Andalucia: Troglodytes
Posted by Squiffy on December 19th, 2007
Following our little tour around the lakes, it was time to drive the 400km back to our flat. With no time to plan or research this trip, we had no idea what sights or experiences we’d encounter on the long journey home. So we were pleasantly surprised when our route took us past the Sierra Nevada mountain range, giving us great views of the snow-capped peaks.
More oddly, we stumbled upon a large troglodyte village in the middle of no-where. The village has around 2000 residents, half of whom still live in caves built into the mountains. Some of the homes are quite well hidden, marked only by a small door or a chimney stack, whilst others look like houses from the front but you soon realise they disappear into the rock.
One cave dwelling is open for the public to look around, and shows how they are decorated now and how they would have looked in the past. The owner of this house/museum invited us to help ‘dig’ their extension using a pick axe! From what we could make out, it seems they use the clay that is removed to make pottery, as there were lots of shops selling locally made ceramics. We found this detour very amusing and interesting, proving you never know what’s around the corner when you’re travelling!
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