A REMINDER OF WHY WE LIVE IN EXTREMADURA

The Christian armies fought a long, hard campaigne against the Moors, slowly gaining territory on their way south during the early 13th century finally crossing the Douro into the land that became known as Extremadura, liturally the land beyond the Douro. Most of the Extremadura was under Christian rule by the middle of the 13th century , the very last stronghold of the Moors was Granada which held out until 1492.
Extremadura was far from the sea and was always known as wild and remote area, fortunately it escaped much development and today is the largest "green" area, together with the adjoining Alentejo in Portugal, in Western Europe.


a face appears ........ peaks of Sierra de Montanchez


Monfragüe in the Tajo gorge has a colony of griffon vultures, the Iberian lynx is still a resident in these parts, hawks and other birds of prey abound. Wildflowers are a delight in the extended Spring from February to May. The Sierra de Gata in the north, the Sierra de Guadalupe in the centre, Sierra de Montanchez , the plains between Caceres and Trujillo and the country of the south-west around Jerez de los Caballeros all are refuges for flora and fauna.

typical spring flowers and ride on Finca al-manzil

Extremadura is cattle country, with fighting bulls and the local Retinta

breed grazing the gentler lands. Black Iberian pigs roam the vast woodlands known as dehesa gorging on the acorns of holm and cork oak which help to create the flavour of some of the finest jamon in Spain, especially from the mountain town of Montanchez. The river valleys, notably the Tiétar, Tajo and Guadiana, are well-irrigated provide a varied array of fruit and vegetables including apricots, cherries, peppers and tobacco. South of Merida is the Tierra de Barros a vast area of red clay soil which produces excellent white and red wine. There is virtually no industry which is not based on agriculture. The area around Finca al-manzil is a mixture of dehesa, rich olive groves, fig groves and the special flora and fauna of the sierra . An amazing array of wildflowers and herbs grow amongst the huge granite boulders of the sierra, ancient paths from Moorish times make the sierra easy to explore, a delight in the wilder parts and also giving access to the well tended olive and fig groves and vineyards which are an important part of the local economy. The views from anywhere on the sierra are breathtaking..............

a walk in the sierra..........

History and architecture are as rewarding as the landscape. Before the Visigoths and Moors this was a major Roman colony with Mérida, Augusta Emerita, serving as capital of the western province of Lusitania. Today it is a UNESCO site because of the extensive Roman archaeological remains including the stupendous Roman theatre still used today for the famous classical theatre festival held every summer.

Above all, this is conquistador country. An astonishing proportion of the leaders of the rough bands which savagely conquered South and Central America in the names of king , queen and Christianity came from Extremadura e.g. Pizarro

and Cortes. Trujillo and Cáceres are well known for the rich monumental palaces built by conquistadors returning with their ill-gotten gains. Both have the most carefully preserved old city centres with buildings from Moorish, medieval and renaissance times.

The spiritual centre was, and remains, the shrine of Guadalupe. Here a rich and beautiful Hieronymite monastery grew up, with swirling Moorish-Gothic tracery all in honour of the diminutive black Madonna , the Virgin de Guadalupe. The first Aztecs brought back from the new world were baptised here. There is a marvellous collection of paintings by Zubaran. The little mountain town which formed beneath the monastery is balconied and full of geraniums, one element of a varied architecture which is a particular Extremeñan pleasure.

A marvellously atmospheric place is Yuste, the monastery to which the Emperor Charles V, gout-ridden and exhausted, retired to die. He chose it, he said, because of its climate of continual springtime.
In its deep rurality and wonderful ancient cities Extremadura is a place that has a million secrets to discover...........

LATEST ADDITIONS TO FINCA AL-MANZIL

Introducing Zeru and Roxy our two Weimaraner puppies. They are now 2 months old and are just getting into their stride as quite naughty puppies, our decor now includes a permanent bucket and mop but they are getting the clue . At the moment they spend most of their time tucked around the back of the wood burner but are quite up for a brisk walk twice a day. More photos as they grow and grow and grow......

