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A BRIEF ACCOUNT ABOUT THE ALPUJARRAS The region of mountain villages known as Las Alpujarras lies on the southern flanks of the Sierra Nevada with breathtaking valleys and gorges which run down towards the Mediterranean coast. The Alpujarra is famous for its mini ecology system watered by the melting snow from the mountains of the Sierra Nevada. The terraced lands that you see are always a shade of green due to the constant supply of snow melt. The cultural interest of this region lies in the small cluster of villages, which were the last stronghold of the Moors (Spanish Muslims). Soon after the Castilans took Granada in 1492, all the city’s Moors were forced to convert to Christianity. Those of them who refused left for the hill, settling in this remote, inaccessible area. Constant pressure from the Christians led to a bloody uprising, the morisco rebellion of 1568, which was ruthlessly crushed, with the public execution of the leader, Ben Humeya, in Granada. Soon followed a royal decree expelling from the Granada kingdom all people of Arab descent. The villages of the Alpujarras were resettled with 12,000 Christian families brought by King Philip II from Galicia and Asturias in the north west of Spain. However, these villages have retained their traditional Berber architecture small white box shaped houses with flat clay roofs which still can be seen in the Rif and Atlas Mountains in Morocco. To my mind the prettiest villages are the trio which are situated in the Poqueira valley starting with Pampaneira going up to Bubión and finishing with Capileira at the top. This village name is an Arabic deviation of the Latin word for head or top as it is the uppermost village before you get to the southern slopes of the Sierras. Of one of the great many books written on Spain one is devoted to The Alpujarras, Gerald Brenan’s "South from Granada" which recounts the adventures of a young man, after serving in the first World War, who walked through Andalucia in search of a cheap place to live and write. He discovered Yégen, a tiny village high up in The Alpujarras, where he rebuilt a ruin and lodged some of his friends of the famous Bloomsbury group of London. Another more up to date tale of this area written by Chris Stewart, "Driving Over Lemons" tells more of an up to the date account of life in the "campo" - modern style. The Alpujarras are also famous for its stunning variety of wildlife and it is a birdwatchers paradise. If you are lucky you may be able to spot a Cabra Hispanica, a mountain goat that can walk and run up a sheer rock face at aq hint of danger. The range of the birdlife here is fantastic you can see at various times of the year birds of prey, hoopees and a variety of birds coming and going from the different climates of the world. There are plenty of books about Spain on offer and all have sections on The Alpujarras. The best advice is to come and see for yourself, one of Europe’s less polluted and populated areas of outstanding beauty. |
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