Note 2 — Chapter X · THE ATHENS OF SOUTH AMERICA

There is, indeed, a striking similarity between the elevated plateau, watered by the Funza, and the charming vega of Granada, fertilized by the romantic Genil. To one looking towards the west, from a spur of the mountain at the foot of which Bogotá is situated, as Granada is located at the foot of its hills, the ridge of Suba is seen towards the northwest, just as the sierra of Elvira is seen with respect to the old Moorish capital. And so it is with the relative positions of Santa Fé en la Vega and the pueblo of Fontibon. The illusion is complete, and the similarity between these two famous places in Spain and Colombia must have impressed themselves on the receptive mind of the illustrious conquistador with peculiar force. Even the heights of Suacha, in aspect and position, recall the famous hill which is known as the Suspiro del Moro from the lament of Boabdil, the last king of Granada, whose tears evoked from his mother, the intrepid Sultana, Ayxa la Horra, the caustic words, “Bien hace en llorar como mujer lo que como hombre no supo defender.”2