Original subtitles

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- Were start our journey in the city of Ronda,

the birthplace of modern bullfighting,

before moving northward over swathes of olive groves

to the spectacular Moorish clifftop castle in Zahara.

We'll explore one of the major metropolitan centers

of the ancient world, Cordoba,

and then move onward over more olive plantations

via the hidden-away hamlet of Espejo,

on the way to the fortress town of Montefrio.

Spain is the world's largest producer of olives,

and Andalusia is responsible

for 80% of Spain's total production.

So, don't surprised, as we encounter even more plantations

on the way to our final stop, Granada,

where we'll get a close look

at some of the architectural wonders

of the ancient Islamic world.

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In the words of British travel writer Jan Morris,

"The image of Spain is the image of Andalusia."

Indeed, the region's traditions of olive farming,

bullfighting, and flamenco,

have become the iconic representations of Spain.

Situated on the far south of the country,

the landscape and identity here

have been shaped by over a thousand years of invasion,

religious conflict, empires vying for power,

and the synthesis of myriad cultures,

both ancient and modern.

And perhaps no settlement better embodies

the cultural and historical eclecticism of Andalusia

than the small city of Ronda.

Archeologists believe people have settled in the area

as far back as the Neolithic Age, 8,000 to 10,000 years ago.

But since then, the town has been occupied by Celts,

Phoenicians, the Roman Empire,

the Byzantine Empire, and the Visigoths.

It was taken by Arab invaders around 700 AD,

and ruled by Islamic leaders for 800 years,

until the city fell into Catholic hands.

It was one of the most severely-affected areas

during the Spanish Inquisition,

resulting in the execution, exile, or enslavement

of thousands of Muslims and Jews.

Two centuries ago,

Napoleonic France decimated Ronda's population

in the Peninsular War,

and the city then became a bloody battleground

in the Spain Civil War of the 1930s.

In fact, in one of the more chillingly-gruesome scenes

in Ernest Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls",

fascist sympathizers were tortured and thrown

from the cliffs we see here.

But those days are behind us,

and now, with a modest population of 35,000,

Ronda is the fastest-growing city in Andalusia.

This growth is fueled primarily

by the thriving tourism economy,

which is built largely by the city's reputation

as the birthplace of modern bullfighting.

Pedro Romero, perhaps the most famous matador in history,

hailed from Ronda,

and his father is attributed with being the first

to engage bulls on his own two feet, and not on horseback.

Legend has it that Pedro himself

killed almost 6,000 bulls in this manner.

Here we see the Plaza de Toros de Ronda,

the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain,

where once a year in September residents and tourists flock

to witness the Corrida Goyesca,

a display of traditional 18th-century bullfighting.

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30 kilometers northwest,

through the mountainous Andalusian countryside,

is the province of Cadiz.

This attractive manmade reservoir

sits at the feet of the spectacular town, Zahara.

Overlooking a long valley between Ronda and Seville,

the town of Zahara grew up around the Moorish castle

built on the hilltop we see here.

Because of its strategic location,

the Muslims and Christians battled for control of the site

until 1407, when it fell into Christian hands permanently.

Zahara is one of the pueblos blancos, or white towns,

named for the whitewashed buildings

which cover the mountainside.

It has a small permanent population of about 1,600,

and although there is no real industry to speak of,

there are still some old stone olive oil presses in use.

During the famous Fiesta de Corpus Christi,

held here every year,

the residents dress their houses in plant life,

so the whole town blends into the natural surroundings.

When British travel writer Richard Ford saw this spectacle,

he dubbed the town a Moorish eagle's nest,

and the title has stuck.

On our way to the next location,

we pass over endless rows of olive plantations,

the crop so central

to Southern Spain's identity and culture.

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Olive trees grow best on limestone cliffs

and in dry, tough, craggy soil,

which, as you can see, Andalusia has in abundance.

And overlooking these fields,

we arrive at the Castle of Almodovar.

Built in 750 AD by Muslim Arabs,

this massive medieval fortress

is another example of the significant impact

the Moors had on this region's landscape and culture.

The structure is situated on a hillside,

beside the city of Almodovar,

and for hundreds of years

defended the Guadalquivir River below.

Then, in 1240, the castle was taken by Ferdinand III,

and came under Christian rule.

It then served as a place of residence

for a number of Spanish kings,

as well as a treasury and dungeon.

The spectacular preservation of the structure

can be attributed to the Earl of Torralva,

who oversaw renovation projects from 1903

to the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936.

