The problem with lists is that they have a tendency to grow. An example, of this is my “to do” list, where I cross one thing off and my wife adds another three. An even better example is “the list of places in Spain we want to visit”. For those of us who live in, or have the opportunity to spend a lot of time in Spain, we are totally spoilt with places to visit.
Having crossed off Barcelona, Seville and (the very underrated) Malaga, we thought we were doing well, until – pass me the list and the pen – we watched The Art of Spain on BBC4. The title of this show would indicate that the show would be pretentious and feature somebody in various art galleries talking about 'Picasso's wonderful use of light on the blue woman's fourth square eye'. Thankfully, it was not. But in all honesty, my wife and I only watched it because the first of the three part series featured the south of Spain, more specifically, Andalucia.
The shows host, Andrew Graham-Dixon, started off in Cordoba, a city already high on my list, and showed the Mezquita, the mosque, the building of which started in 784 AD. Despite being converted into cathedral after the Reconquista (Spanish for reconquest, which was a 750 year period during which the majority of the Iberian Peninsula transformed itself from Muslim Moorish states into Christian ones) the vast majority of the building is still the original Moorish construction. The building looks like a good enough reason to visit Cordoba alone.
After Cordoba, the cathedral in Seville was featured. The cathedral is the largest in the world and having been there, I can confirm it is a truly awe inspiring place in terms of its scale and beauty. The final place featured in the Andalucian region was Granada, or more specifically, the Alhambra. The show confirmed to me what a fantastic country I have chosen to live in with so many interesting places within a driveable distance. My wife and I are planning our holiday for next year and we intend not to venture overseas, but to stay in Spain and cross off some places off our “to visit” list.
Two places not in Andalucia that were featured on the show have also been added to our list. Belchite is in the Zaragoza province of Spain, and in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War was the scene of the Battle of Belchite. The town was ruined during the battle. After 1939 a new village was built near to the old, ruined village, which has been left untouched as a memorial to the war. The remains of the village has featured in a number of films, most recently the award winning Pan's Labyrinth. It has the feel of a ghost town and is a poignant reminder of the horrors of war.
Secondly there is the Dali museum which is in the small town of Figueres, a 1 hour 15 minute train journey from Barcelona. The museum was described on the show as “more of a surreal theme park than a museum” and looks completely over-the-top. Such installations as the Mae West room, a room whose contents such as the curtains, the furniture and two paintings of eyes merge to show the face of Mae West. Similarly, 'Gala Nude watching the Sea' is a painting of a lady looking out of the window which when viewed from 20 metres away turns into a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. This museum, with its tongue firmly in its cheek, is a “must see”. Also featured on the show was a clip of an American TV advertisement for Alka Seltzer featuring Salvador Dali himself. Now how surreal is that?
The Alhambra also recently featured in another BBC TV programme; Around the World in 80 Gardens, and quite rightly so. The different plants and trees in and around the palace give the place a different feel depending on when you visit. I have been in the summer and at the end of winter/early spring and both times it looked absolutely beautiful. One garden that was not featured (although I have not seen the whole series so I could be wrong) was the Los Manantiales Botanic Gardens, in Torremolinos which is situated on the site of El Molino de Inca, one of the areas oldest water mills from which Torremolinos derived its name. Anybody that loves gardens should visit this botanic garden which has more than 500 species of trees set in 40,000 m2. Here you can see trees from all over the world from far flung places such as India and Mexico and many birds kept in large cages. However, the highlight for me was the use of water fed by natural mountain spring water (los manantiales) to create a water fall and various water features. We attended on El Dia de Andalucia just after the gardens re-opened for the afternoon at 16:00. We had the garden almost to ourselves and it was an oasis of tranquillity considering its proximity to the E15 Autovia.
The entrance to Molina de Inca is only 3 € and is excellent value for money. The opening hours are Oct – April 10.30. – 13.30 & 16.00 – 18.00; May-Sept 11.30 – 13.30 & 18.00 – 21.00. The garden is closed on Mondays.
You can find the gardens just off the E15 at the exit for Torremolinos and Palacio de Congresos. Being such a short drive or bus ride away, this is an easy place to cross off your “to see” list.
Andy Wilkes
