COSTA CALIDA - THE WARM COAST

Posted Sunday, September 3, 2006

 E-mail this page    Printer-friendly page

COSTA CALIDA

FORTUNA: Located within 25km of the regional capital Murcia, the town of Fortuna is mostly known for its mineral spring waters. In spite of general water scarcety in some inland areas of Spain, in Fortuna this has never been a problem. Numerous natural water springs such as La Higuera, La Cueva Negra or Los Banos famous for their content of hot mineral water since the Roman times, have now become important Spa Resorts. The landscape of Fortuna is nourished by the natural flow of water from these hot springs. Alicante airport is approximately 60km away or 58km to San Javier airpor

MURCIA: Murcia is the capital of the autonomous community of Murcia on the Segura river and has its own University. Murcia with its 300 000 inhabitants lies about 75 km south of Alicante about 30 km west of Torrevieja in southern Spain. The city of Murcia can be reached via the national road E15 from Alicante or using the C415 from the Madrid direction. Embedded in between parts of the mountains of the Sierra de Orihuela and the Cresta de Gallo lies Murcia, the city which is very famous for vegetables and agricultural products, due to the large and sophisticated watering system. It is common to find tomatoes, lettuce, and lemons grown in Murcia in Scandinavian supermarkets.

Roman Catholic Holy Week in the city of Murcia is famous throughout Spain. Life-sized sculptures by Francisco Salzillo (1707-1783) are taken out of museums and carried around the city in elegant processions full of flowers and, at night, candles. These finely detailed sculptures portray events leading up to and including the crucifixion. Murcia is also known for its beautiful, handmade nativity figurines.

The San Javier-Murcia Airport (IATA Airport Code MJV) is a military air base and passenger facility located in Murcia, Spain. It is operated by the AENA (Aeropuertos Espanoles y Navegacion Aerea, or, Spanish Airports and Aereal Navigation) association.

The Murcia airport can receive planes up to the size of a Boeing 757 or 767. It has been declared fire category 5 by the IATA, and it has one ambulance available. Because Murcia is a popular destination for charter groups, the airport is flown by a number of charter airlines.

 

CARTAGENA: is a seaport in southeast Spain on the Mediterranean Sea, in the autonomous community of Murcia. The coordinates of Cartagena are 37°36¢ N 0°59¢ W.

It is a walled town and has a fine harbor defended by forts. In the time of Philip II of Spain, it was a major naval seaport of Spain. It's still an important naval seaport and there is a big naval shipyard.

It was founded about 230 BC by Carthaginian General Hasdrubal as Carthago Nova (New Carthage. Incidentally Qart Hadast, the Punic name of Carthago means "new city".) When it was taken by Scipio in 209 BC it was said to be one of the richest cities in the world.

Hannibal got silver from the mines there to carry on the war against Rome.

Cartagena was the birthplace of Isidore of Seville and the Spanish writer Arturo Pérez Reverte.

In 1873, the garrison arose against the First Spanish Republic and formed the independent Cartagena Canton. Since they had the best part of the Spanish Navy, they cruised the Spanish Mediterranean trying to bring them to Cantonalism. The Federalist Spanish government declared them a pirate fleet, encouraging foreign countries to chase and sink them.

The conscience of self-importance appeared again during the establishment of Autonomous Communities. Some Cartageneros were not happy to be in the same region as inland Murcianos.

The Autonomy Act struck a compromise by having Murcia as the seat of the regional government and Cartagena as the seat of the parliament.

Cartagena has a lot of archaeologic sites. All over the old centre you can find showcases with remains of roman buildings.

Very few European cities have the rich and monumental history that is possessed by Cartagena. It was founded almost 2,300 years ago under the name of Quart Hadast. It name as we know it today is derived from its Latin Title Cartago Nova. As well having an abundance of culture Cartagena is also naturally blessed with a coastline that is nothing short of spectacular. One of its beaches Calblanque beach - is part of a nature reserve.

The rich legacy of Cartagena stretches along the shores of its marina. It is a maritime legend and was hugely important in the War of Spanish Succession and the in the War of Independence. The Sea Wall marks the boundaries of its historic quarter. Next to this walled historic quarter is the Military Arsenal, Its walls house the only entrance gate to the city still standing.

The city's seafaring history is evident in many areas and through some of its monuments and architecture. Visitors can enjoy pondering over the prototype submarine designed by the inventor from Cartagena Isaac Peral and the National Museum of Maritime Archaeology which houses the National Centre of Underwater Archaeological Investigation.

The entrance to the town centre is dominated by the Palacio Consistorial or City Hall, a gem of modernist architecture. Amongst the various places of interest that are essential to visit are Catedral Vieja (the Old Cathedral) or the Cathedral of Santa Maria; whose remains stand on the steps of a Roman Theatre discovered in 1987. This structure dates from the 1st century BC and is one of the most important in Spain.

Many of the pieces found on this site can be seen in the Municipal Archaeological Museum, In Torres Park the medieval Castillo de la Concepción; whose ruins are surrounded by fine gardens, commands a splendid view of the city and harbor, the Byzantine Wall; which, despite its name, is also Roman, and it is the remainder of the Roman road, and the Castle of la Concepción; a fortress of Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths, Arabs and Castilians.

