We have a non-riding day in Ronda, Spain, a very popular tourist destination now and also in the early 1900's when Ranier Maria Rilke a famous German poet, Ernest Hemingway the American writer and Orson Welles American movie director and actor spent time here. The town is especially crowded today since it's Tuesday of Easter week, a huge Spanish holiday.
We took advantage of some sunshine in the morning and walked across the new bridge - built between 1759 and 1793 to replace earlier bridges that had collapsed and also to handle the increasing traffic.
look at the window over the central arch - that is the site of a prison when the bridge was built
On one side of the new bridge is the new part of town, with the older, original town on the opposite side. Romans lived here and over the centuries the city was conquered by many different armies. In the 8th century it came under Moorish rule which lasted until 1485 when it was taken by Christians. Walked through the Casa del Rey Moro built in the early 1700's. It boasts several different levels of beautiful gardens which provide amazing views across the Guadalevin river gorge.
Peacocks live in the gardens, and this one spent several minutes showing off his colorful tail feathers and strutting around.
The other feature of Casa del Rey Moor is what is called the water mine, or a deep, circular well with 193 steps that circular around the inner edge leading 196' down to the river level. It's believed to have been carved out of the rock cliffs in the 12th century as a source of water during sieges, and that Christian slaves were the ones who toiled at the bottom of the mine to bring water up to the surface.
The stairs and stone walls are wet and thank goodness there is a handrail. The view at the river's edge, looking up the cliffs to the city on top, is amazing.
We then walked through the Arch of Felipe V built in 1741 and across what is known as the old bridge, after the collapse of an earlier bridge.
Now on the opposite side of the river, we walked through several levels of gardens that look across the city.
view of Casa del Rey Moor from across the river
In the evening we attended the Ronda Flamenca show with guitar, singer, dancer, and rhythm player. They were fantastic! Flamenco originated in this area of Spain in the 18th century. It was a fun way to end a busy day in Ronda. Tomorrow we continue to ride west toward Portugal.
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