TRIP TO CORDOBA AND THE SIERRA DE ARACENA

We have been incredibly busy, finishing small building projects, improving the casita and renovating the roof of the cortijo as well as decorating the sittingroom ( I won't go into the details of when the painter fell off the scaffolding with a full 5 litre can of paint.........whole sittingroom Jackson Pollocked!  Everything very scrubbed and clean as a result and gleaming white after the effects of winter fires).  With a cooking holiday week at the cortijo looming up we decided we had to get away even if for a couple of nights, a change of scene and weather as it was still a bit cloudy here so we headed South East to visit friends in Cordoba and see what was new since our last visit some years ago.
The weather improved and after settling into our hotel we headed for the ancient city centre for dinner and later meeting our friends for a drink at their typical rambling Cordoban town house. We crossed the Roman bridge which has been beautifully renovated, it's pedestrian of course and a great way to enter the city especially in the evening.
The highlight of any trip to Cordoba is La Mesquita, we had seen it before but definitely thrilled to visit this glorious space again.

 

 La Mezquita-Catedral, the Great Mosque of Cordoba is one of the oldest structures still standing from the late VIII century when Muslims ruled Al-Andalus which included most of Spain, Portugal, and a small section of Southern France.

 Temple/Church/Mosque/Church

The buildings on this site are as complex as the extraordinarily rich history they illustrate. Originally a temple to the Roman god Janus; converted into a Christian church dedicated to Saint Vincent by invading Visigoths in 572;  converted into a mosque in the VIII century by the descendants of the Umayyads—the very first Islamic dynasty who had originally ruled from their capital Damascus from 661 until 750 when they were exiled to the newly conquered Al-Andalus. Once in Spain they  established control over almost all of the Iberian Peninsula and attempted to recreate the grandeur of Damascus in their capital, Cordoba. They sponsored elaborate building programs, promoted agriculture, and even imported fruit trees and other plants from their former home. Orange trees still stand in the courtyard of the Mosque of Cordoba, a beautiful, if bittersweet reminder of the Umayyad exile.
In the 13th century with the reconquest by the Christians under Ferdinand III,  Cordoba's Great Mosque was turned into a cathedral and new defensive structures were built, particularly the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos and the Torre Fortaleza de la Calahorra.
Architecturally, after 1236 the interior of the Mosque looked much as it did under the Moors.  However, there was a dramatic change in the 16th century.  Overcoming opposition by the city council, and authorised by the king, Carlos V, the cathedral chapter in 1523 undertook to build a large Gothic/Renaissance chancel (capilla mayor) and choir in the very middle of the Mosque. Carlos, who had not seen the Mosque beforehand, later regretted his decision, and reportedly exclaimed upon seeing the completed alteration: "You have built here what you or anyone might have built anywhere else, but you have destroyed what was unique in the world." 
The 18th-century choir stalls, elaborately carved in rich mahogany from the West Indies, contain not only scenes from the Bible, the life of the Virgin and depictions of local martyrs but also a proliferation of decorative pieces: masks, eagles, centaurs, and a variety of stylised flora and fauna.  There isn’t a single element in the choir stalls that isn’t embossed, a much favoured technique of baroque artists. Quite unlike the mosque whose slender columns and delicate arches, repeated uniformly, convey a sense of harmony and tranquility. 
 Even the exquisite beauty of al-Hakem II’s extension with its multi-lobed arches, intricately patterned entry to the mihrab and sumptuously ornamented maqsura (Screen which encloses the area of the mihrab and minbar in early mosques. Originally to protect the caliph from assassination attempts during prayer)  is restrained in comparison to the renaissance and baroque ostentatious splendour.

ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS OF THE MESQUITA The Hypostyle Hall The building expanded over two hundred years. It consists of a large hypostyle prayer hall (hypostyle means, filled with columns), a courtyard with a fountain in the middle for ablutions set into a formal orange grove, a covered walkway circling the courtyard, and a minaret that is now encased in a squared, tapered bell tower. The expansive prayer hall seems magnified by its repeated geometry. It is built with recycled ancient Roman columns, all of different heights, the Muslim architects found a solution for this difficulty by building the striking double symmetrical arches, formed of stone and red brick.

