Last Saturday when we visited the very interesting Sanctuary of Saint Mary Magdalene, we also looked around the remains of a fortress located on the same hill. It was a nice, sunny day so we enjoyed the pleasant temperature, the air, the views and spent some time there around the church.
There was also a cosy restaurant; I asked my boys if they wanted a cup of coffee or a glass of juice, but they were fine with walking around and not sitting in one place. Also, they suspected it would be a more pricy place because of the tourists frequenting the sanctuary.
Although there were signs indicating where we could arrive by taking one of these paths, we stayed just there in La Mola. My son and I discovered that the entrance to the fortress was next to the restaurant (it wasn't hard to find out, except that we weren't prepared, we didn't even know that it was a fortress and sanctuary complex).
My husband was walking on the other side of the church, I think he went down to a little path through pine trees, and by the time he got there, my son and I had already climbed one of the towers. That was the picture where I was waving with both hands, and you can see it here, the second photo.
Crossing this gate I found a very rough, uneven surface. The ground is rocky, which is probably suitable for the foundations of a stone fortress, but I am not an expert in construction, so I may be wrong. But the fact is that this complex was built many centuries ago, and I know why they used to build these castles on hills - the enemy can be spotted easily from here and a possible fight can be prepared on time.
In this area, there was a whole network of fortresses that were built in the Middle Ages. I visited more of them in June but I still didn't get there to post about the one in Villena, it is very well-preserved and has a great history. This in Novelda has just two towers, and the archaeological excavations that took place around the 1980s brought to light the remains of the fortress's premises (mill, oven, well, rooms, etc.). All these fortresses constituted an important system of defence of the Andalusian territory against the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. When the Christians took the possessions of the castles, some features of the constructions were changed.
As I mentioned, two towers are left, the rectangular one is missing its top, I think it is missing a whole floor - the entrance to that one is not possible. I just looked through the lattice.
The second tower is the one I clibmed. It has a triangular shape!! So rare I think, it was the first tower in this shape I have seen.
From this board, you can see what the fortress looked like in the past and in comparison, the current view of it. Notice the triangular tower? It says it is the only one in Spain in this shape.
Let's climb now the stairs to the top of this cool tower and see the valley and the remains of the fortress's premises. The passages in the tower were steep and dark, but luckily there were windows through which the light could enter and illuminate parts of the staircase.
We are close to reaching the top of the tower :)
The views from here were great; we could see the whole Vinalopó valley, the fields, the railways where the high-speed train passes, the highway, and the marble factories. Did you know that one of the most important industrial activities in this town is the manufacture of natural stone and marble?
Here, we see the sanctuary and the other tower and some tourists that arrived in the meantime. I hoped they would not want to climb the tower as the passages were narrow. We would have to wait until they climb first, there was no space for two people on the staircases.
The results of the archaeological excavations give us an idea of where the rooms were.
Although we were there on the top of the tower for quite a long time, it was time to go home. Ok, so the same way down as we climbed. This way is more risky; one has to pay full attention to not missing a stair while walking in the dark.
Oh, a photo of me! The credits go to Mr Mipiano.
Our unplanned visit to this Medieval castle (just the sanctuary was planned) was nice. It gives a good feeling to look at a huge territory and imagine how it was in the past. The location of the fortress was undoubtedly always well chosen, and we can see why.
Two things I loved.... the stairs... I imagined myself going down them.... I love to explore and then the views, the landscape... formidable... what a beautiful place, so much peace!!! I love it! Although it wasn't planned you found a marvel!😃
First, you would have to climb and then go down the stairs 😁
They were narrow and a bit slippery, so I had to go slowly. Although I was used to seeing the sea for the last decade, now I have to get used to seeing different landscapes ;)
But in addition to these landscapes .... is there a sea? Yes, isn't it?
Well there's a lot to explore!
El mar sigue en su sitio jaja, y yo lo veo cada vez bajo hacia él. Ayer también 😉
Genial! Entonces podrás hacer una de las cosas que más te gusta, piedras!😃
Ya, habrá que llevar más piedras a casa jajaja, porque de las que tengo no hago ni una mini colección. 😂 Pintarlas - me costará porque no hice ninguna desde hace mucho 🤦♀
No importa, pinta, no importa lo que cueste! Te relaja hacerlo y tu mente lo necesita.
Long time no speak, read, heard - glad you are still active here
Hey there, @uwelang!
Long time no speak indeed, I hope you are doing well. I had some tiny little breaks, but yes, I am indeed still here around. Less music content, but IRL the piano is busy with me haha.
Thank you for stopping by, greetings, tschüss 👋
Mola La Mola. O La Mola mola. 🤣🤣
What different visits in such a small space, each with its particular charm. From what can be seen in the ruins they were quite cramped in the castle. It's what it takes to look for places with those wide views. And climb many stairs!
