Granada (Spain) (AFP)

Jewel of Islamic architecture and monument among the most visited in Spain, the Alhambra in Granada reopened on Wednesday after three months of closure due to the pandemic.

"It is a pride to be here and to be the first person to visit the Alhambra" since its reopening, told AFP Mariana Castro Mendoza.

To mark the reopening, this 36-year-old Mexican woman living in this city in the south of Spain was able to ring the bell of the Watchtower, "a symbol of hope for all", according to her.

The privilege of finding the Alhambra, usually visited by tourists from all over the world, has been reserved for locals.

Because freedom of movement will not be restored in Spain until Sunday, the day when the Spanish borders will also reopen for European nationals. Tourists from the rest of the world will not be able to come to Spain until July 1.

Under a pristine sky and with the Sierra Nevada on the horizon, the building that dominates Granada has reopened with strict sanitary measures.

The mask is compulsory there and disinfectant is distributed at the entrance to visitors to whom signs regularly remind the safety distance of two meters to keep.

"It is a happy day because we find our visitors," said the director of the public body which manages the monument, Rocío Díaz.

Reception remains limited to 50% of its capacity for the moment. Normally, 4,250 tickets are sold every day, but on this first day of reopening, "we will be a thousand tickets," said Ms. Diaz.

"The Alhambra is still beautiful, but there, with fewer people, I find that it shines even more," said Mariana Castro.

The Alhambra (the Red, in Arabic), listed as World Heritage by UNESCO, forms a monumental building composed of Islamic palaces, gardens, a fortress and the Renaissance palace of Charles V.

Nearly 2.7 million annual visitors have flocked to it in recent years.

The last Islamic dynasty of the Iberian Peninsula, the Nasrid, ruled from the Alhambra from the middle of the 13th century to the year 1492 when the Catholic kings, Ferdinand and Isabella, conquered the city and ended the kingdom of Granada.

© 2020 AFP