The Mihrab

The focal point in the prayer hall is the famous horseshoe arched mihrab or prayer niche. A mihrab is used in a mosque to identify the wall that faces Mecca—the birth place of Islam in what is now Saudi Arabia. This is practical as Muslims face toward Meccaduring their daily prayers. The mihrab in the Great Mosque of Cordoba is framed by an exquisitely decorated arch behind which is an unusually large space, the size of a small room. The arch is adorned with gold tesserae (small pieces of glass with gold and color backing) creating a dazzling combination of azure, terracotta, ochre and gold formed into intricate calligraphic bands with plant motifs.
The Horseshoe Arch
The horseshoe-style arch was common in the architecture of the Visigoths, the people that ruled this area after the Roman empirecollapsed and before the Umayyads arrived. The horseshoe arch eventually spread across North Africa from Morocco to Egypt and is an easily identified characteristic of Western Islamic architecture.
The Dome
Above the mihrab, is an equally dazzling dome. It is built of crisscrossing ribs that create pointed arches all lavishly covered with gold mosaic in a radial pattern. This astonishing building technique anticipates later Gothic rib vaulting, though on a more modest scale.

 I love the outside of the mosque too, the beautiful doorways and intricate carving, what a masterpiece! We must thank the lord or Allah or just the vagaries of fate that this glorious building was saved intact except for the desecration of the hideous Christian chapel squatting in the centre.

The next morning we went for a tramp around the town. Found a lovely little plaza called Plaza del Potro, the square of the pony. It seems a popular place for dogs to hop up and have a good cool off in the fountain, unfortunately my photo misses out some of the ePONYmous pony on top of the fountain..........

This plaza is also the home of the flamenco centre with masses of historical data on all things flamenco and performances every evening and many atmospheric cafés and bars.

There are several old water mills just by the bridge, fascinating industrial architecture powered by the waters of the mighty Guadalquivir river.

Time to leave Cordoba with vows to return and investigate further. 
We planned a very scenic return route which took us to Almodover del Rio and its impressive castle. Apparently the castle, orginally Moorish and then a stronghold of the Christians, had been neglected and ruined for centuries until the owner Conde Torralva started renovation in 1903, it was finally finished in 1936 and this is what we see today.

The renovation saved the ancient parts of the castle but made many rather too imaginative improvisations  which might have been better in a more simple fashion, still it was fun clambering on the ramparts and towers and walking through the many courtyards and secret gardens. 

The road back to Extremadura took us past Cerro del Hierro an abandoned iron mine in the Parque Natural de Sierra de Norte.

The limestone rock is particularly rich in iron ore and other minerals. The iron was first extracted before Roman times and the mines stayed operational until the middle of the 20th Century. The amazing limestone rock formations spread over a large area are now a protected nature reserve with beautiful wild flowers and bushes growing luxuriantly among the old mine workings and weird formations.

The mines were the first and most important stop for the old railway that used to run back to the port of Seville, now a Via Verde, a greenway along the route of the old track. Some of Sevilla’s most iconic landmarks have been constructed using iron from the Cierro del Hierro mines, the Royal Tobacco Factory (now the University of Seville) and the Puente de Triana (Triana Bridge) on the Guadalquivir.
The mines were under the control of a Scottish mining company - William Baird and Co. Ltd from 1895. The British architecture is still visible today although in picturesque ruins.
Despite changing hands a couple of times, the mines were privately owned right up to 2000, when the Junta de Andalucia took over ownership and declared the whole area (363 hectares) a Monument of Natural importanceWe spent the next night in the Sierra de Aracena and a stayed in our favourite village Almonaster La Real with its precious mesquita which follows the same history of the Cordoba mosque; Roman, Visigoth, Moorish and Christian. It is situated in a small sanctuary on the edge of the village.
There's a cool leafy garden at the restaurant Las Palmeras, perfect after a hike in the Aracena hills.

 

 

 

A WALK IN THE BLUEBELL WOODS OF THE SIERRA DE MONTANCHEZ

NATURTEJO GEOPARK- FOSSILS AND MORE AT PENHA GARCIA, PORTUGAL

A day trip to Idanha-a-nova region in Portugal, particularly Penha Garcia and the Geopark where there are wonderful fossil walls.

* see former post about Idanha-a-velha in the same area.
http://finca-al-manzil.blogspot.com.es/2010/05/little-village-of-idanha-velha-with-its.html

The fossils can be seen on a specially designed walk in the Ponsul canyon where you will find several outcrops of quartzite that contain beautiful specimens of trilobite ichnofossils: Cruziana. These examples are 300 million years old!

The patterns are extraordinarily intricate and very beautiful, one doesn't have to have any "fossil knowledge" to appreciate them on a purely visual level.

The river valley walk is wonderful in itself, a deep gorge which ends in a high dam wall with the original water mills clustered on the river. The mills are open to the public and have been sympathetically arranged with old milling equipment, the guide will set the milling device in action so one gets a real sense of the milling process using the power of water.