Hahaha, sí, La Mola mola 🤣
Me he dado cuenta y quería poner una frase similar pero en Inglés no da gracia.
I think these rooms were the mill and then the oven where they made bread, jail 🤐, the water cistern, etc, but I also see them small compared to what we consider a normal room haha
Nice landscape, always fortresses were built in places where they could control the whole territory. Surely the history of the place is very interesting. You look good going down those stairs, thanks as you say to Mr. Mipiano. A hug.🤗🥰
Sí, así es. Así podían controlar territorios grandes y defenderse. Gracias Mamani, Mr Mipiano pensaba que sería un momento bonito para capturar bajando de las escaleras :)
Such stunning views. Love the overall look of this medieval castle.
So much cute corners, nooks and crannies hahaha
Love walk around.
Have a fantastic weekend 😊
!LADY
Hehe, it was an interesting visit, we don't regret going there that Saturday morning. Thank you, Jackie, and have a great weekend you too! 😊
It looked so nice.
You are welcome, thanks a lot 😊
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Wow, what an awesome place to be @mipiano! A fortress in the middle of nowhere. Amazing how we still know so much about it even though it was used hundreds of years ago. In this kind of place I would love to be able to time travel and experience the life and the vibe from back then on my own.! - Now we can only imagine how it has been while walking through those tight ways. Thanks for taking us on your adventure with you!
And congrats to another 3 tickets for the winter challenge by being curated! If you want to get even more tickets next time, make sure to use the hashtag #winterchallenge in your post and/or do a snap about it in our community using all 3 hashtags #worldmappin #winterchallenge and #traveldigest
Thank you Liz 😇
Oh, it is also one of my wishes, I mean no real wishes as it can't happen, haha, but it would be cool to be able to time travel and live some days/weeks, maybe years if I like, in the past... but then come back to the present :D
Thank you for your suggestions. Is the tag winterchallenge only for the posts connected to winter, right?
Sorry for a bit delayed response 😅
Hey there, yeath traveling in time would be so awesome! I would only travel to the past though - never to the future 😅
You are welcome @mipiano. Well, we are in the middle of winter. It can be about Christmas markets, winter or escaping winter or things that you can do in winter as well.. so in my opinion, it is basically about anything ❤️
Thank you very much for the explanation! There were some Chrismas markets in several towns around (but they last just for a few days), but I didn't get time to visit them 🤐 I am looking forward to the next one that I can catch :D And winter... oh, I have some pending posts from a visit to Portugal that happened one winter, time to find the photos and write a post 😁
Awesome! Looking forward to seeing them @mipiano❤️☀️
Really? so jealous hahaha I see your clothes and I can't believe that this has been so recent, with the freezing cold here in Zaragoza hahaha.
Oh, the only triangular tower, that is worth to be seen, it is curious honestly, it looks like an invention taken from a children's story.
It is very cool when you go to visit something and you find much more, those are good surprises, the ruins of this kind of castles always make one think about the importance of these places, strategically chosen to safeguard the region. Reliving stories. Beautiful walk.
Yeah, I heard it was misty and cold in Zaragoza. Paloma mentioned it in her comments and also one of my students, who drives karting and went there for a race. They had cancelled a few slots because of the fog.
The triangular tower, as I read on the board, is the only one in Spain in such a shape. Strategically always perfect spots for the castles and fortresses, there on the hills or little mountains! Smart people they were :)
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Thank you very much @ybanezkim26 😇
You are very welcome @mipiano! it was well deserved. ☀️
Keep up the great work 💪
Tenemos fortalezas con semejantes constricción en la Habana
Sí, y creo que en La Habana están mejor conservados que este antiguo, que data de edad media cuando el territorio andalusí quería defenderse de los reinos cristianos. Gracas por pasar, un saludo 👋
Ah .. entonces es bastante antiguo!!
Sí
I also wanted to go in that place. Thank you for sharing that wonderful photos.
And thank you for checking out ;)
Its amazing to think about how these places were built so long ago and still give us a glimpse of history.
Hm, yes, that is true. I wonder, what will stay from the buildings constructed nowadays, would they stand after a few centuries
What a nice cultural trip my profession is Sociocultural Studies, so I love everything that has to do with history, culture and heritage. Undoubtedly it is a place to enjoy and to know. Ah the photo taken by Mr. Mipiano is very nice because he loves that talented and beautiful girl, congratulations. Thanks for sharing.
I also like history even though I don't know much. But being in such a place always makes me think about how they lived indeed, and how went their daily life. Gracias por pasar ;)
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Thank you :)
There are some very interesting pictures.