ROMAN MERIDA - WHAT YOU CAN SEE TODAY

Mérida is the capital of Extremadura, it is 40kms to the West of Finca al-manzil, we are very lucky to have this amazing UNESCO site so near. It has the best ensemble of Roman buildings besides Rome itself. Today it lies on both sides of the Guadiana river but originally it was built on the Eastern side approached by an impressive bridge spanning the highest navigable point of the river, know as River Anas in Roman times (Anas was adopted by the Moors who were in power from the 8th century to the 13th century, they called it Wadi Anna, wadi meaning river in Arabic, the name became Odiana and finally Guadiana in Spanish and Portuguese)
Emerita Augusta was originally created as a retirement settlement for esteemed Roman soldiers hence the name.... emerita in Latin means one who has merit and emeritus so Emerita Augusta means that it was a city founded in time of Augustus with mainly retired soldiers and officials who settled in the town in exchange for giving the category of roman citizens to all the inhabitants. In Spanish and English emeritus means retired ("Profesor Emérito" and "Emeritus Professor" a retired professor). As time passed on the name mutated becoming Mérida, losing the initial "E" and changing the "t" for a "d".
It became the largest and most important Roman city in the Iberian Peninsula with all the grand edifices important to a Roman city administrating a vast area. Many sites have been excavated in recent times and in some cases reconstructed giving us a better idea of the layout of the city.
It is a fascinating place to explore by foot, architecture from Mérida’s long history is in evidence everywhere but the Roman monuments are unique in Europe and it is because of these exceptional monuments that Merida became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1993.

THE THEATRE
The most impressive of all the monuments due to its careful excavation in 1910, reconstruction from 1964 and a spectacular venue for the Festival of Classic Theatre since 1933. It was Consul Marcus Agrippa who initiated the building of the theatre between 16 and 15 B.C. using it as a means of promoting Roman culture it seated 6,000 spectators. With the coming of Christianity in the 4th century the theatre fell into disuse as theatrical performances were then considered immoral and the profession of actor was banned. Over many centuries the structure crumbled and tumbled so that all that remained visible were the upper section of seating which had the appearance of seven massive chairs….the seven chairs where, according to legend, sat seven Moorish kings deciding the fate of the city.

THE AMPHITHEATRE
From evidence of inscriptions the amphitheatre was inaugurated in 8 B.C. It was used for staging gladiatorial combats and fights between animals or men and animals, together with circus performances the entertainments preferred by the public. As with the theatre the amphitheatre was abandoned with the coming of Christianity, much of the structure buried and the remaining stones used as a supply for new buildings. Excavations began in 1919 revealing much of the original structure. The large cross shaped ditch in the centre of the arena is thought to have been planked over and used for keeping the wild animals. One of the small rooms off the lower passageway was appropriately dedicated to the cult of the goddess Nemesis.

THE BRIDGE
The Roman bridge was the longest in Lusitania with 64 stone arch spans, it has been much renovated through the ages but is basically the same structure that was started 2033 years ago at the founding of Emerita Augusta in 25 B.C. at the end of the Lusitania campaigns. It continued to be the main entrance into the city from the west until the 1980s when a new bridge alleviated most of the heavy usage.

Finally in 1993 the Roman bridge was beautifully renovated and preserved for pedestrian use only. This also coincided with the opening of an elegant new bridge, the Lusitania designed by Santiago Calatrava and the well deserved entry of Merida as a UNESCO site because of its outstanding architectural ensemble.

THE AQUEDUCTS AND RESERVOIRSThe question of fresh water supply was one of the most important in the planning of Emerita. Two reservoirs were built within 8kms of the city with the water transported to various water towers by 2 aqueducts. The San Lázaro was renovated in the 16th century and followed the Roman course bringing the water from several streams and springs from the Cornalvo reservoir. The Los Milagros brought the water from the Proserpina reservoir to the city by underground conduits and from a filter station up to the aqueduct which runs for 830m with a max. height of 25m. Built at the earliest settlement of Emerita in the late 1st century. There is another Roman reservoir and aqueduct 15kms north east of Merida in the Cornalvo nature reserve.

