Cultural route through Córdoba, Granada, Baena, and Montilla
If you are travelling around Andalusia, let me recommend you a very special route: Ruta del Califato. A lesson in history, a pleasure for the senses, an aesthetic enjoyment. Go from Córdoba to Granada and stop in Baena and Montilla and live this adventure of the spirit.
Córdoba
Founded by the Romans, and due to its strategic importance as the highest navigable point of the Guadalquivir River, it became a port city of great importance, used for shipping Spanish olive oil, wine and wheat back to Ancient Rome.
But its greatest splendour came when it was made the capital of the Moorish kingdom of Al-Andalus. When it was reconquered by the Christians in 1236, the new governors were so impressed by the beauty of the Great Mosque that they left it standing, building their Cathedral amongst its arches and columns and creating the extraordinary church-mosque we see today: The Great Mosque.
Córdoba’s treasures include the Alcazar, or Fortress, built by the Christians in 1328; the Calahorra Fort, originally built by the Arabs, which guards the Roman Bridge, on the far side of the river from the Mezquita, and the ancient Jewish Synagogue, now a museum. Cordoba’s medieval quarter, once the home of the Jewish community, is called “La Judería” (The Jewry), a labyrinth of winding, narrow streets, shady flower-filled courtyards and picturesque squares such as La Plaza del Potro.
Baena
Baena can be smelt from autumn onwards. All the senses confirm that the traveller has arrived in one of the capitals of the leading oil-producing region in the world. Located approximately 62km southeast of Cordoba beyond Castro del Río, population of the town is 20000 people.
Sierras Subbéticas Natural Park is located to the south of the town. The site of the Roman town (Baniana or Biniana) can still be traced, and various Roman antiquities have been disinterred. In 1292 the Moors under Mahommed II of Granada vainly besieged Baena, which was held for Sancho IV of Castile; and the five Moorish heads in its coat-of-arms commemorate the defense.
There are several olive oil presses situated around the town which are open to the public where you can buy excellent olive oil straight from the press. Exhibitions on how olive oil was produced historically are on display at the Museo Arqueológico (Archaeological Museum). Although the town dates back to Roman times, it was most important during the Moorish period. There is little left, however, from this period, aside from a former mosque whose minaret is now the tower on the impressive 16th-century church of Santa María in the town centre.
Montilla
Famous for its wines with the Montilla-Moriles Denomination of Origin, it was also the birthplace of don Gonzalo Fernández of Córdoba, the Grand Captain, born in 1453. Montilla dates back to Roman times although it was not considered an important settlement during the subsequent period of Moorish rule. After the Christian re-conquest in 1492, Montilla passed into the hands of the lords of Aguilar who deemed it the centre of their domain.
During the 16th century, St. John of Ávila, the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega and Miguel de Cervantes all lived here. On Montilla’s highest point there is a Castle in whose interior the fortress was situated, a palatial residence where the Grand Captain was born and where the Christian Monarchs stayed. The Church of St. James, the Convent of St. Claire, the Oratory of St. John of Ávila, the Church of San Sebastián, the Churches of the Incarnation, of St. Ann, of St. Agustine of San Francisco Solano and the famous Montilla wine cellars are all worth highlighting.
For many people, however, Montilla is best known for its dry white wine which is made using the same solera method as sherry. The very sweet Pedro Ximenez grapes are used for the wine so, consequently, it does not need fortifying. This wine is known as Montilla in Spain and Amontillado elsewhere.
Granada
Granada is a city for walking around and, above all, dreaming. It was first settled by native tribes in the prehistoric period. When the Romans colonised southern Spain, they built their own city here and called it Illibris. The Arabs, invading the peninsula in the 8th century, gave it its current name of Granada. It was the last Muslim city to fall to the Christians in 1492, at the hands of Queen Isabel of Castile and her husband Ferdinand of Aragon.
The Alhambra is located on a strategic point, with a view over the whole city and the meadow (la Vega), and this fact leads to believe that other buildings were already on that site before the Muslims arrived. The complex is surrounded by ramparts and has an irregular shape. It limits with the valley of the river Darro on its northern side, with the valley of al-Sabika on its southern side and with the street Cuesta del Rey Chico on the eastern side. The Cuesta del Rey Chico is also the border between the neighbourhood of the Albaicin and the gardens of the Generalife, located on top of the Hill of the Sun (Cerro del Sol).
The castle of the Alhambra was added to the city’s area within the ramparts in the 9th century, which implied that the castle became a military fortress with a view over the whole city. In spite of this, it was not until the arrival of the first king of the Nasrid dynasty, Mohammed ben Al-Hamar (Mohammed I, 1238-1273), in the 13th century, that the royal residence was established in the Alhambra. This event marked the beginning of the Alhambra’s most glorious period.
Useful Information
Turismo Andaluz S.A.
Compañía, 40
29008 Málaga
Phone: +34 901 20 00 20
E-mail:info@andalucia.org
