Segorbe is a good idea

 We are heading into Segorbe. We have reached a town of standing, some 10,000 souls, guarding the way down to the coastal plains. It has History - well, where doesn’t.  The last Almohad governor of Valencia, Zayd Abu Zayd, hung around here till he was deposed in 1229. James I made it part of Aragon in 1238.  Martin I had a residence here and married local girl Maria de Luna in 1372.  The town wandered around the 7000 mark until the 1940s.  Since then it has grown, especially after 2000.







We are going to enjoy wandering through the backstreets and tiny squares, crammed with cafes and diverse delights.  We will pass the Medieval aqueduct. Yes, I know, not Roman! No, its an 11th / 12th century Moorish piece of water based joy.  The suruving bits date to the 14th century,  https://turismo.segorbe.es/patrimonio/monumentos/acueducto-medieval/ 





Next to the Cathedral.  Built in the  13th century , on the site of a mosque, the works began in 1246 being of  a transitional Gothic style , with some elements of Romanesque style. In the middle of the  17th century , several works were carried out and then it got a big rebuilding in 1791.  The new cathedral was built in  neoclassical style , with a single nave without a transept supported by Corinthian pilasters. 



In September the bulls are run.  They are a bit proud that this is a variant on the human meets bull vive, once common across Spain.   First mentioned in 1336, the Entrada de Toros y Caballos, takes place at 2pm for a week. Aa firework announces the start - it is Spain, after all. A herd of fighting bulls is then released onto the street to run along a route that concludes at Torre del Verdugo in Plaza de la Cueva Santa. There are no barriers along the side of the route; instead the twelve horsemen -who are selected at random - are tasked with guiding the bulls through the town.   There is ‘an interpretation centre’ which has more details.




Time for an iced cream.  The Heladeria Penalver is open from 10.30am to 10pm - Midnight on Fridays and Saturdays,  Eight months ago Cristina wrote ‘The ice cream is delicious and very creamy, made in-house and at a more than affordable price, cheap in fact. The mocha ice cream, which is what I tried today, is very smooth and has nothing to do with the industrial coffee flavor that leaves an aftertaste. Yes, it is true that it is small, but Segorbe is a good idea to order it to go and take it for a walk. Nice to meet you’




So we wander out the other end of the town,











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