Una Semana en Andalucia

Contents

Priego de Córdoba
The Subbéticas Region
Granada and the Alhambra
Return to Sevilla

Following our week in Barcelona (see that narrative), we took a high speed train journey through central Spain to arrive in Sevilla. The train trip was a joy - the US needs high speed trains like these!

Sevilla, along with Córdoba, and Granada, are the three major cities of Andalucia. Ten years ago we visited Sevilla for several days, and took a side trip to Córdoba (see that earlier narrative). This time we stayed in a smaller town, Priego de Córdoba, situated half way between Córdoba and Granada, with Granada high on our agenda.

Priego is a typical town of the kind found throughout Andalucia. It a prosperous farming town, surrounded by olive orchards. Untours had fixed us up with a flat in the old part of the city, where we enjoyed a spacious living room and several other rooms. From the living room on the (European) second floor, the view from the windows gave on the roof tops of the adjacent buildings. We also had use of a pleasant patio behind the building.

The old part of Priego is a labyrinth of narrow alleys where the owners of many houses hang geraniums on walls to create a cheerful atmosphere. Every now and then an alley branches onto an elegant courtyard. Some of the alleys are so narrow one can easily touch both sides. The area is, of course, free from cars and trucks, but that does not mean it is quiet - there is always room for motorcycles.

Priego is set on top of a high cliff (the Adarve) which in moorish times was critical to the defense of the city. A walkway, the Balcon del Adarve, runs the length of the cliff, offering views over the nearby countryside. The railing and lamp-posts are interrupted every so often by water troughs that provide a continuous supply of spring-fed water. At one end of the Balcon is a memorial to a young boy.

Although not large, Priego has everything a tourist might need. There were two restaurants that we enjoyed a lot. We stopped every day at La Noria, to eat tapas and enjoy a glass of wine or jarillo of caña (draught beer). We also enjoyed the antics of the resident cat that seemed to thrive on scraps.

More upscale was La Balcon Del Adarve, where we dined on treats such as paté of pheasant or other tasty dishes.

Each of these restaurants was located on a small plaza. The plaza next to La Noria featured a dramatic statue surrounded by orange trees that dropped their fruit for autos and pedestrians to turn into orange juice. It also offered a handy area for local boys to play football.

The plaza beside La Balcon also provided ample space for children to play. The statues were rather less religious in spirit, and more heroic (though note the pansies), or commemorative - a memorial to the region's artistic heritage.

In addition to the several spring-fed water troughs, Priego boasted a magnificent fountain, the Fuente del Rey, with 180 water jets and three separate levels, the central level containing a fine statue of Neptune.

Priego Architecture

One street in Priego contains several houses of impressive design. A number of them feature the classic moorish windows, designed so that women can look out without being seen. Others have interesting variants on that theme.

The doorways, too, are of interest. The heavy outer doors open to reveal an inner door, and a tiled hallway. Even the door knockers are worth study.

Gordon was intrigued by one feature that was evident where buildings had been demolished, a strange yellow wall that was apparently the result of heavy paint applied to exposed stone work. Also of interest was the facade of a demolished house that left only a doorway to a long drop over the Adarve.

Churches in Priego

Every evening at 8 the church bells would ring. Priego contains a number of interesting churches. Visible from our flat was the Iglesia de la Asuncion a Gothic church rebuilt in the 18th century in baroque style. Another attractive church nearby was the Iglesia San Francisco.

A small church with an ornate baroque facade was the Iglesia de la Aurora. It was one of a number of churches with protective mesh around the tower, presumably to prevent passers-by from being injured by falling debris when the bells ring.

"Aurora" is Spanish for "dawn", and every Saturday, shortly after midnight, the men of this church carry out a strange tradition dating back to the 18th century. They gather with musical instruments to welcome the dawn for the next Sunday. At a signal from their leader, wielding a tambourine, they move off in procession through the streets. Only the passage of occasional cars in the opposite direction can halt the parade.

Every now and then they stop and play the same theme, with (as far as we could tell) the same words. Sometimes they do this to greet other churches. Sometimes they stop to serenade bars (which are, of course, in full swing late on a Saturday). At the bars an "enforcer", carrying a silver jug, takes up a collection. After several minutes he emerges from the interior, more or less successful, and the group moves on.

Castle and Carnicerías

Priego boasts a small castle that dates back to the 9th century. One can climb the castle walls to obtain a fine view over the town. A little higher up and one emerges on a rampart where the view of town and nearby mountains is even more spectacular.

