We decided to spend a day in Uncastillo, a small town which we had visited before. We hoped to see inside the Romanesque church, which had been closed on the previous visit, but it was firmly closed, again!
A brief history
Uncastillo is one of the Cinco Villas, named by Alfonso I in the 12th century. He was a warrior king who was one of the leading figures in the reconquest of Spain. It was in Uncastillo that he planned the campaign in Granada.
A fortress was built on the hill before the 11th century. It was part of the defence system against the Arabs who attacked it several times before the 11th century. The remains of the building we find today was built between the 11th and 13th centuries. Then it became a means of securing the border agains Navarre.
The Jewish Quarter
As we walked round the castle and the walls we suddenly realised that the Jewish Quarter had been completely isolated from the rest of the town. It lay below the walls, outside the town. We hadn’t seen this before and decided to explore further.
It is apparently one of the best preserved such quarters in Aragon and was a busy working area until the expulsion of 1492. At that point the area was renamed ‘Barrio Nuevo’ – it seems the memory of the Jews was to be expunged from memory. There were the usual narrow streets, and a synagogue. But what was surprising were the contemporary signs of the Star of David.
Walking round the town
Here was something odd: the river bed below the Jewish Quarter was dry part of the way and used as a car park… On the right bank was a small hotel with an abundant garden and the most delicious fresh figs!
The riverbed car park
Time to sit down!
And then it was time to sit down in the town square…
Back across the mountains
The road always looks different when you travel in the opposite direction! It climbs into the mountains past fields and then pine plantations. Before long the mountains come into view, and although I tried the came let me down with capturing a clear picture of the pyrenees.
restlessjo
They were always scapegoats, weren’t they? And the rest of the time it was Muslims versus Christians.