TEMPLE OF DIANA
A 16th century palace was built by the Count of Los Corbos within the pillars of the temple, fortunately this helped to preserve the structure. Excavation started in 1972 which helped to establish that this was one of the oldest Roman structures and the only surviving example of religious architecture in Merida. It was built at the end of the 1st C. The exterior facade faced the forum and was flanked by two ponds and water channels. A few of the 16th c. palace rooms can be seen at the back of the temple adding a surreal idea of architecture through the ages with traces of mudéjar style in the windows and double gallery.

TRAJAN’S ARCH

Possibly built in the time of Trajan as an entrance to a sacred precinct. It is 15m. high with huge granite blocks which must have been clad in marble judging by the holes in the stone. Probably as a link between two forums, provincial and municipal.

THE CIRCUS
A huge circus area built just outside the city walls in the first years of the 1st century. It measures 440m long by 115m wide covering 30,000m2. The stands were built for 30,000 spectators. Chariot races were held using either 2 or 4 horses and usually 7 laps. Enthusiasm for this type of entertainment was reflected in many works of art with circus motifs, painting, sculpture, pottery, mosaics and precious metal representing horses with their names recorded and the charioteers carrying the victory palm. One of the most famous in Rome was the Lusitanian Caius Apuleius Diocles, his career probably started in the circus of Emerita. The last recorded renovation of the circus was in the time of Constantine’s son 337 -340 A.D. It soon fell into decline with the establishment of Christianity and the ban of the occupations of charioteer and actor. Only the barest outline of the circus remains today.

MITHRAEUM HOUSE
Possibly a shrine to Mithras but more likely a domus ,a noble family residence. Built outside the city wall near the present day bullring, probably in the 1st c. but with many alterations through the centuries. As with all homes of this type it was richly decorated with painted walls and mosaics and many outside spaces or atriums. The rooms are arranged around 3 patios. Some rooms for family use and some for receiving guests. Several underground rooms maybe summer bedrooms. The baths have pools decorated with mosaics of floral and geometric motifs , a vaulted roof painted with fish.

MORERÍA
The excavation of this site near the river has provided much information about the city’s evolution. The situation near the river and the bridge have ensured constant occupation through the centuries from Roman, Visigothic, Islamic, Medieval and up to contemporary times. Still in place are 200m. of the original city wall. Four original Roman streets can be seen running down to the river with a street running across them. The streets were flanked by arcades for pedestrian use supported by granite columns. Bounded by the wall and the streets there are 6 blocks in which 13 large dwellings have been partially or completely identified. Usually single storey around a central patio. Visigoth building can also be identified. Around the 8th century Morería was totally destroyed in order to create a clear space towards the river for defence against the Moorish army, after a long siege they eventually occupied the city in 713. In the 9th c. Morería was expanding again with 6 large buildings identified. Following the reconquest by Christian armies in 1230 the knights of Santiago were in control of the city and the surrounding area. It was decided to restrict the remaining Islamic population to an area outside the city’s defences giving rise to the suburb of la morería , the Moorish quarter a name it retains today.
From the end of the 15th century until the 17th century it was an artisans area and then became a stockyard and slaughterhouse area until the end of the 19th century.
At the end of the 1980s the area was selected as the site for the new Junta de Extremadura building. In order to preserve the archaeological site the whole building was designed on tall pillars allowing access to the layers of history revealed below.

