Road Trip: ES/PT Day 7

The seventh day of our May road trip began in Spain, but ended in Portugal.

 

Upon the recommendation of an extremely friendly hotel receptionist, we began our day taking a more careful look at Jerez de los Caballeros (ES).

Since fortifications are always in demand, the 10th century Moorish Alcazaba was converted to a Christian Castillo in the 15th century.

Rising above the sea of white houses are the towers of the Iglesia San Bartolome (left) and the Iglesia San Miguel (right).

Our next stop in the region was a view of another fortress built under Islamic rule and renovated under Christian rule--the hilltop Castillo of Burguillos del Cerro (ES).

Then we spent hours walking around Mérida (ES), absorbing the living history of this ancient town (where the storks still put Roman pillars to use).

The misnamed Temple Of Diana was actually built for worship of the emperor/divinity Augustine.

Mérida has the longest surviving Roman bridge, which runs half a mile and has 60 arches! 

After 8 BC, the city sported an Ampitheater that seated 15,000 people.

Both gladiators and wild animals used the below-ground egresses.

In contrast, the Plaza de Toros bullring completed in 1914 only seats 8700.

Mérida has an excellent (and free) National Museum of Roman Art, which showcases some of the best preserved floor mosaics from the region.

In another part of town, a large Roman house (the Casa del Mitreo) serves as an in-situ museum.

Naturally the 4th-century Christian necropolis in the crypt of Santa Eulalia was built atop a former Roman residence.

On our way out, we strolled along the Guadiana River, which functionally serves as a partial moat.

Next up was Badajoz (ES), where the most colorful part of the 9th century Moorish citadel was the suspiciously Gothic and Renaissance inner facade.

It was actually North African Berbers who built the fortified stone walls in the 12th century.

Late that afternoon we turned northwest to re-enter Portugal, where we enjoyed an evening view of the 15th-17th century aqueduct in Elvas (PT).

The nearly 5-mile-long buttressed aqueduct was built to supply water to the garrison at this border town.

Part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site is the Castle of Elvas, originally built by the Moors to defend against the Spanish Christians.

Vauban built star-shaped fortifications in northern Europe in the 17th century, but de Arruda had already engineered the angled bastions and thick walls of Elvas in the 16th century.

Inside the walls, the town grew upwards (with no space left for nature). 

Thoroughly sated with history, we stayed there that evening.  Day 7 down!