Taken just inside the entrance to the Nazarí Gardens
- Massive Cypress trees in the Nazarí Gardens-see staircase for size comparison.
18th Century building being restored internally to match the era of the Nazri Garden
Okay so on Sunday the 30th we toddled off to Vélez de Benaudalla for a an incredibly interesting visit to the Nazari Gardens and then a 2hour walk through the countryside. Both were hugely enjoyable, and I will be doing both again soon I hope. Vélez de Benaudalla is just 20 minutes up the road from Salobreña, very easy to get to and lots of parking in town.
The Nazarí Gardens were built by the Arabs, centuries ago when the Moors ruled most of Spain. There are in fact Moorish castles all over Spain, and Al-Andalus was the name given to the area ruled by the Moors, today we know it as Andalucia.
In Vélez, the castle is quite different, it is a 7 sided building sitting high above the town for all to see.
Vélez Castle top centre, Church far left. Photo obtained from Vélez town hall's website. http://www.velezdebenaudalla.org
To the left of the church and just out of view, you will find the Nazarí Gardens located on the edge of town, cliffside.
Amazingly, you could walk right by them and not realize they were there. You enter through a door, of what looks like a house and immediately you are in the area shown in the first photo shown above. The Al-Andalus gardens are typically made up of 5 areas in order to provide man with the five essentials of life. Those 5 essentials are
The Spiritual : The Muslims believed that they were mirroring heaven here on earth in praise of Allah with the building of these gardens.
The Aesthetic : To design a place that stimulates us and inspires us to create, a place that demands us to be more artistic, to make music, write poetry etc.
The Psychological: The garden should invite us to observe, contemplate, rest, relax and enjoy.
The Botanical and Scientific: A place for research, a place for experimenting. Much study was done with new plants from around the globe to ensure a healthy and well fed people.
The Nutritional: Condiments, herbs, vegetables and fruit trees were grown to feed the inhabitants.
I have included a small video that was made to show how the gardens look today and what the plan is for the future. The Vélez town hall has spent around 2million euros to bring the gardens back to life.
And now, more photos taken this past Sunday.
Entering the grounds
Part of the vegetable garden with fruit trees.
Aromatic Garden- Lavander, Allysium, Rosemary are just a few examples of the plants grown here.
Small treacherous staircase that leads to the level where some of the cave entrances are.
Cave entrance
Small reflective pool inside one of the caves
Another old cave entrance
Going in.
Cave ceiling.
Big old tree
Water naturally flowed thru this area, the Arabs built channels to control the flow and bring it to other parts of the garden.
Beautiful little waterfall
