One day we toured Las Alpujarras. It was the last stronghold of the Muslims forced out of Granada by the forces of Ferdinand and Isabella. Even then they were forced to convert to Christianity and were called Moriscos. In spite of changing their religion, they retained their original language and customs and were suspected of covertly maintaining their Islam religion. Various repressions triggered revolts in the 16th century leading to mass resettlement in the 17th century by a decree expelling all of Arab descent, whether Christian or Muslim. This destroyed the local economy and the region remained poor into the 20th century. The economy today is dependent on tourism.
This area is on the far side of the Sierra Nevada from Granada.
White villages cling to steep slopes with terraced farmlands surrounding them. I no longer remember the name of the village we visited.
Many doorways were covered with screens made of metal mesh, as is this one, or knotted cords. I suspect it is a way to let the owners open their doors for ventilation while keeping flies out.
We had been looking for a similar screen for our house and (briefly) considered shopping for one here.
The local houses are noted for their flat roofs and tall chimneys -- a style also found in North Africa.
This view of the interior of one of the flat roofs shows that the construction would not bear much weight. Even though they are located on the flanks of the Sierra Nevada, the local climate is mild with little snow.
Prime products of this area are the delicious Serrano hams. These, along with the even more delectable Iberico hams, have only recently been allowed into the US. We were told that the ham producers had been uninterested in getting their products qualified for US import. They sold everything they could produce already, so why worry about expanding the market?
One of the things that made Santa Paula special was the all-you-could-nibble ham for breakfast. YUM!
The little umbrellas are to catch seepage from these dry-cured hams.
Using a pig's trotter to ring a bell when your beer is ready, though, is taking it a step too far, in my opinion.
Or maybe a hungry customer just got tired of waiting to be served.
Local deliveries.
The steep and narrow streets of the villages are more suited to four-legged traffic than wheeled vehicles. We will see much more of this in Morocco.
The entire region features deep gorges that are watered with snowmelt.
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