High on top of the highest hill in Alicante sits the Castillo de Santa Barbara (The Fortress of Santa Barbara). It is the largest medievil fortress in Europe. It was built by the Moors around the 10th century and was liberated from them in the name of Christendom on Dec. 4th 1248 when the Moors were driven out of Alicante. That date happens to be St. Barbara's day, hence the name Fortress of St. Barbara.
The castle does not sit on one level. It is a hike to get to the top. I was really impressed with its location and imagined being a defender and looking down on armies trying to scramble up the hill while dodging anything and everything that I could throw at them. Even the road up to the castle is steep and windy.
View from the first level of the castle looking straight down towards the beach.
Looking to the north east. Notice the first level wall in the lower left of the picture.
Looking to the southwest. Notice the wall starting in the upper right hand corner.
Taken a little higher up.
almost to the top.
From the top level , looking down to where the barracks and living quarters were.
From the top of the castle looking down on the harbor.
A shot of the castle from the ship as we are sailing away.
It was a very enjoyable day in a place I never would have thought of as a destination. For more information on Alicante go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alicante.
1 comment:
Nice idea to take photographs as you work your way to the top. I would do that as a way to stop and catch my breath! This looks really steep.
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