Antequera
On 12 March I flew with my friend Eddis to Malaga to begin a week's holiday in Andalucia, a region spanning the south of Spain. I had to use a week's holiday before 31 March and this is the holiday I booked a bit last minute, with the same company that took me to Madeira. Here we are on the flight.
Day one of our trip was spent in Antequera, so named by the Romans because THEY thought it was old. We toured three dolmens. The first was comparatively modern, built 2500 BC. Let's say this domed roof was maybe 15 feet high? Very impressive to build this structure and drag a massive rock across the top to compress the rest of the stones.
The second wasn't as impressive inside but all three were amazing in what it took to build them. The massive stones were carved using rudimentary tools. Then set on top of a row of logs. Then 20 or 30 men working in rows pulled the stones as they rolled along on top of the logs.
A deep trench was dug around the perimeter of the dolmen and the slab slid off the logs into the trench then was supported with stones until it was upright. Each slab was shaped until if fit neatly next to the nearest slab – like a row of teeth.
One dolmen faced the summer solstice sun, one the winter solstice sun and one faced La Pena, the mountain also known as Apache, for its profile (above). While the first dolmen was 2,500 BC, the other two were 4,000 to 5,000 BC. Humans are interesting creatures, aren't we?
In the large chamber inside the dolmen above, there was a shaft that was 62 feet deep. The water at the bottom originated on La Pena. I cannot get my head around how, 7,000 years ago, humans dug a perfectly round shaft so deep in the ground. I think the stone is sandstone, which is a bit easier to work with than, say, granite, but still. Their tools were flints and deer shoulders.
Our lovely guide Alex explained what was happening in Ireland at New Grange contemporaneously. Similar construction methods but DNA tests showed the people doing the work were not related. They independently decided "Let's spend 100 years building an underground chamber that will be illuminated on the solstice."
After the dolmens we went into Antequera, a UNESCO heritage town. I was fascinated by the building on the left.
Here is its front door:
Nearby was a fortress built when Muslims controlled this region. Our guide told us that in 1492, the Inquisition kicked off, when the Spanish Catholic monarchs forced Jews and Muslims to either leave or convert. Incredibly, Spain remained a Catholic-only country until 1978.
As we walked into town, many of the houses' heavy wooden front doors were open to reveal beautifully tiled entrances.
It rained on and off today but the sun came out when we reached one of the squares in the town. Eddis and I had a lovely lunch (grilled vegetables for me with a separate plate of breaded and baked aubergine drizzled with honey – yum).
I think one of these men is the architect of the church. I should say there are lots of orange trees with big ripe Seville oranges on them. Occasionally they are crushed in the street, providing a lovely fragrance.
13 March