Sunday June 23

Calatayud Fortress (Qal’at 'Ayyūb)

 

There were two hills in front of the old town and both had a fortress/castle. The one in this picture is a 9th-10th century castle and is sometimes referred to as the Castle of Ayyub or Castillo Mayor. 





We tried to get over to this castle but the street everyone told us to take was blocked off for a medieval festival.  We know there must have been another way over there because we saw cars driving on the hillside.  We were so fixated on how to get over there that we forgot to get pictures of the fortress right next to us; however, it was not as great.

 

The hillsides were covered with these caves.  They used caves to keep their wine cool, not sure if that´s what these were used for.



 Sigüenza



We drove through this to park on the other side so that we could walk around this adorable little town.  We thought we would need to pull our mirrors in but somehow we fit our car through this without a scratch.



This street is similar to most old Spanish streets, but they never get old to us.



This 12th century cathedral is a very large Gothic structure, though the lower levels show that it was built onto an earlier Romanesque cathedral.



 The 12th century Castillo Palacio de los Obispos has a lot of interesting history.  It was eventually mostly destroyed and then restored in the 1970s.



This castle is now a "Parador Hotel" that we might just have to return to.

 

Jadraque Castillo del Cid  



The current castle is built in the late 15th century on the site of a previous castle. 





 This was used as a noble residence, eventually abandoned and then used again as a fortress during  the War of Spanish Succession and the Peninsular War.

 


I think Morgan is in here somewhere.

 

 

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