History of Murcia

History of Murcia. About 230 BC, the Carthaginans founded a trading depot at Cartagena, naming it in Punic Qart Hadast, New City. The Romans called it Cartaga Nova, New Carthage, and when they took it in 209 BC it was considered one of the richest cities in the world. The basis of this wealth was the locally mined silver.

When the Caliphate of Córdoba disintegrated in the 11th century, the Kingdom of Murcia came into being as a taifa, petty kingdom, with the Moorish city of Murcia as its capital. It included the present-day province of Albacete, now part of Castilla-La Mancha, and part of Almería. It was taken by the Christians in the middle of the 13th century, but was maintained as a separate but vassal kingdom until well into the 19th century.

The industrial revolution never really happened for Murcia, and the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War was hard on the region. In the nineteen-sixties, Murcia underwent considerable demographic changes due to its own emigration and immigration from Andalusia, with the consequent undermining of the native Murcian culture, particularly on the coast. Murcia's interior is thinly populated.

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where to go

Tourist attractions

Front of the Murcia CathedralFrom a tourist point of view, Spain and Murcia itself offer you a huge amount of interesting places to visit as the history of the city goes back to the years 800 where it was originally founded as part of Cordoba. Certainly amongst the famous visiting points for any traveler is the Cathedral de Santa Maria. Finished in the 15th century the cathedral is the most impressive monument of Murcia. The city is divided by the Segura River and is known for its beautiful Baroque Cathedral, Almudi Palace and the castle of Monteagudo ( where the Arab influence can be well appreciated ), a fortress from the 11th c., the Market de Veronicas, the Malecon Garden, the University of Murcia and the Museum Ramon Gaya. The Museum Ramon Gaya, dedicated to the artist with this same name and native of Murcia, is found in Casa Palarea in the Catalina Square. It was inaugurated in 1990 when the artist was 82 years old and also includes other works of art from other artists. Ramon Gaya was influenced by famous artists such as Vazquez and Rembrandt, so you have an idea of the intense precision of his work.

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costa calida food!

Despite its great popularity with tourists, La Manga del Mar Menor (Costa Calida) has a surprisingly limited number of really good restaurants. The cafes, bars and restaurants in La Manga itself are not outstanding, and even old favourites like Borsellino (see below) seem to have let standards slip recently. Nevertheless, there are some excellent restaurants just a short drive away. The two seas on either side of La Manga, Mar Menor and Mar Mayor, provide the local restaurants with delicious fresh fish and seafood, some of it quite unique to this area of Spain.

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Free bike rides

Free cycle rides in Los Alcazares, easy level, friendly and sociable

What to do Los Alcazares, Mar Menor, enjoy a relaxing cycle ride

Free cycle rides in Los Alcazares, easy level, friendly and sociableResidents around the Los Alcazares area are being offered the chance to go out on a healthy early morning cycle throughout July and August, with a monitor from the Los Alcazares Sports department in attendance.

The rides are leaving at 9am on Wednesday mornings, and are aimed at " family level" so the aim is not to drag you up hill and down dales, but provide an enjoyable and relaxing ride to enjoy the company of others and stay healthy.

The rides are free, the only condition being that you put your name down in advance.

The rides are taking place on the following dates:

July , Wednesdays 21st and 28th

August Wednesdays 11th, 18th, and 25th

Pre registration is at the Centro Cultural Las Claras, Urbanisation Oasis, Tel 968 334 560

The rides leave from the covered swimming pool at the Complejo Deportivo Municipal, Calle Joaquin Blume

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banos de fortuna

Los Baños de Fortuna, Fortuna

Details

The land around the town of Fortuna is usually very dry looking, but water flows underground and some of it is used for irrigation. The water rises to the surface in the form of fountains such as la Higuera, la Cueva Negra, and at Los Baños de Fortuna; these are thermal springs and they were enjoyed by the Romans during their occupation of this area.

Nowadays these springs have brought popularity to Fortuna and the spa is an important centre for hydrotherapy, a wide range of beauty treatments are available as well as other therapies that are so good for your health and as it is near to Murcia, many people take advantage of the natural hot mineral water.

spanish site

live entertainment

Every Sun From: Sunday 9 August 2009 To: Sunday 29 August 2010

Every Sunday there will be a different live act and a BBQ with tickets priced at €5. Taking place at La Batalla, Avenida de las Americas, Roldan. BBQ from 18:00 with the music from 20:00, booking advisable. For further inforamtion contact Lisa Tel: 630 914 073..

tour of murcia and the mar menor

with so many places to go in murcia, watch this clip

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