Two old bats still on the loose - a Sunday morning in Iznajar

We'd been around and past Iznajar several times but never actually explored the town itself

So, we decided to put this right and, on Sunday morning, an hour's drive put that right. There are a number of routes to choose - ranging from the quick way: west along the A92, then turn north near Salinas, to several "pretty ways" which meander through the back country south and north of the embalse - the largest reservoir in Andalucia. We chose to head through Loja - not directly up the hill from La Paz as that road really is a "Camino Rural" and has a surface in very "mal estado" these days. Instead we went over the fields and picked up the bottom road into Loja, through the town, up onto the A92 for a couple of miles then off again heading north.

Google maps couldn't cope with the back way into Loja, but you get the general idea! Ignore the diversion south to Villanueva de Tapia too - no idea why Mr Google thought we wanted to divert there and back unless his uncle owns a cafe there!

We meandered along through little villages, eventually getting glimpses of the embalse, and finally of Iznajar itself. 

The town sits on the north shore of the embalse (which is low at this time of year after a dry summer)

It sits on a crag of sandstone which dips east, the like of the town following the bedding

Some of the houses sit right on the edge of sandstone crags!

We drove on down, across the bridge and turned up into Iznajar. Eventually we reached a parking area (no spaces) at the top of the hill so, being two intrepid old bats we went on into the narrow streets of the town, tried to turn right where we shouldn't (to the amusement of the gaggle of old boys on the street corner who were effectively obscuring the sign), turned around and came back out, parking a little way further down the hill where someone was, atmospherically, indulging in a little morning guitar practice!

This actually worked out rather well as we were treated to a close up view of the rock on which Iznajar is built and which provides a convenient alcove for the rubbish and recycling bins.

A recycling centre for geologists; Bedding dipping away from us and to the right

Planar bedding and planar cross stratification

The sandstone is Miocene (Tortonian) age and technically a calcarenite - shelly and cemented with calcite.

In close up, though well cemented and hard, it is quite porous and contains numerous white fragments of shelly material.

From the top of the hill we could see just how low the water level is in the reservoir

Even more so on this side valley to the north!

After admiring the view and checking out the rocks we headed into the steep, narrow streets of the town. Sunday morning, and NOT a tourist area, so everything (apart from the church) was shut... not a cup of coffee in sight! We made our way up to the alcazaba and church which are on a high point and had a look around there - the alcazaba  was closed too, of course but the area was still interesting and very photogenic.

A tight huddle of buildings near the top of the hill

Looking through an arch, up the steps to the church

A church tower which looks as though it has been extended at some stage

And then perhaps something removed at another time?

Church door

The 8th century alcazaba, or fort, at the top of the hill, known as Castillo Hisn-Ashar is Moorish 

By the fort, the white plaque above the spring is a poem 

 Over a spring by the fortress:
"Oh people of Al-Andalus, what happiness is yours to have water, shade and trees!
"The Garden of Eternal Happiness is not elsewhere but in your land; were I given a choice, this is the place I would choose. 
"Do not believe that you will enter hell tomorrow: you cannot go there after having lived in Paradise!"
Ibn Jafaya, who wrote this, was one of the most famous poets of Al-Andalus during the reign of the Almoravids. He was born in 1058 in Alzira near Valencia where he spent most of his life.

Castillo Hisn Ashar is built straight on to the bedrock

 

Flying buttresses at the side of the church take advantage of being propped up by a neighbouring building

A monument to those who fell in the Spanish Civil War

Unsuccessful in our hunt for coffee, we made our way back to the car, passing the historic facade of the House of Columns which, in the 18th C housed the administration of the Counts of Albi. 

The House of Columns

The way to home, coffee, and lunch... it was getting late by now... took us through the back country north of the lake, heading in the direction of Montefrio (another place worth a visit) before cutting south down the valley and through La Fabrica. 

There are other ways but this was the road we ended up on!

A rural diversion on the way home