Lorca

Under normal circumstances, the mountain would have been blasted apart to make way for the asphalt motorway that is draped like a ribbon over the countryside along the entire length of the Mediterranean.

Not this time though because on top of the featureless bluff is a fabulous castle that dominates the skyline and can be seen by all the people who speed past locked in their own bubbles of reality.

This is the Sun Fortress of Lorca, Murcia Province.

It has only recently been restored to part of its former glory and represents not only a significant economic resource for the people of Lorca, but also presents a thematic approach to the history of Lorca and the surrounding area.

Step into a time machine (literally) and be transported back to the 13th century when Spain was dominated by the Moors and Lorca was a defensive city whose primary function was defence of the Arabic possessions.

Learn, through cleverly reproduced interactive displays, how the people of the time lived, worked and played; all of this with a spectacular backdrop of some of the most impressive countryside in southern Spain.

Lorca, however, is more than this. The current town administrators make tourist feel welcome and, although entering the town can be a bit hairy because of sharing the narrow streets with large lorries – undoubtedly part of the drive towards modernisation and restoration – there is a comprehensive programme of visits and well marked itineraries of discovery all designed to maximise exposure of the town’s undoubted charms. T

Here is even a little ‘tourist train’ that takes people on regular visits through the streets showing them the main points of interest from the comfort of a padded seat. Lorca was officially declared an ‘historical and artistic’ treasure in 1964 and, walking the streets, its obvious why.

The architecture spans all periods of the development of modern day Spain from pre-history to modern times and the city is full of churches, palaces and monuments that celebrate a rich historical tradition.

As it is written in the tourist literature: Enter, traveller, in Lorca.

Walk through the geography of time, stroll around the corners of the past, browse the land where history comes to life.

More information: http://www.lorca.es/