Devotion, tradition and gunpowder

 We are heading to Cullar.  Most of the day we will be in February 2025 - but we will have a Candlemas Bun and nip in 2009.  



The road starts alongside the motorway and, from the air, it seems almost like the view of some reconstituted wood panels - as the olive trees march in ordered ranks over the landscape.




Cullar is patronised by Our Lady of Sorrows and you have to ask if this was by way of preparing for the way ahead. Almost 4000 people choose to live here. I have headed for wiki in Spanish and run it through Google Translate.  Sorry if this is ‘rompiendo la cuarta pared’ but my Spanish isn’t up to it.  The subtitles include ‘Cultural Heritage Assets’ and ‘Forest of Books’ - which I’m rather looking forward to.




Wiki goes big on the Andalucian past.  I quote ‘Moors and Christians Festival in honor of the Blessed Virgin of the Head, in Cúllar, on the last weekend of April. Declared of Andalusian Tourist Interest.’  It further adds ‘The Moors and Christians festival in Cúllar, among the most unique in Granada, recreates the legendary clashes between the two sides every spring. Deeply rooted in popular tradition, it combines devotion, tradition, and spectacle, transforming the town's streets into a historical stage filled with music and gunpowder’


‘

Various things happened here.  Bronze Age miners did there bit. Moors and Christians fought battles - we above.  In 1522 an eathquake wrecked the town.  Some people lived in caves cut into the nearby sandy rocks. They appear to have been gold mining in the mid nineteenth century.  This was referred to in 1881 by H. Belsches Graham Bellingham as follows:


‘Around midday, as we walked along the crest of a barren hill, we passed a series of caves in the craggy rocks; they were the dwellings of troglodyte peasants and gypsies. We were approaching the strange town of Cúllar de Baza..’



Well, we are in town so time for a snack at the Casa dolos venta alegre.  It gets 4.3 stars from 831 reviews.  Six days ago Pepeperez63 liked it. ‘Hi, I went on a weekday with my son and ordered the set menu. Everything I ordered was delicious, and the price was 13 euros, which I think is reasonable because they give you a good amount. 10 out of 10!’  





Estrella seems to have fallen out with them three weeks ago. ‘Bad service from the afternoon waiter, a foreigner who told us to enjoy the Fanta in the glass because he wouldn't serve us another one.’  I wonder what happened.


We will continue to potter along the edge of town - wondering of the old arrangement in the wall is for some ritual or a homage to the cave people.  We end at an unreviewed roundabout.  The nearby Bar Taperia La Cora [4.3 stars, 200 reviews]  https://local.ilacfiyati.org/es-view.php?seo=la-cora-327764  Paco wanted a meal and so might we. ‘I only stopped to buy water and an Aquarius, but I was very impressed. Next time I'll stop for a meal and share my experience. The lady who served me was very friendly.’















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