The National Museum of Roman Art
http://museoarteromano.mcu.es/investigacion_proyectos_museo_merida.html

The National Museum of Roman Art is one of the finest museums of its kind in the world, not only for its collection, but also due to the actual building itself designed by José Rafael Moneo. It is built over what was a residential area in the Roman City of Emérita Augusta. The lower section of the museum is itself an ongoing archaeological dig-site of Roman streets, and tombs. The Museum is designed as one large hall divided into 10 sections over 3 floors that houses more than 37,000 pieces taken from different areas throughout the city. Works include sculptures, religious artifacts, utensils, ceramics, glassworks and mosaics.
José Rafael Moneo is above all an architect of tremendous range. His flexibility in varying the appearance of his works based on their differing contexts is reflected in the way he takes on each new commission as a fresh new exercise. He draws on an incredible reservoir of concepts and ideas, which he filters through the specifics of the site, the purpose, the form, the climate, and other circumstances of the project. As a result, each of his buildings is unique but instantly recognizable as being from his palette. The primary goal was to build a museum that would offer people an opportunity to understand aspects of the town's Roman heritage. Without falling into a strict imitation of Roman architecture, Moneo adopted the Roman construction system - massive masonry-bearing walls filled with concrete. Other Roman building techniques, materials, and proportions were utilized as well, prominence was given to construction as an expression of architecture itself. The materiality of the Roman brick wall becomes, finally, the most important feature in the architecture of the museum.
The main exhibition hall is traversed by a series of parallel walls that have been opened with towering arches. The perspective view through the arches reveals the scale of the building and expresses the continuity of the space therein. These walls also define lateral bays for the display of some of the most valuable pieces in the museum's collection. The walls function as partitions, on which are hung cornices, capitals, mosaics, and fragments of statuary. These surfaces are not considered to be mere neutral supports for the objects; rather, the translucent white marble of the relics may be seen in subtle interplay with the brick walls. Natural light, another fundamental concern in the museum's design, enters through skylights above and windows set high in the facades. The constantly changing intensity and colour of the light contributes to the dialogue between the works of art and the building itself.

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Pippa's evening walk

As usual in the second half of August temperatures have dropped, the weather is just about perfect, hot but not stuffy, coolish at night and the early morning. I can resume my evening walk at 7.30 -8.00 which is perfect before dinner, for the last few weeks it's been impossibly hot until after 9.00 which really messed up the evening.

It's a simple walk, hop over the stone wall of the finca aided by the inset stepping stones, onto the camino and walk briskly up the ever increasing incline with a few flatter bits on the bends. On the way up I pass the huge stone drinking trough, still with a trickle of water splashing into the gorgeous green duckweed, home for legions of frogs who croak and splash at my approach. No doubt placed there at the end of the pass over the mountain from Montanchez to refresh thirsty pack mules and horses during the long centuries that this was a major trading route. The way is paved in smooth, rounded stones polished with constant use, unfortunately in need of some maintenance in places so if one wants to look at the views it's best to stop and stare rather than risk tripping up.

The views are vast, studded with the church towers of various nearby villages, a huge plain of olive groves around Arroyomolinos. This was the scene of a peninsula war battle in October 1811. I am fascinated with this battle and its meaning within the larger theatre of the Napoleonic wars. Just imagining what the Sierra de Montanchez was like in 1811 is a very interesting passtime, let alone imagining the battle fought over a few hours on a stormy, torrentially wet 28th October dawn and morning. Looking down on to the peaceful green plain it is difficult to imagine the mayhem caused by the surprise attack of General Rowland Hill and 9.000 British, Spanish and Portuguese troops on General Girard and his 6,000 French troops, that's 15,000 men and at least 5,000 cavalry horses clashing in the violence of battle in and around the village of Arroyomolinos. The battle was a resounding victory for the allied troops, the French were ordered to flee for their lives, hemmed in on all sides the only escape route was to scramble up the steep slopes of the sierra discarding equipment and weapons as they went. General Girard was amongst the fortunate who managed to reach the ridge of the sierra and escape to freedom, many didn't make it, if not captured at the foot of the sierra then masacred by Murillo's guerrillas further up the slopes. The final reckoning of this short but bloody battle was 1,000 French dead or wounded, 1,400 captured ; 80 allies dead or wounded. No mention of the fate of the cavalry horses. I wonder about those 1,400 prisoners of war, amazingly transported back to England and detained for the remainder of the war until 1815 in specially constructed prisons such as Dartmoor and Norman Cross, near Peterborough, what an extraordinary idea when any transport was so costly and fraught with difficulty. There's enough material wound around this battle to keep me day dreaming for hours so I march on with the ghosts of those desperate French troops who may have passed on this very camino 197 years ago.
I must admit that sometimes I sing, quietly, and a favourite is 'The grand old Duke of York', in fact the very same Duke of York who was Commander-in-chief of the British army during the Napoleonic Wars and the brother of the Prince of Wales who becamePrince Regent in the very year of the battle which he referred to in his first opening of parliament speech, loading praise on General Hill for his brave victory. Serendipity stikes again .......it's a good marching song anyway.