After climbing up from the valley over the dam wall the castle of Penha Garcia looms over the walk back into the village.

We found a traditional padaria, baker, still using a wood oven and producing delicious Portuguese rustic bread, traditional cakes, also selling local honey and herbs. The two jolly girls had recently started this enterprise and it seemed to be thriving. We bought two different types of bread and honey to take home and pao com choriço to eat immediately, it's irresistible, bread dough wrapped around spicy choriço and then baked, really yummy!

The tourist office in the village is very helpful and has some well produced books with great photos of the fossils.

GOOGLE MAP REF.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Penha+Garcia&hl=es&ll=40.036027,-6.981812&spn=2.132232,5.108643&sll=40.047066,-7.033138&sspn=0.066625,0.159645&hnear=Penha+Garcia,+Distrito+de+Castelo+Branco,+Portugal&t=m&z=8&layer=t

SEMANA SANTA

A very wet week for this years holy week, what a shame, all the preparation of pristine robes and beautifully decorated floats now looking very bedraggled in the constant showers with little sun in between.
The best time to see the processions is at night, somehow the rain doesn't seem to matter so much although the candles and lanterns splutter and the barefooted penitents have to splash thorough puddles. The sombre drum beats and dolorous brass bands certainly seem in tune with the dreary weather. We watched for a little while but quickly retreated into a bar heaving with de-hooded brotherhoods and gorgeous senoritas wearing their towering mantillas, noise level off the scale as usual but who cares?  Despite the underlying solemnity and undoubted fervent faith behind so many Spanish fiestas there is always a great atmosphere of joy aided by lots of alcohol and delicious food. What more can one ask......drama, mystery, bizarre costumes, flowers, candles, incense, music AND wonderful wine and food. Pity about the rain but the sun will be shining again very soon.

GREEN!

A wonderful new element in our lives is the new enterprise started by a couple from the Netherlands who have re-located to Alcuescar a nearby village. They have started a small market garden business, growing 100% ecologically cultivated vegetables and herbs.

The selection this week- broccoli, a smaller variety of swiss chard, bok choy, leeks, spring onions, parsley, chinese cabbage.
Now with the weather warming up and spring here the selection will increase every week.

For any one staying at Finca al-manzil in the cortijo, barn or Casa Alfarera this year you will have the opportunity to order a basket of vegetables picked in the morning and delivered to the door by Jantien. Highly recommended!

ON THE WAY TO CASTILLO DE AZAGALA

CASTILLO DE LA LUNA -ALBUQUERQUE

A perfectly gorgeous spring day meant it was time for a jaunt into another part of Extremadura by way of Albuqerque. The fabulous Castillo de Luna dominates the town, unfortunately closed for renovation for the next few months but because of a diversion we found the beautiful XIIIth century

church of Santa Maria del Mercado, a gem, beautifully restored except for the garish new stained

glass windows.

We left Albuquerque in the direction of the Embalse de Peña de Aguilla, after about 8kms there is a sign for Castillo de Azagala on the left, it's a fairly good earth camino, pass through 3 gates and then park the car and walk for 30 minutes up to the castle. A lovely walk through a typical Extremadura landscape of holm oaks with the lake sparkling in the foreground and the castle towering over the scene on a high crag. Gormenghastly! And was to proove even more so as we reached the ancient portal and walked into a place forgotten by time.

 

       

It was a most extraordinary feeling of stepping into an ancient space, the physical condition was ruinous but the shape and format remained incredibly solid, one felt immediately encapsulated, protected and enveloped by deep tranquility. The long walk up 52 steep steps of the torre de menáge was not worrying, the stone steps had survived  seven centuries of tramping. We emerged at the top to see the whole castle below us and the blue waters of the lake rippling below.

 

 

There were stables, cellars, tunnels, a chapel with broken alter and over-turned holy water stoop, arcades, a bell tower, turrets, a long drop lavatory with wooden seats, huge open chimneys.

 A 19th century wing with an abandoned billiard table slate top intact, a glassed in walkway, rooms of broken beds, tables and chairs, fluttering velvet curtains, a whole world of staid domesticity broken, torn and decaying. Who were the last people to live in this remote castle? When did they leave? Why did they leave? We thought maybe after a long period as a defensive castle it had been abandoned for centuries and maybe the owning family had moved back for periods in the 18th -19th century, perhaps more abandonment and a partial use until about 50 years ago judging by the remains of the furniture and the kitchen "appliances".  Here is a link to the history of Azagala in Spanish

  http://siguelashuellas.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/azagala-ii-historia/

       

      

             

          

                 

   

One of the most sensational elements of Azagala is the colony of Griffon Vultures nesting on the crags by the stream that feeds the lake. It's a wild and remote place but there are views directly down onto the crags from the walls of the castle so we were able to observe the vultures as they sunned themselves on the rocks and swooped about the castle walls. A magical spectacle.                      

