Alcaiceria

Alcaicería literally means either the "house of Caesar" or "belonging to Caesar" in recognition of the fact that Emperor Justinian granted the Moors permission to sell silk. This area was once a great bazaar where silk was made and sold. Traditionally these bazaars were situated in the centre of a city. The Great Bazaars of Granada stretched from Plaza Nueva to Plaza Bibarrambla, and was famous in both the Christian and the Moorish realms. Granada's bazaar survived into the 19th century, when it was destroyed by fire. A much smaller and not very faithful replica was built, in the neo-Moorish style then in vogue, occupying only a fraction of the original site. Today's Alcaicería is home to Granada's souvenir shops, where local craftswork is sold: the painted ceramics known as fajalauza, the wood inlay called taracea, and the typically granadino stained glass lamps, or farolas.