Andalusia 2020

Tuesday10November

Here we are in Zuheros, a charming little picturesque village perched on one of the mountains of the Sierra Subbetica.

The village is only at 656 meters above sea level while the highest point of the Subbetic range rises to 2383 meters.

The old 9th century castle comes to flirt with the cliff.

The white Andalusian village takes advantage of its sloping alleys to highlight its roofs with orange tiles.

The village is at the gate of a canyon.

At the end of the village, the old castle resists the passing centuries helped by the rock in which it is landlocked. It was born in the 9th century under the Arab era and took the name of "Sujayra" which phonetically gave the name "Zuheros" to the village.

A modern suspension bridge allows passing at the bottom of the castle cliff.

Opposite the castle, the church "Nostra Señora de los Remedios", former mosque from the Arab period.

An earthenware of the Santa Madrona de la Sierra whose sanctuary we will visit later.

The valley is full of olive groves.

We take the road again and leave behind the charming village to join another equally impressive viewpoint, at the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Sierra 35 kilometers away.

We have arrived, near the small town of Cabra, at the sanctuary located at the very top of a large 200-meter high hill. And before anything else, we picnic on the stone tables with a view of the plain.

The winding road allows crossing the 200 meters of elevation gain. On foot if you feel like it obviously!  

The small basilica of the Señora de la Sierra whose doors unfortunately remain closed. The site is a place of pilgrimage which according to tradition, honors the image of Mary drawn during her lifetime by the apostle Saint James... Nothing less... The image was brought by a bishop and kept in the basilica of the small town of Egabro. When the city fell into the hands of Muslims in 714, the image was hidden here in a cave. ;

We didn't find any Señora or images, just a Mantis (praying though) and a geocaching box.  

Here is the entrance to the small cave. Around 1240, Fernando III's troops after recovering the city of Cabra, came here to discover the hidden image of the Virgin. Several apparitions of the latter to shepherds followed. ;

Well, I didn't understand everything... Especially since there is no image in the small cave except for this small statuette deposited by a devotee in 1916...  

But this hermitage is not our destination of the day. We resume the road to join the ultimate stage of our trip: Fortaleza de la Mota!