Cofrentes, València

The weekend before last we had the opportunity to make a lightning visit to this little place. We left home Friday afternoon 5 ish and arrived there 4 hours later.

As my husband had work to do, M. and myself had the Saturday morning free to do some sight - seeing.

Cofrentes has a lovely Islamic castle which is in the process of being restored. It's main parts date back to 1147 - 1172. Amongst the rubble, however, little trinkets and ceramic items have been found which date back to the Ibers, Romans and before. It is built on an extinct volcanic chimney belonging to the Cerro de Agrás volcano and there is only one possible way in.

The castle

Wall made partly from volcanic rock

One side of the courtyard

Clock dating from the beginning of the 1600's

Volcanic stone pendulum

Weights weighing 70kg and 52kg, respectively

The pebbled part is Islamic and the stone part further out was added later, maybe when the castle was being used as a palace cum residence during the 16th and 17th centuries.

The original castle's "front door" (Photo taken on leaving)

In the above photo there is something which caught on my attention. The arrow holes are orientated towards the only possible entrance to the castle and do not go straight through the wall as I have seen up until now.

Well, that is the castle. Now, here are some random photos of the rest of our morning.

The town council building and "plaza"

A view from the "plaza"

The river Cabriel where it joins the river Júcar

St. Ana street

Village rooftops

Beetle (from antennae to tail it measured 10 cms.)

Extinct volcano with the river Cabriel in the foreground

This ceramic tile panel is one of a series of 12 (?) that you can find in towns and villages in the area. This one depicts the forced exit of the Muslim people from the village and the surrounding area.

Last, but not least, this is a photo of where we had our meals. The building was first used as a flour processing plant or something of the like and then converted into a school. It is now a very recommendable restaurant.