I pass a small gorge covered in rampant cactus plants all bearing the delicious prickly pears which I dare not touch, one bristle can keep one in agony for days.



Now you see it........................................ Now you don't

The views get better and better as I climb, finally around a bend and under the
branches of a giant cork oak is the impressive view of the moorish castle in Montanchez, it always gives me a thrill, a few steps more and in a blink it disappears from view not to appear again until one is almost at the foot of the impregnable crag on which it is built. This is the limit of my evening walk, the point of the disappearing castle. I call the reluctant dogs back and march down the camino feeling toned up and definitely ready for dinner and a relaxed evening.



the tiny red dot on left is the cortijo from the path down.

Bee -eaters are back!

Just in the last week I have noticed many bee-eaters zooming around the finca, flashes of gorgeous colour and the high pitched trill making one look up to see the distinctive wing pattern of these delightful birds. On the finca they nest in a colony in part of the exposed earth of a stone terrace in the horses' field. The nests are made by excavating long tunnels into the earth bank, the 5 to 8, spherical white eggs per nest are laid around the beginning of June. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs, which are brooded for about 3 weeks. Hence the sudden appearance of all the new fledglings now at the beginning of
August.


Just as the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. Before eating its meal, a European Bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface. It eats some 250 bees daily.

The Spanish name for bee-eaters is abejarrucos, latin name Merops apiaster.

Back to our summer at the finca and memories of Morocco

Some Impressions and images of our Moroccan trip follow.

We have been back for over a month and very busy with Summer business but the memories live on..........

Food will be richly spiced for a few months to come.

My babuche slide smoothly over the floor, pink ones, purple ones and orange ones.

My determination to start the Iberian/ Moroccan cooking course, plans are taking shape, I hope it can start next Spring........Inshallah!

It's hot.........over 40c. Seems even hotter than Morocco, a different heat........The mornings are precious in the cool shadow of the mountain, wonderful to take an early morning walk or ride and then a cool swim before the heat really hits. Very light lunch and very long siesta.

The evenings cool down again and we can sit on the porch with the huge starry night sky spread before us, late night dinners on the terrrace, giggly midnight swims ........a typical Extremadura summer.

MOROCCO # 3 - A little house in Agdz

17th -19th June 2008

We crossed the Tiz n Tichka pass to Ouzarzate, it was easy, the road was good, no mud slides at this time of the year. By late afternoon we were in Agdz the start of the of the Draa valley palmeraie, we had crossed 100kms of moonscape barren mountains from Ouzarzate to reach this dusty little town but somewhere around here was the little pisè house in the palm trees that had seemed so enchanting in the photo on the internet announcing it was sale.

