Tuesday, 29 November 2016

El Palmeral - the palm grove of Elche

Iberians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Visigoths and Moors have in turn, invaded the Land of Valencia and nowhere in this region are the legacies left by these ‘guests’ more evident than in Elche.
The most visible memento is the palm trees that were planted by the Moors. Elche is simply inundated with them! Over 200,000 palm trees surround the city making it more like a forest than an urban landscape. The Moors formally laid out the ‘Palmeral of Elche’ in the 10th century. They installed elaborate irrigation systems and these are still functioning today as are the agricultural practices developed by these enterprising people. 
Elche is a World Heritage site because the palm forest is so impressive and important…. 
(extract from “Spanish Matters (chap 3 – El Huerto de Cura)”
Other blogs by Robert Bovington:
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“Photographs of Spain”
“Spanish Impressions”
“you couldn’t make it up!”
“a grumpy old man in Spain”
“bits and bobs”
“Spanish Expressions”
“Spanish Art”
“Books About Spain”

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