The wicked Roderick and the reason for the Conquest - with intermittent fevers.

 We are now heading through Cijuela and Lachar, both of which are bounded by the A-92. Greater Cijuela has about 4000 people in it and the nearby pueblos.  Going back to the Middle Ages a couple of towers were built. The first was destroyed by the troops of Don Alvaro de Luna in 1431 and all traces of it have gone. The second has remains but I am not sure who did for it.

In 1760 only forty people lived here. In 1776 flax and hemp arrived and things pushed up.  In 1850 Pascual Madoz’s work on ‘Spain and its Overseas Possessions’ said - in an edited form:

‘... situated on a plain in the Granada valley, not very healthy due to the tides of the Genil River, which is 400 to 500 varas to the north, suffering from intermittent fevers. It has 101 houses, including the town hall in poor condition, a primary school endowed with 2 reales daily, which is attended by 17 to 20 children, a modern hermitage, belonging to the Duke of Abrantes, lord of the town, which serves as the parish church, dedicated to Jesus of Nazareth, ……  served by a chaplain, to whom the residents pay 40 fanegas of wheat as a tribute. …… The river, which crosses the royal road to Málaga, Seville, etc., carries little water, but it is prone to flooding, making a bridge extremely necessary. A bridge would cost little, given the stony terrain. Within the town limits, there is no spring to supply the residents, who must rely on the spring at Fuente-Baqueros. ….. The roads between towns are flat, but impassable, as are the streets, during rainy periods due to the clay soil. The exception is the aforementioned royal road from Granada to Málaga, Cádiz, and Seville, which passes not far from and to the south of the town. Mail is received from Santafé once or twice a week by a muleteer. Products include wheat, barley, broad beans, flax, and corn, as well as some sheep. Industry: agriculture. Population: 103 households, 468 inhabitants. ….. Tradition relates that this town had a greater number of houses and households in another era; but that, having ordered its ruin by the territorial and manorial lord, only 14 buildings remained: so that the increase to the 101 it has today, has occurred in the last 40 years.’

In 1898 sugar beets arrived and things, as they say, could only get better.  It did. The population of 1887 was 662. It rose to 1302 in 1940.  Then the rural decline saw a reduction to 1018 - at which point it started to push up as a suburban pueblo of Granada and the populace doubled between 2001 to 2011.

Well we will pop along the road, scrambling over the barriers and slump into the Aitor Pozuelo Streakhouse. Clearly it is a popular haunt as over 2500 people have visited here.  https://thesteakhousebyaitorpozuelo.tucartadigital.com/es/  Fifty Shades of Food [this isn’t a teenage boy as they eat fifty shades of beige foods]  said ‘Fantastic experience at Steakhouse by Aitor Pozuelo! The €14 menu of the day was a steal—delicious, high-quality dishes that exceeded expectations. The staff were attentive and professional, making the meal even more enjoyable. Definitely worth a visit!’.  Four days ago Alvaro reckoned ‘We stopped here on our way back from Sierra Nevada for a break, and what a find! Nico gave us exceptional service, and we were able to explore the restaurant and its exclusive menu of high-quality meats. We'll definitely be back!’

On to Lachar.  Apparently Neolithic people settled here, by the Rio Genil. Fast forward to 709 and a Visigothic palace is mentioned where Count Julian ruled. Apparently, and this may be wandering into legend here, Jules had a daughter who was a lady in waiting and violated by King Roderic.  Lachar palace was built, in this telling, was built for said daughter to protect her from Rodi’s evil intentions.  Julian then invited the Moors to conquer to Spain.  Apparently no fortified place was referred to till after these events ‘took place’ so, maybe not.

In the last elections [2024] the PSOE got 870 votes and 5 councillors, the United Left 864 and 4 councillors.  The PP got 348 and 2 councillors.  The current mayor is Elisabeth Barnes Rodriguez of the United Left.

We will pass the Castle Lachar.  https://castillodelachar.es/  It gets 4.7 stars from about 1500 reviews.   The current  Castle began life in the  14th century with the construction of a watchtower on the lands of the Nasrid royal family. After the conquest the lands passed into the hands of the Cañaveral family, who gradually expanded the building until, in the 19th century, Julio Quesada Cañaveral added a palace section to the existing structure. Following his appointment as Duke of San Pedro de Galatino and Grandee of Spain, the castle became a place to host notables such as the  Impressionist painter Joaquín Sorolla, the Marquis of Viana, and  King Alfonso XIII.

So we end another day.