 

 

HOMAGE TO EXTREMADURA IN THE GUARDIAN- December 2012

Yellow arrows guide the Northerner's pilgrim Alan Sykes through the little-publicised wonders of a lovely region. And his pedometer has clocked up a million footsteps

Alan has left more than a million of these in Spain so far.
Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian
 

After around a fortnight and 350km, the camino finally led me out of Extremadura, over a high pass on an almost perfectly paved Roman road, up into the sierra and into the region of Castilla-León, where I will be for the next 350km.
If this stretch is anything like as enjoyable as the last ones, I am in for yet more treats, although the worsening weather may have other ideas. Extremadura has been an almost constant series of surprising delights. I had barely heard of most of them before my first visit. Even lordly Cáceres I mostly knew about because, for several years, the Marqués de Cáceres was a drinkable cheap red wine sold in some British supermarkets.
Olives being harvested north of Zafra, in Extremadura

The towns, the villages, the countryside, the wildlife, the food, the wine, the architecture, the Roman remains, the Visigothic traces, the mediaeval survivals - all have been an almost uninterrupted pleasure.
Not forgetting the climate: one morning it drizzled on me for a couple of hours – not even hard enough to make it worth getting my coat out of the rucksack – and otherwise it has been almost uninterrupted sunshine since leaving Andalucia.
A palace of wine and olive oil in Almendralejo - what more can one want?

The clear skies also helped star gazing, mostly with little light pollution. So for several nights running it was possible to watch the waxing moon playing catch-up with Jupiter - and the two very nearly bumped into each other the night I was in Cáceres. Leaving before dawn most mornings meant that I usually had Venus as a companion until 8.30 or so. 
The longest bridge in the Roman Empire, at Mérida

From the glory that was Cáceres, the grandeur that was Mérida and the gaiety that was Zafra, the major towns all had very different attractions. But even the 'one horse towns' usually had something special going for them. In Fuente de Cantos, the 'one horse' was Zurbaran, while other attractions included the ham and cheese museums of Monesterio and Casar de Cáceres, a little Visigothic chapel outside Alcuescar, the Almohad dynasty ramparts at Galisteo, the oaks being harvested for cork, coming upon a majestic wild boar less than 50 yards off, having a Roman bath in Baños de Montemayor, the triumphal arch at Cáparra and I've forgotten how many Roman bridges of various sizes
A holm oak after its once every 7-9 years cork harvest

The Via de la Plata, the Roman road that runs right through Extremadura makes navigation relatively simple, as it almost always coincides with the resurrected camino de Santiago. The junta of Extremadura has put in some easy to read marker stones all the way along the road. In addition, the people responsible for the camino to Santiago have painted yellow arrows along "their" way. Between the two sets of way-markers, it's difficult to get lost, and it's very easy to travel very economically. Staying in the albergues that have been established for the pilgrim route is almost astonishingly good value - although for some you do need a credencial, or pilgrim passport. It's not grande luxe – mostly basic bunk beds and hot showers - but normally after a long day walking and a pleasant evening eating a menú del día (sometimes a special pilgrim menu), sleep comes easily and usually soundly. As it's so out of season, only once have I had to share a dormitory with other travellers. 
The albergues are run by a mixture of organisations: some subsidised by the Junta of Extremadura, some run by religious confraternities, some by the local town hall, and an increasing number of private ones have sprung up as the traffic on this route increases. In the nine nights between Mérida and Salamanca, I spent €74 on accommodation. This ranged from the completely free municipal albergue in Casar de Cáceres, to €12 for a night in a private albergue. The one in Alcuescar is in the Casa de la Misericordia, where the religious order of Los Hermanos Esclavos runs a residential hospital. At Fuenterroble de Salvatierra, up in the sierra south of Salamanca, the albergue is in the same complex as the parish hall, set up by the long serving parish priest Don Blas Rodriguez, who is mainly responsible for opening up the camino on this isolated stretch.


Alan Sykes is the Guardian Northerner's arts expert and much else, including temporary cookery correspondent of The Hotspur parish magazine. He is trekking 1000km to Santiago de Compostela to expiate unknown sins. You can read his earlier reports from the camino here.