Arcos, the city of Arches

In the mountains north and east of here, throughout Southern Spain, are numerous small villages. These white-washed quaint towns perched on cliffs and mountaintops are known as the Pueblos Blancos, or white villages. A well-known white village, just 40 minutes from Rota, is the town of Arcos.
 

Arcos de la Frontera is named for its arches, and for its location at the frontier of the war against the Moors. The arches were built throughout the city and  to support the town's 2 main churches, Santa Maria de la Asuncion and San Pedro. The 2 churches, both built in the 16th centuries, had such a strong feud that the Pope had to become involved and declare Santa Maria as the main church of the city.

 The oldest portion of Arcos is perched on a cliff at the top of the mountain.  The streets have remained unchanged since the Middle Ages, so they are extremely narrow.



 In some places, the children could literally reach out their hands and touch both walls!
Arcos is also famous for its running of the bulls, which occurs every year on Easter. There are only a few cities in Spain that still hold a running of the bulls, and Arcos is one of them. With its steep and narrow streets, this is quite an event!



If you hike up to the main plaza, which is flanked by the Church of Santa Maria and the Parador, you will reach a mirador (overlook point) from which you can see the steep cliff on which the city is built. You can look down at the Guadalete River, and out across the plain at the miles of farmland that surround the city. It is extremely windy up there, but the views are amazing!

 

The Church of Santa Maria was built in the 16th century, on the site of a former mosque (typical in this region that was run by the Moors and then overtaken by Christians). The tower was modeled off the bell tower--the Giralda-- in Seville. Unfortunately, the residents of Arcos ran out of funds before they could finish it. But the azulete tiles are still beautiful.     This church stands at the town's main plaza, which has the mirador at one end and the Parador at the other. A Parador is a state-owned hotel built in a historical site. You can spend the night (if you want to pay the high rates!) or enjoy a meal with reasonable prices and great views. There are more than 80 Paradors throughout Spain, and this one is worth a visit for the cliffside views and delicious food. Sidenote: while there is a parking area in the main square, I don't recommend using it! You have to drive the whole way through some NARROW streets that are literally the width of a car. There is a more convenient dirt parking area at the bottom of the city, from which you can walk up a steep flight of stairs into the newer part of town. There is also an underground parking garage at the edge of the newer town.

Another reason to visit Arcos is because of the confections made by a unique group of nuns. The comvento de las Mercedarias Descalez is a cloistered order of nuns who do not leave their convent or receive visitors. However, to sell their delicious cookies they have a rotating screened window, through which you can place an order. You put your money on the counter, and it rotates around with a box of cookies. You can only buy them by the box, and the cost is 5 Euro, but they are delicious. We ordered chocolate, of course, but there are other traditional choices like almond and sugar. The convent is on Calle Escribanos, a major street between the 2 main city churches, so a walking tour will lead you past it.

One final point of interest in Arcos was the tiny museum called Belen. This is a single large room covered with miniature dioramas of the events surrounding Jesus's birth. There is a scene with shepherds in the fields, the kings with their camels, Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem, and the birth in the stable. Each scene is filled with amusing figures and details that children will love. The lights are programmed to change every few minutes to show each scene in sunset, night, and morning. The visit is FREE, but a donation is encouraged to upkeep the maintenance. It is located near the convent, on the way to San Pedro church.
Arcos is the town that hosts a living Nativity every year before Christmas. Last year's was cancelled due to rain, but the entire town is transformed into a scene from ancient Bethlehem, and the streets are filled with animals and people in costume. I hope we are able to attend next year!


As you can tell, Arcos is a delightful town, that is certainly worth a return visit. It is a great place to take visitors, so they can experience one of the pueblos blancos without traveling all day to get there. In winter it would be rather cold and windy, and in late summer it can get quite hot, but in between you will enjoy narrow streets, ancient arches, sun and shade, and flowers blooming against stark white walls. This is Andalusia. :-)