Friday, September 2
We set off in bright sunshine again and headed for the main attractions (to us) in town. First up was the Roman Ampitheatre which was built in the 1st C AD when the Romans were in charge of Spain. It is situated at the base of the walls of the Alcazaba and was only rediscovered in 1951 when some slums were being demolished! There was a very good interpretation center nearby to explain how this theater was used in Roman times, and what had happened to it over the centuries.
We then visited the Alcazaba, a place I had been to in 1974, and the wonderful memories from then have made me want to come back here and share it with Noelle. It is a palace fortress and is one of the most important preserved Arabic constructions in Spain. The impressive group of buildings mostly date from the 11th C, and was built by the Arab rulers of the city, following the contours of the hill it is built on. This added to the defensive capability of the fort and the palace inside.
The views from the fort are fabulous, while inside the palace there were beautiful gardens and fountains fed by gravity that gave a cooling effect as you walk around. Some of the palace buildings and features were built between the 11th and 16th centuries, and the architecture depends on who was in charge at the time! Some of the doorways, ceilings, cornices, tiling and carving have a real moorish feel about it, and it's certainly beautiful to look at. Again I'll let the pictures do the talking!
After a late lunch we again rested up, and went out later on to soak up the night time atmosphere of Malaga - I'll make Malaga at night a separate post before we leave.
We set off in bright sunshine again and headed for the main attractions (to us) in town. First up was the Roman Ampitheatre which was built in the 1st C AD when the Romans were in charge of Spain. It is situated at the base of the walls of the Alcazaba and was only rediscovered in 1951 when some slums were being demolished! There was a very good interpretation center nearby to explain how this theater was used in Roman times, and what had happened to it over the centuries.
We then visited the Alcazaba, a place I had been to in 1974, and the wonderful memories from then have made me want to come back here and share it with Noelle. It is a palace fortress and is one of the most important preserved Arabic constructions in Spain. The impressive group of buildings mostly date from the 11th C, and was built by the Arab rulers of the city, following the contours of the hill it is built on. This added to the defensive capability of the fort and the palace inside.
The views from the fort are fabulous, while inside the palace there were beautiful gardens and fountains fed by gravity that gave a cooling effect as you walk around. Some of the palace buildings and features were built between the 11th and 16th centuries, and the architecture depends on who was in charge at the time! Some of the doorways, ceilings, cornices, tiling and carving have a real moorish feel about it, and it's certainly beautiful to look at. Again I'll let the pictures do the talking!
After a late lunch we again rested up, and went out later on to soak up the night time atmosphere of Malaga - I'll make Malaga at night a separate post before we leave.
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