. Blue shutters open up onto a small balcony. From here you can see the church of Santa Maria de Incarnacion and hear the bells ring out the hour and the half hour. There is also a living room with balcony and a woodburning stove and a kitchen leads out onto a spacious terrace again with lovely views- from here you can see right along to the gorge to where the ancient hot springs flow into the river through a series of pools. The name Alhama means hot springs. Locals go here to bathe in the warm water which is said to be good for the health. If you want a bit more sophistication you can go to the hotel Balneario and have a day of pampering and massage. A trip here is included in our women’s creative holidays.



The Arab baths built on Roman foundations

Our own living space is at the back of the house which leads out onto our garden. This is my favourite project of the restoration and it is here that we will hold our courses. The walled garden’s not big but it is secluded and quite a sun trap. I have always wanted a walled garden and this is perfect. When we bought the house most of it was built on with two stables which housed an ostrich called Pepita! Now cleared it is ready for our transformation from ostrich pen to Moroccan courtyard. We have had a terrace built leading out from the house and this will be covered with a wooden porch giving dappled shade and a place to lounge in the heat of the day. A hammock is strung from the fig tree and we are building a water trough and an ornamental pool. Moroccan riads always have a central courtyard with water, often fountains strewn with rose petals. These keep the air fresh and cool and the sound of running water adds tranquility. Water is essential to Moorish and Andalusian culture and Alhama itself has many fountains and watering troughs. The water here is pure and sweet and I am sure it is why there are so many healthy looking old people.

Fountain in the Plaza Constitution

Another Moroccan feature is what I have dubbed ‘The Moroccan love arch’, this is a kind of shady bower called a b’hou. It’s a domed shelter with space for cushion strewn benches and an ornamental tea table. We plan to stud the dome with coloured glass so that when the sun shines it will be like sitting in jewelled retreat- an ideal secluded place to sit and write or curl up with a glass of mint tea and a book from our well stocked library. Other features will include a fire pit for late night storytelling or fireside contemplation and a Jamie Oliver style wood oven for making authentic Moroccan flatbread and perfect pizza. We are going to be very busy over the next few months! In April we went to the Generalife Gardens which are part of the Alhambra Palace and well worth a visit. I came home with lots of inspiration for shady arbours, fragrant plants and cool ponds full of fat golden carp. Sadly my garden isn't as grand as the Generalife but I hope that we can capture the atmosphere of that mix of Moorish and Spanish culture that has created the equivalent of the riad - the Carmen or walled garden. So in remembrance of the ostrich and looking forward to our tranquil inspirational space we have decided to call our house 'Carmen de Pepita'.


At sunset swifts fly round the church tower of Santa Maria de Incarnacion

The gorge in Alhama de Granada
Welcome to the blog of our new venture Alhama Creative Holidays. Our aim is to bring creative people to our beautiful town of Alhama de Granada in Spain. We plan to offer a variety of opportunities for you to develop your creative potential. These range from tutored holidays taught by experienced published writers, book club weeks where you can relax in the sun and discuss your favourite books, and writers’ group weeks where you can transport your group to the stimulating environment of real Spain. We also offer holidays exclusively for women designed to help you find your creative spark and if you just want to get away from the greyness of everyday life you can use our house as a writer’s retreat.

While our website is under construction we will use this blog to keep you informed of developments and new information. We are currently putting together a schedule for 2009 and are in discussion with some great writers for our tutored sessions. As soon as we have names and dates we will post here- so watch this space. It is looking very exciting already!

A blog is different to a website though and we will also use this space to share our own personal experience as we give up our jobs and embark on our own creative adventure. Over the next weeks we will tell you about our impending move to Spain and the progress of the restoration of our own house in the ancient Arabic quarter of Alhama de Granada. For now though we just want to tell you a little bit about Alhama so you can get a taste for our beautiful- soon to be home-town.

Where we are
Alhama de Granada is a in a lively Andalusian town about half an hour drive from Granada Airport and forty minutes from the historic city of Granada with its stunning Moorish Palace The Alhambra. We chose Alhama because, being used to the city, we wanted somewhere bustling and buzzing with life. Attractive as it sounds, we didn’t want to be in a remote Cortijo four miles down a dirt track in the middle of nowhere. And the truth is we like going out at night and Alhama has plenty of lively tapas bars. In that part of Spain tapas is central to the social experience and every bar has its own specialities. What’s more you get one free with every drink! It goes without saying that the wine is top quality Rioja and at just over £1.oo a glass it is easy to have a very sociable time indeed.

While Alhama is a lively and growing town, it is typically Spanish with winding cobbled streets, whitewashed houses and an ancient Arab Quarter where our house is situated. The town is steeped in history and was the last stronghold of the Moors. The loss of the rich stronghold of Alhama was central to the defeat of the Moors and the Spanish Romance 'Ay mi Alhama' commemorates the cries of the Moorish king Ali Abu l Hasan on their defeat. A little known translation by Byron also tells of this event. Following the reconquest Alhama was the first town where Isabella built a Catholic church the Santa Maria de Incarnacion on the site of the great mosque and opposite our house was the first blood hospital built in Spain. This is named Hospital La Reina after the queen and our street is called Calle Real- Royal Street.



View from the terrace of our house

Alhama is about 900 metre above sea level, it is surrounded by rolling countryside which changes colour with the seasons, green, to gold, to ochre, to bone; each time of year offers new breathtaking views. Beyond the landscapes of olive and almond trees rise the peaks of various mountain ranges, including the Sierra Nevada. In winter and spring these are often capped with snow. The air is clear and pure and though it does rain occasionally- not as much as the farmers would like- the skies are usually high and clear and blue. Even in the height of summer, when it is very hot in the day, there is often a lovely fresh breeze and nights are pleasantly cool.

Through the town runs the Rio Alhama and this has carved out a deep gorge with fascinating geological features. The gorge is colonized by an abundance of wild flowers, trees and birds and is a beautiful place to walk. Some early twentieth century ruined flour mills provide a sense of atmosphere and mystery and are an inspiration for storytelling. Log onto www.alhamarentals.com where you can find out more about our town. Here you can see some of the accommodation we are offering at our friends’ houses Casa Esquina and Casa Verde.

Ruined mill in the gorge