Tourist attractions in Murcia

From a tourist point of view, Spain and Murcia itself offer you a huge amount of interesting places to visit as the history of the city goes back to the years 800 where it was originally founded as part of Cordoba. Certainly amongst the famous visiting points for any traveler is the Cathedral de Santa Maria. Finished in the 15th century the cathedral is the most impressive monument of Murcia.

Cathedral de Santa Maria

If you ever come to Murcia, please spend some time and discover the beauties of this fantastic building. The cathedral which is located at the plaza del Cardinal Belluga, got different entrance doors. All of them on their own a treasure. The main entrance, called puerta del perdon, the north door, portada de las cadenas and the portada de los apostoles lead you into the impressive capilla mayor decorated with lots of gold. When you took your tour around the cathedral of Murcia, make sure you visit the museum inside the cathedral, where many more details are explained.

Other important places to visit in Murcia

Right outside the Cathedral you will find the city hall and the Palacia Episcopal, the residency of the Bishop of Murcia. When I first visited the city I was overwhelmed by the amount of nice places along the streets. The variety of museums, from the archeological to the museum for water systems, to the museo de bellas Artes which shows art from Ballester and Gaya amongst others.

Furthermore you should consider having a stop at the many bars and restaurants around the city, especially in summer when Murcia weather

Murcia does currently not have its own Murcia airport, despite the fact that visitors are sometimes referred to the small airport of San Javier. This Murcia airport lies outside 45 km of Murcia along the Mar Menor and is used by some english and german airlines. With the hot Murcia weather, no direct bus connection (the next bus station is 2 km away) and no direct train station(10 km) away, the only options to get away from Murcia Airport are the taxi or Murcia car hire. This, together with the rather huge distance to the city make Alicante airport often more interesting to tourists.

Over the past years a lot of discussion has been going on whether Murcia should have its own airport or the current Alicante Airport should be expanded to cope with the increasing number of tourists. Up to now (2004) no decision has been taken on this issue. For you if you are a tourist or business traveler looking for an airport near Murcia, your best choice might beconditions can be demanding to any tourist. In case you look for a golf course or Murcia golf club around, please look at our golf course list here.

LORCA
Located in the south-east of Spain, Lorca is a city full of contrasts, with marks of the course of history. Today Lorca has 80.000 inhabitants, being the biggest municipal area in Spain (1.675m2). From the Iron Age to our days, this region has been the attraction for many civilizations. Despite the influence of the Muslim and Christian past, it is considered a Baroque City.

History: The remains from the Middle Palaeolithic, found in the subsoil of Lorca show the interest that its strategic position has always had in the geographical strip between the Levante and Andalusia. The remains of Roman civilizations dedicated to the farm certify this settlement in the city, which later was under the Muslim control and strongly experienced the Christian Reconquest, as it was a bordering place.

Culture: ‘Lorca, Taller del Tiempo’ offers visitors the adventure of immersing in many ways of understanding the city. The streets, the monumental and urban value of Lorcacan be experienced through 4 routes that synthesize the essence of Lorca: ‘Entre el cielo y el suelo’ (Between heaven and Earth), ‘Tiempo de contratiempos’,(Time of mishaps) ‘La ciudad de los cien escudos’ (The city of the 100 coats) and ‘Tiempo de devoción’ (Time for devotion).

Art: The Archaeological Museum portrays the rich history of the city. Regarding monuments, we find the Columna Miliaria of the Roman Epoch, the Torres del Espolón and Alfonsina, which are a Christian gift of the Reconquest, the Plaza Mayor from the 18th century, the Iglesia de San Patricio, of Renaissance style, and the palaces and stately houses from the Baroque, like the Palacio de Guevara, Condes de San Julián or the Casa de los Mula.

Craftworks: Nowadays, this tradition continues, elaborating handicraft products like ceramics, rugs and carpets, laborious embroideries and forge.

Gastronomy: It is remarkable for the abundance in vegetables, legumes, cereals and meat, specially the hunted meat, sheep meat and pork meat -Migas con tropezones, Olla Gitana, Sangre frita, with tomatos and peppers- and regarding sweets, the most traditional are the alfajores, yemas, cordiales, tortada, picardías, crespillos or the famous chochos; Christmas sweets are the tortas de pascua, cordiales de almendra and mantecados; it is very traditional to have torrijas during the Holy Week.

Climate: Lorca is under the influence of a hot climate. The average temperature is 18ºC, between 6ºC in winter and 36ºC during the hottest months.

Festivals: The most celebrated are the Holy week, with processions, and the Feria Chica, in September, in honor of the Virgen de las Huertas-; the Ferias de Día y Noche, which mark the end of the summer and are celebrated in the streets with tapas, wine and folklore; the Moors and Christians in San Clemente, with horses, armies, armed retinues and medieval markets.

Communications: It is the linking point between the Levante and Andalusia. Lorca is provided with an important communications network: The Autovia del Mediterraneo and the N-340, both of them run from Murcia –located 65 km away from Lorca-. Another important communication road is the Carretera Comarcal 3.211, which connects Caravaca from the inland and Aguilas in the coast.