These days, visitors have free reign to castle

and its nine massive towers,

and can even attend an historical recreation

of a knights' banquet.

25 kilometers to the east, and we approach Cordoba.

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Believed by some historians

to be the most popular city in the world

in the 10th and 11th centuries,

Cordoba was a regional powerhouse for over 1,000 years.

It was expanded as a Roman colony in the first century BC,

and was passed back and forth between powers,

until coming firmly under Arab Muslim control in 716 AD.

For the next 300 years, the city prospered economically,

politically, and culturally.

With over 3,000 mosques, massive palaces, public spaces,

and the largest library in the world at the time,

some historians estimate a population

of one million at its height.

Indeed, the city rivaled Byzantium and Baghdad

in science, culture, and the arts,

and rumors of its greatness spread

throughout the civilized world.

And no structure symbolizes the city's great ascension

and diverse identity more than the Grand Mosque.

The building was originally constructed as a church

in 600 AD by the Visigoths who had settled in the area.

Muslims then bought half the church

in the early eighth century,

and subsequently spent two centuries refashioning it

as the mosque we see today.

It remained in the caliphate's hands for 300 years,

until Ferdinand III took Cordoba

as part of the Spanish Reconquest in the mid-13th century.

It was during this time, and after,

that many Christian features were added.

A central cathedral was built in the middle of the structure

and the minaret was converted into a bell tower.

Now, the area around the Grand Mosque,

and the structure itself,

has been deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

And this is the popular open-air Plaza de la Corredera.

Once used as a site for gladiatorial matches, bullfights,

and Spanish Inquisition displays of torture,

now the plaza's uses are much tamer:

rock concerts, fruit markets,

and a lively flee market on Saturdays.

This magnificent structure,

the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos,

or the Palace of the Christian Monarchs,

has a central place in Spanish and world lore.

It served as the seat of the Spanish Inquisition

for 300 years,

with the underground Arab baths

converted into torture chambers.

And on a lighter note,

it is where Ferdinand and Isabella

first met Christopher Columbus,

and commissioned him for his trip to the New World.

South of the main castle walls are the Alcazar Gardens.

The garden's pools, terraces, and cooling fountains

display its Islamic origins,

and the people of Cordoba often retreat

to these cool gardens on hot summer days.

Cypresses and palms line the walkways,

and orange and lemon trees add a fragrance to the air.

The construction of the gardens coincided

with the completion of a nearby aqueduct and waterwheel

in the Guadalquivir River,

which fed the various water features you see here.

The garden was enjoyed by the Christian kings,

as well as the Muslims before them,

and has been well tended and loved for over 1,000 years.

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Leaving Cordoba, we pass over olive country once again,

on our way southward to Espejo.

The small village of roughly 4,000

rises out of a mass of olive groves

like a long, white ship upon the ocean,

the watchtower of the ship being the castle,

which was built in the 14th century,

and is now the private residence of the Duchess of Osuna.

The village was given the status

of a Roman colony by Julius Caesar,

after the residents assisted

in the emperor's campaign against Pompey.

Like most of Andalusia, Espejo was a Moorish settlement,

before it was completely deserted

during Ferdinand's reconquest of Spain.

Pay Arias de Castro

is attributed with constructing the castle,

and repopulating the city around the year 1300.

As can be imagined,

the main source of income for the locals is the olive trade.

For kilometers in every direction,

there is nothing but olives, olives, and more olives.

Finally, we come over a ridge,

and the olive groves give way

to the imposing limestone cliffs

of the Sierras Subbeticas Natural Park.

And somewhere among these cliffs

is the Cueva Murcielago, or the bat cave,

where Neolithic paintings and other prehistoric human traces

have been discovered by archeologists in modern times.

Again, we drift over the olive groves,

and descend on the town of Montefrio,

our first stop in the province of Granada.

The town rises over 800 meters above sea level

on a wedge-shaped cliff between two ridges,

under the protection that once was a Moorish fortress.

Archeological remains going back

5,000 years to the Copper Age

suggests that a far greater area was once inhabited.

But after the Moorish conquest,

the local population, seeking protection,

moved to where we see it now.

Houses were built into and around this impressive cliff

as a measure against attacks from Christian armies.

This Gothic church, the Castillo de la Villa,

was built on the site of the Moorish fortress

which guarded the town.

And this domed building is the Church of the Incarnation,

completed in 802, after about 20 years of work.

Designed as a perfect circle,

and built out of robust stone to withstand earthquakes,

some contemporary critics

suggested that the building's structure

is more suited as an oven than a church.