The other major feature of the castle is the keep, the windows of which suggest a Mudejar origin from the time of the Christian conquest of the area. Inside the keep one can climb the stairs to a vaulted loft for a view out of the moorish-style windows. On display in the courtyard of the castle are catapult balls from the 14th and 15th century.

The Priego castle does not offer the spectacular sights of the Alhambra in Granada (below). It does, however, have one advantage. We did not have to cope with thousands of other sightseers, the only other visitors being occasional pigeons.

The other historical site of interest in Priego is the Carnicerías Reales, once a slaughter house and meat market. The spiral staircase inside was built with no central pillar, to facilitate the carrying of meat from the slaughter house below to the market above. Corbels below the eaves were probably included in the design as protections for those using the area.

The major product of the region around Priego is olives, so it is hardly surprising that the dominant view for mile after mile is of olive orchards. In fact, the area can sometimes look rather sterile, especially following a prolonged dry season. However, a short drive offers very different views.

The Parque de la Sierra Subbéticas is a beautiful, rugged area that occupies the center of the Sevilla, Córdoba, and Granada triangle. It was recently designated a natural area. Priego sits on the eastern edge of the park, so that it was easy to explore from our flat.

Behind Priego lies the Sierra de la Horconera, which contains the highest peak in the Subbéticas. We took a number of excursions into the countryside, visiting some of the other white towns, and exploring the park.

Once one leaves the olive orchards, the vegetation of the Subbéticas is harsh, but attractive in its own way. The berries of hawthorne bush, for example, are colorful, even though the thorns are threatening.

We took a short hike up into the hills. The goal was to reach a mirador (viewpoint) at the top of the hill. The climb was difficult, but the view made it worthwhile.

Ancient History

There are remnants throughout Andalucia of occupations predating the moors. For example, the remains of a Roman villa were discovered recently in the town of Almadenilla.

The villa included a large room dedicated to Somnos (the Greek Hypnos), the god of sleep. A painting shows what the original room might have looked like. Mosaics in the villa show the opium flower, and the presence of some 300 graves nearby suggests that the villa was a kind of hospice for wealthy individuals who came there to die in peace and comfort.

While we were there a film crew recorded our visit, producing a documentary for local TV. To add further interest, an exhibition of contemporary artwork was distributed throughout the villa. Plaster casts of children's heads were placed by one of the graves, and photos of local scenery were set with some of the mosaics. There was a point to all this, but it escaped us.

A related museum is a short drive from the villa, at the end of a walk along a lovely river valley. The museum includes bones from one of the graves, and remnants of pottery from the area.

In one display case is a beautiful statue of Somnos casting sleep over patients at the villa - the Roman version of the sandman? Also from the site was a lovely statue of Hermaphrodite, carved to suggest a female figure when viewed from the side, a male figure when viewed from the front. (The penis had been removed later by prudish Christians who conquered the area).

Olive oil has been important to the area for hundreds of years. One display showed a model of a building used to produce olive oil in the middle ages. The museum included an old hand press for oil, and the wheels of a 19th century olive oil press.

Before the Romans arrived, the area had been inhabited the Iberians, people related to the Celts. The museum contains an impressive Iberian battle sword that must be 2,000 years old.

Small Towns of the Subbéticas

Along the northern edge of the Parque Subbéticas runs the Via Verde, a Spanish "rails to trails" pathway. We took the Via Verde to the small town of Zuheros, nestled in the steep hills of the Subbéticas. Zuheros is the site of a long viaduct, at one end of which is the town's former railway station.

To reach the town itself one must climb an endless series of steep streets to reach the old fort, ideally situated to repel invaders.

Starting in the town we took a hike into the rugged mountainside, passing sheer limestone cliffs, and crossing the valley of the Rio Bailón.

Along the way we encountered a herd of goats, interested in anything passing by, but all quite friendly. A number of the goats had very recently given birth to kids. The umbilical cord was still attached to the kid, and placenta to the mother. The mothers soon licked their infants clean, however, and made them presentable for company.

There are several other small towns in the Subbéticas that share common features: a fortress on top of a hill dating to moorish times, and white houses arranged on the hillside. One such is Alcalá, which is perhaps unique in a strange object below the fortress that we took to be a work of modern art.

A town that we explored one afternoon was Iznájar, on the southern side of the region. It's main claim to fame is a reservoir that offers the only large body of water in central Andalucia.

Like most towns of the region, Iznájar has an attractive central square with a walkway that offers views of the surrounding countryside. There are narrow streets and lovely courtyards. An odd little museum includes displays such as this old fashioned barber shop.

