| - MURCIA -
Wedged between the Valencia
region and Andalucia. Murcia was historically coveted by Castilians and
Valencians alike, but nevertheless managed to develop a strong personality
of its own. Murcia was home to the ancient Iberians, Carthaginians and
Romans, as well as the Visigoths and Moors. All found a land of plenty,
and Murcia evolved as a synthesis of the different civilizations that passed
through Spain. One of the most fair-weather regions of Spain, Murcia receives
three thousand hours of sunshine a year, and the Mar Menor ("Little Sea"),
a huge salt water lagoon, enclosed by sand banks that is the largest of
the European continent, provides magnificently warm waters and many extra
miles of beachfront. Conditions are ideal for creating salt flats, from
which salt was extracted by the ancients to preserve fish, and today it
is a local industry. At the northern end of the lagoon the salt pans and
wading flamingos present a stunning scene.
Murcia yields the finest
fruit and garden produce and is known for the intense flavor and vivid
colors of its vegetables. Its huertas (family farming plots) and rice fields,
both products of centuries-old Moorish irrigation systems, turn an otherwise
arid landscape richly green. In Alcantarilla there is still an enormous
functioning Arab waterwheel, turned by the force of river waters flowing
from the mountains, that scoops up the water as it passes and deposits
it in aqueducts that lead to the huertas. Murcia penetrates much farther
into the mountainous interior of Spain that other east coast provinces,
and it is in the hillier terrain that the fine Jumilla wines are made
Gastronomy
Naturally, the region's
fine vegetables are the stars of Murcian cooking, along with rice dishes
made from locally grown Calasparra rice, the only Spanish rice with its
own denomination of origin.
Attractions
The capital city of Murcia
is known for fine dining, for its Old Quarter and its singular Salzillo
Museum, where the dramatic, life-size wood polychrome works of the prolific
eighteenth century Murcian sculptor, Francisco Salzillo, are concentrated.
- VALENCIA -
The autonomous region of
Valencia is comprised of three provinces: Castellon, Valencia and Alicante,
and it occupies the central portion of Spain's eastern coastline. Wide
fine sand beaches, year round gentle climate, endless sunshine and the
sparkling Mediterranean makes this a region exceptionally popular with
tourists. Valencia is a prosperous region, a patchwork of orchards, rice
paddies and vineyards. Some farm land, however, has given way to industry
since the 1960's, for Valencia is a key manufacturing center for textiles,
toys, and footwear.
The Valencia of today owes
much to the early Moors, who occupied the region. They introduced the complex
irrigation systems that insure Valencia's fertility and also began the
cultivation of oranges and rice that has remained the mainstay of the region's
agriculture. Today orange groves blanket the northern province of Castellon,
while pancake-flat rice fields dominate the province of Valencia close
to the coast. To the west mountains loom, and it is in these higher elevations
that wine is produced. It was also during Moorish times that a silk industry
grew up, paper manufacturing began in the Xativa area, and distinctive
ceramics began to be fashioned at Manises.
Gastronomy
In Valencia you can eat
wonderfully fresh Mediterranean seafood, but the region's glory is paella,
a rice dish that comes in endless varieties and has travelled the world.
Rice is a staple of the Valencian diet and nowhere else will you find paella
so exquisitely prepared.
Attractions
Valencia has a well developed
culture of its own that can be traced back to prehistoric cave paintings
and to the ancient Iberian civilization that flourished here and produced
such extraordinary sculptural works as the Dama de Elche (Lady of Elche).
The Romans left their mark, notably in Sagunto, where a well preserved
Roman theater still survives. The Arabs bequeathed their castles and their
architecture to Valencia, and to this day the mock battles between Moors
and Christians are a much-loved fiesta throughout the region. Valencia's
other fiestas are equally colourful, for Valencians love music and fireworks.
When it comes to celebrating, the people of this region are joyful and
showy to the point of ostentation (witness the famous Las Fallas festival
in the city of Valencia) and might explain why Baroque architecture struck
such strong roots in the area.
Text courtesy of the Tourist
Office of Spain |