This church, the Church of the Covenant,

was originally inhabited by Franciscan monks

in the early 18th century.

Since then, it has served not only as a church,

but also a tenement house, city hall,

and more recently, a bakery.

Leaving peaceful Montefrio,

we pass over more dry rolling hills,

southeastward, and deeper into the province of Granada.

And again, vast olive plantations stretch out beneath us,

until we come to the foot of the Sierra Nevada range,

and to the capital of this province, Granada.

Established on a confluence of three rivers

under the Sierra Nevada range,

Granada has been settled by various peoples

for thousands of years.

Native Spanish, Jews, Phoenicians, and Romans

have all been in control of the area, but it was the Moors,

with their unique architecture, religion,

and penchant towards establishing well-fortified settlements

that really has given Granada

its physical identity and modern appeal.

Indeed, the city is a special place for Muslims,

as it was the last city of Islamic Spain

to fall to Ferdinand in 1492.

And with new waves of North African immigrants

coming to the city in recent years,

the city is enjoying a revival of Islamic culture.

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This is Granada Cathedral,

built during the Spanish Renaissance

in the early 16th century.

The structure was designed in fits and starts

by a number of architects and sculptors,

so a variety of styles can be seen in the construction,

including Gothic, Baroque, and Classical Renaissance.

And at the apex of the city

sits the emblematic jewel of Granada,

and perhaps the most visited monument in Spain,

the Alhambra.

Described by one 13th-century Moorish poet

as a pearl set in emeralds,

in reference to the light-colored buildings

nestled amongst green forests,

the Alhambra served as a palace, citadel, fortress,

and enclosed city for sultans and court officials

in its heyday.

At the front end of the complex is the Alcazaba,

translated simply as fortress.

Built in the ninth century,

this was the original structure on this site.

It is perched of the highest point of Sabikah Hill,

and consists of a detailed

and highly-fortified system of walls,

and three massive, dominating towers.

The largest, and by far the most prominent,

is the foremost tower, the Torre de Vela, or the watchtower.

The large bell at the front of the tower

is rung by young girls

to aid in their search of a husband,

and to ward of a life of spinsterhood.

And within the walls of the Alhambra complex,

we're looking down at the palace of Charles V.

After the Christian conquest of Granada,

members of the Spain royalty

took up full- or part-time residence within the Alhambra.

But Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor at the time,

decided he needed a palace

befitting a monarch as powerful as he.

17 meters high, with a circular courtyard,

that we're gazing into now,

the building was considered avant garde for its time,

designed as it was in the burgeoning Mannerist style

of the early Spain Renaissance.

Some art historians claim that such a style

had no precedent before this palace was built.

Adjoining the palace is the Court of the Myrtles,

named as such because of the dense rows of myrtle bushes

that line the rectangular pool.

In Hispano-Muslim houses,

the courtyard is vitally important.

It is the area around which all other rooms are placed,

and is an indicator of the wealth of the family.

The most important element in any courtyard

are the pools, fountains, and water features,

which play a central role in the design.

To the east of Sabikah Hill is the Generalife,

perched on the Hill of the Sun,

and separated from the Alhambra by a small ravine.

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If the Alhambra was built primarily

for defensive and official governing purposes,

the Generalife was conceived and constructed

only with pleasure in mind.

Unlike its neighbor, the buildings here are markedly simple,

lending a peaceful air to the architecture.

Today, these, together with the Moorish gardens,

comprise a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The word Generalife

is most commonly translated as "The Architect's Garden,"

and the title is fitting.

Designed as a rural villa and a place of rest

for Muslim royalty in the early 1300s,

the grounds are resplendent with decorative gardens,

fruit and vegetable patches,

promenades, and shaded alcoves,

and the walkways are lined with cypress and walnut trees.

The interplay of water with the sunlight

and surrounding landscape

are essential elements of these Moorish gardens.

We have seen that Andalusia and Granada in particular

has witnessed much religious strife, warfare,

invasion, and occupation over the centuries,

yet the gardens in the Generalife,

and magnificent feats of architecture like the Alhambra,

have been preserved and respected

by Christian and Muslims alike,

and are now appreciated by people

of different religions and cultures

from all over the globe.

The history of Andalusia is certainly one

of stark cultural contrasts and conflict,

but the legacy that has shaped the landscape

and the Andalusian people themselves

is a testament to the hope that perhaps

there are certain ideas and achievements

that are able to bring down the barriers

we erect between each other.

This is the real story of Andalusia,

and a great place to end this journey.

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