A highlight of our vacation was a day trip to Granada. We stopped to admire the grandiose cathedral there, and noted the city's role in Columbus's voyages - here he gains approval for his trip from Ferdinand and Isabella. We noted how the local police care for their horses, and greeted the inevitable human statue.

But the primary purpose of the trip was to spend an afternoon at the Alhambra. The site was developed by the moors after they were driven out of Córdoba. It features ornate gateways with the typical moorish arch, and walkways between tall hedges. There are numerous fountains, some large and ornate, others smaller but very calming.

The original "alhambra", or red fort, was the area known as the Alcazabar, built by the moors to defend the town. Now the Alcazabar is mostly in ruins. One can climb to the top of one of the towers for a view out over the surrounding hills.

In 1492 the moors were driven out of Granada, and all of Spain. by Ferdinand and Isabella. Their son Charles, later Charles V, took over the Alhambra and built an imposing palace for himself. The palace is square, but contains a large circular courtyard that is open to the sky. A dome had been planned, but Charles' son Philip built his own, even bigger palace before it could be completed.

The highlight of any visit to the Alhambra is the Palasios Nazaries, the moorish royal palace. It's not much to look at from the outside, but contains some astonishing rooms. They are reached by passing through decorated doorways to move from one section to the next.

Islam forbids images of living creatures, so the palace makes extensive use instead of elaborate script, including thousands of versions of the name of Allah. Many rooms feature "stalactite" ceilings, or they have wooden ceilings with ornate carvings. The workmanship of the ceilings is especially evident in the Boat Room, so called through a confusion. The original Arabic term "Baraka" (divine blessing) became the Spanish "Barca", or boat.

The Court of Myrtles illustrates the moors' love of water in their palaces. One sees small pools also from windows that look out onto private courtyards.

The tour of the palace ends in the Sultan's residential chambers. Here the elaborate ceilings and arches are overwhelming in their ornate detail.

The only drawback to a tour of the Palasios Nazaries is having to negotiate the crowds of other tourists wielding cameras.

After visiting the Palasios we explored the Generalife, the sultan's summer palace and garden. It is a beautiful and relaxing area. As we walked through we admired morning glories and other flower gardens, surrounded by tall hedges. Orchards offered trees ripe with pomegranates.

Inside the Generalife palace, ornate windows provided attractive views of the other palaces and the surrounding area.

The moors' love of water made a lot of sense in a dry climate. Active fountains, though, are more modern installations, since the moors preferred their water in the form of still pools.

One American played a significant role in the restoration of the Alhambra. In 1832 Washington Irving published "Tales of the Alhambra", a book written three years earlier during a visit to the Palasios Nazaries. The room he stayed in is now marked by a plaque. Irving is recognized also by a commemorative statue. Unfortunately, the effect is spoiled somewhat by the dilapidated state of the restaurant and bar named after him.

One other feature of the Alhambra worth noting is, surprisingly, the parking area. It is enormous, as it has to be to accommodate all the visitors, but it has been designed so that there is shade for almost every car, something we appreciated at the end of a hot afternoon.

Although we had spent time in Sevilla ten years ago, we returned to the city one afternoon, primarily to see an astonishing new construction, the Metropol Parasol. Opened only in March, it is so new that many people in the area know nothing about it, and it is impossible to find much about it in Sevilla.

Known locally as La Seta (the mushroom) for obvious reasons, it is the world's largest wooden structure. It was built when excavations for a new market led to the discovery of Roman ruins (a developer's worst nightmare). Construction was halted, of course. Eventually the market was built, surmounted by the Parasol. There is an open plaza above the market. Above the plaza is an undulating walkway that includes a number of overlooks, which provide great views over the city.

The basement of the market contains a model of the Parasol, the only way to get a sense for the whole structure.

One of the features of Sevilla is a bridge over the Guadalquivir designed by Calatrava. We were not close to the river, but the walkway on the Parasol did give us a chance to see the bridge, thus adding it to our collection of Calatrava bridges that includes Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Dublin, Ireland.

The museum under the Parasol provides another interesting view of Roman ruins. The area is very extensive, and includes some lovely mosaics featuring the head of Medusa.

Wandering around other parts of the city, it was apparent that Sevilla differs from the smaller towns of Andalucia in the sense of color it provides: a lot of reds and yellows, with occasional other highlights.

The children are the same everywhere, though. They are typically friendly and outgoing. In the square next to the Parasol were a pair of small mounds that were an irresistible source of amusement for youngsters.

The countryside near Sevilla is quite different from the scenery around Priego - there is a greater variety of agricultural use. But on the way back to Priego, where the two regions come together, we saw an interesting blend that in its undulating form reminded us strangely of the Parasol we had just visited.

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