We wanted to stay at the Casbah Caid Ali apparently a Kasbah being slowly renovated by a French/Moroccan family and inherited from a great grandfather, Caid Ali.

http://www.casbah-caidali.net/hotel-agdz-gb.html

The kasbah looked impressive, a rambling pisé structure with high towers and a traditional format including the riad, a hollow square surrounded by arcades. It had an atmosphere of abandonment, maybe there had been some renovations to secure the structure but it felt neglected and uncared for. The riad was scruffy and desolate with a broken fountain the middle, no sign of orange trees or aromatic herbs mentioned in the web site. It was melancholic. Our room appeared to be the only room in the riad, it was long and narrow with badly renovated high painted ceiling, or at least the colours seemed too paintbox bright to me. An ugly modern wardrobe had been pushed in front of a traditional alcove, pity. The door to the room had been beautiful once, now patched and disfigured by chains and padlocks, but at least it was in its original painted colours, not touched up. The surrounds were very beautiful with 100s of soaring palm trees growing in rich clover pastures irrigated by the overflow from the pool.

The owners were very simpatico, they made us very welcome and gave a lot of information about the history of the kasbah and the great grandfather with his 6 wives and hundreds of Haratin black slaves, no wonder he had to make such a sprawling kasbah. The village scattered around the Kasbah walls has a predominantly black population and there is a theory that the Haratin were the original inhabitants of the S.W. Moroccan oasis villages and were made into slaves by the invading arab traders who were tempted by the enormous wealth of dates from the the valleys of the Draa and Dades.

After dinner we were escorted through labyrithal passages to a clearing in the village where a celebration was going on. Several huge drums and tambors pounded out rhythmic beats accompanied by the clapping of the women and small children of the village all dressed to the nines in gauzy turquoise and pink, beaded and sequined. One woman was dressed in white lace and with her elegant little figure, mantilla like headdress, small pointed slippers and tiny waist she reminded me greatly of a dusky version of Goya's portrait of the Duchess of Alba in white, strange but true.

The celebration seemed set to go on all night so we slipped away back to our peaceful room in the abandoned riad, it was a full moon and the kasbah looked magnificent, easy to imagine its former glory.

Next morning up bright and early to make arrangements to meet the guardian of the house for sale. Turned out he was a cousin of the Kasbah owners so he turned up to meet us there. Full of anticipation we left the Kasbah and dived into a winding trail through the palm trees to the small pisè house with a view of Jebel Kissane set amongst some groups of large mature palms .

The plot of land was small, about 1000m2, the house was traditionally built, thick walls of brown mud and straw, flat roof of rough beams and mud, a squatter loo, no running water in the house but a deep well and pump in the garden. It was peaceful, just a few people passing on their way to tend their land. We had permission to spend a night so went off to the souk to stock up on a few things we could eat without cooking. Another beautiful moonlit night and just the soft rattle of the palm branches in the coolish breeze. Something to think about but the area around Agdz does not enchant me, no interesting excursions and I suppose walks through the palm trees pall after a time so probably not my dream house, needs a lot of work to make it comfortable for any length of time........still it exists and apparently building is strictly restricted in the palmeraie now as it is on the verge of becoming a unesco world heritage protected area.

Spent one more night in the Agdz area at the Kasbah auberge in the village of Tamnougalte, newly built, basic, good pool and great views of the mountains and the village.

Tamnougalt was once the capital of what functioned as an independent republic in the Draa. The republic was ruled by an assembly of families, such as Caid Ali's family, who controlled both exports and imports as well as taxation of local agriculture and small industries thus amassing wealth, prestige and plenty of power.

We were at a bit of a loose end at this point, thought we would visit the other great palmeraie of the Dades valley and then took the weird decision of going even further south and into the desert at Rissani, we had fond memories of Rissani but maybe not the best decision considering the great heat that was building up by the day.

Dades was very changed, huge amount of building, Todra Gorge unrecognizable and unbearable with convoys of tourist buses, hundreds of people distracting from the splendour of the gorge.................old fogey moment.......I remember the first time I went 20 years ago, just one simple auberge and a walk through the river to get into the gorge.......ahhh. So despite the madness of driving into the hottest part of Morocco we felt we might just be able to find some respite from all this heavy tourism, I know we are tourists too but.............