Friday, 19 January 2024

Andalusia 2019 - Part 9 - Antequera

The day after Cadiz, we spent the morning in Antequera, which is a delightfully named town which became even more evocative when the tour guide explained it was called that because it was old when the Romans came. 

Local tourism board - https://antequera.co.uk/ 
Andalusian tourism board - https://www.andalucia.org/en/antequera 

We arrived near the Tourist Office and walked along to one of the squares which had some pretty fountains: Four water fountains, with the spouts coming out of faces. Behind them are three storey white buildings. Bronze animal head that is also a fountain. It is probably supposed to be a lion, but might be a bear. The artist was trying, alright. 

From there, we walked up the hill to the arch of the giants, created for Philip II of Spain. Big stone arch. On the left hand side is some sort of fir/pine tree. The stone arch is as high as them. It is about 7 metres high. 

Past the arch lies the Real Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor (https://www.andalucia.org/en/antequera-cultural-tourism-real-colegiata-de-santa-maria-la-mayor) Very pointy renaissance church. There is a statue outside it and fir/pine trees on both sides. 

I also managed to get probably my best photo technically of the trip, capturing the flag fluttering in the breeze. White flag fluttering in the breeze against a blue sky with clouds. There is a heraldic lion in black on the flag. From the top of the hill you could get a very nice view over the whole town. A view down some steps. On the two sides are white painted houses with orange tiled roofs. In the centre of the stairs is a fir tree. In the distance is an orange stone church. Photo over the top of more orange tiled houses. In the centre is another church, the top of bell tower is in a black stone 

There is a distinctly large number of churches per square foot. According to the tourism board it has the highest churches per person in Spain, and I could believe it. In a panorama shot that didn't quite come out, unfortunately, I managed to get 15 church spires in one shot.

Have a detail from one of them   Thick wooden church door with a niche above it. In the niche is a statue of the Virgin Mary. 

I must admit my favourite bit of decoration was this graffiti. White wall, with a very basic drawing of a planet with something orbiting it. Underneath is something that says something like Me siento astronauta pendida en los lunanes, which google translates as I feel like an astronaut hanging in the moon 
The next photo is from the top of the hill too. In the distance, you can see a hill that looks like a man's face coming out of the ground. The hill is called the Lover's Rock (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pe%C3%B1a_de_los_Enamorados) and has the exact star-crossed lover's throwing themselves off of it stories you'd imagine. A panorama of white walled houses with orange tiled roofs. At the front are the black metal rails of a balcony. In the distance is a mountain that looks like the face of a giant lying down. 

We had a very nice lunch in the town square, and then on to our next destination.
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