0760, 2553 SPAIN (Murcia) - The roman theatre in Cartagena

0760 The roman theatre in Cartagena (1)

Founded by Phoenicians as Qart Hadasht (New City) around 227 BC, the city known in nowadays as Cartagena (in Murcia) lived its heyday during the Roman Empire (under the name Carthago Nova or Carthago Spartaria), but it was also one of the important centers during the Umayyad invasion of Hispania, under its Arabic name of Qartayannat al-Halfa. After its reconquest by King Alfonso X of Castile (1245) the city entered a period of great decadence and decay, despite a short economic revival in the 16th century.

2553 The roman theatre in Cartagena (2)

Thanks to its strategic position on the Mediterranean, Cartagena has been inhabited by many different cultures which have left their mark on its rich cultural heritage during a glorious and turbulent history. Most of its oldest monuments date from the ages of the Roman Empire, among them being the recently restored Roman theatre of Carthago Nova, one of the landmarks of the city. It was erected between 5 and 1 BC, but in the 3rd century AD a market was built over it, with a semicircular open space, which was perhaps abandoned after a fire caused by the Vandals in 425.

1930 SPAIN (Murcia) - To the mud baths of Lo Pagán

Situated on Costa Cálida, between the Mediterranean Sea coast and the Mar Menor (Minor Sea), the largest saltwater lagoon in Europe, separated from the Mediterranean sea by a sandbar named La Manga, San Pedro del Pinatar is a charming and popular resort town with around 21,000 resident inhabitants and a large tourist population during the busy holiday season in July and August. It is perfectly situated for touring both the Costa Calida and Costa Blanca coastlines and is handy for touring the ancient cities of Murcia and Cartagena.

0038 SPAIN (Murcia) - The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary in Murcia

The third postcard received from Spain by me is also from the region of Murcia, but this time from the capital of the region, which bears the same name. The city, located on the Segura River, in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, was founded in AD 825 by Abd ar-Rahman II, the emir of Cordoba, and remained a Moorish city long time after its conquest by the Christians in the 13th century.

0024 SPAIN (Murcia) - The water wheel of Alcantarilla

0024 The water wheel of Alcantarilla

Between the 9th and 12th centuries the Arabs (or Moors, as the european have named the population who have conquered the Iberian Peninsula) had undoubtedly a civilizing role, leaving to Europe a legacy hard to ignore. Beyond the architectural wonders, from which Spain is full, they recovered and passed on the teachings of ancient Greece, to which have added their own not negligible contributions, be it mathematics, philosophy, alchemy, astronomy or medicine.

0017 SPAIN (Murcia) - The Mushroom rocks of Enchanted City

In the region of Murcia, to Mazarrón, right near the shore in Bolnuevo, is The Bolnuevo Erosions, numită şi Las Gredas de Bolnuevo or Ciudad Encantada (Enchanted City), a sandstone monuments sculpted by the water and wind, with a beautiful beach near by. Declared in 2007 "a monument of natural interest", Ciudad Encantada is formed by clay and the yellowish color is caused by the large amount of sand.Don’t confuse it with a geological site located in Castile-La Mancha, near the city of Cuenca, also known as Ciudad Encantada, where have been filmed some scenes from Conan the Barbarian (the movie released on 1982, with Arnold Schwarzenegger).