One of the things that makes Granada so special is the way in which its Moorish past is so evident, so tangible. And about halfway down the Carrera del Darro, where the lower Albazyin rolls down the hill to the river, is a case in point in El Bañuelo - the old Moorish baths. An 11th century bath house built during the reign of Ziri Badis, it’s one of the best preserved in Andalucia. It’s also – rather conveniently for the budget traveler – one of the best free things to do in Granada.

As you enter, the building immediately opens up onto a shady entrance courtyard (which for a sweaty HostelBloggers made a welcome break from the decidedly warm temperatures of the city outside!) with a pool at its center.

Leaving the patio through the tiny door in the far corner (which we duly smacked our head on), you come to the first of the baths’ rooms: the cool room or ‘Al-bayt al-barid’.

Passing through the cool room (with its starry ceiling)…

…you enter the next chamber – the main steam room or ‘Al-bayt al-wastani’.

The baths were once one of countless others that were dotted throughout the city, but which gradually, over time, slid into disuse and neglect. In the wake of the fall of the city to Christian forces – when Islamic customs like bathing were banned - the baths came to be used as a laundry by the women of the area.

Leaving the cool of the baths, and stepping out blinking into the bright sunlight, you’re confronted by the collapsed arch of a bridge. Tracing the curve that it once would have followed, it’s clear that it would have been quite a spectacle in its day. As with almost everywhere you turn in Granada – from the Alhambra on the hill, to the gardens of the Albayzin and the twisted alleyways of the Realejo - it’s impossible not to be struck by an acute sense of the scale and beauty of what once was.