| Antequera |
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| The
first time we had visited the rapidly expanding city of Antequera,
known for its central regional location and meeting of roadways as
the ‘Crossroads’, was last year, one very hot summer night
during the world famous Antequera
Blues Festival. Up until then we had somehow kept finding ourselves
whizzing through it on the way to somewhere else, for example Granada
or the incredible Fuente
de Piedra to see the pink flamingos. We were determined to go back to Antequera one day, our next visit turning out to be in February, a fresh breeze blowing under a clear blue sky as we began a circular stroll of the very atmospheric Zona Monumental. When visiting any town in Andalucia we always head straight for the castle or fortress, should there be one, since their positions were obviously chosen for their benefits as look out points, essential for survival in the old days and perfect in modern times for having a good, far reaching view of the surroundings. As we walked beneath the castle ramparts through the Arch of the Gianta into the square in front of the Church of Santa Maria, I felt a similar magical excitement to the time I had first seen the Alhambra in Granada. Face to face with a bygone age, I could almost see faces, like ghosts, peering down at me from the past, I could almost hear their voices as my imagination slipped temporarily away into the depths of history. The inside of the church was breathtaking, stunning visitors into respectful silence. After peering over a wall at the excavated ruins of Roman baths, we walked on through the Callejon del Aire, an alley running alongside the church to a walkway beyond. On our way we saw the secret tunnel that links the castle to the church, bricked in now, but apparently due to be reopened at some point in the future. Stretching away to our left, past orange trees heavy with ripening fruit, was a sweeping valley with hazy blue hilltops in the distance, the area once famous for blanket making, a solitary chimney, perhaps from a dye factory, still clearly visible below. And to our right were the imposing walls of the castle, in the process of being lovingly rebuilt and secured. With the obvious evidence of refurbishment and modernisation around, both of publicly owned heritages and privately owned houses, it was clear to me, even before I considered the plans for a huge exhibition centre and airport near the town, that a lot of money was pouring into the region, assuring Antequera of a very prosperous future. “Well,” nodded my friend and guide for the day, David, “there are no less than 17 banks in the main street, which gives you an idea of the level of investment.” (You can stay in David's beautiful hilltop townhouse, perfect for exploration of the town and surrounding countryside and ideally situated for Antequera Golf). Hardly able to keep my finger off the shoot button of my camera, we then made our way downhill along the Cuestra de Los Tojas towards the centre of town through the Plaza de las Descalzas to the Plaza San Francisco, where we sat on a bench in the sun, soaking up the marvellous atmosphere and admiring the beautiful architecture in this very historic and yet also pleasingly modern town. A cup of good Spanish coffee later, we set off again, circling back to the Plaza San Sebastian and the imposing, yet peaceful and very restful Coso Viejo, before climbing slowly back up the hill to our car, which was parked near the church on the hill. We knew we had still only scratched the surface, there was so much more to see and do in Antequera, art galleries, a museum, very tempting restaurants and a proudly promoted musical night life. We chatted idly about one day possibly living there, to do the job properly, but it was a common topic of conversation, one we often have these days about an increasing number of places, as we continue our fascinating exploration of the wonderful inland part of Andalucia. If you would like to stay in the area we offer a wide choice of accommodation in inland Andalucia, see our personally chosen range of Holiday Rental Accommodation. |
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February
2008