The Overseas Adventures of Steven and Annie Berger August 13th through December 22nd, 2018: 11/30: White Hill Town of Arcos de la Frontera: Exorcism & Window Ears!

From the southern Spanish town of Algeciras, we hopped on a bus to Jerez de la Frontera, a town very famous for its sherry. We'd hoped to stay there for a couple of hours to see the sights but found out on arrival that there was no place for left luggage in the station because of concerns about bombs in bags. We had to be satisfied with a peak at the lovely train station next door before taking an earlier bus than planned onto Arcos de la Frontera, our final stop of Spain's White Hill towns. It was fascinating to learn that towns with 'de la Frontera' in their names were established on the front line of the many centuries-long fight to recapture Spain from the Muslim Moors, who were slowly pushed back to Africa, the process known as the Reconquista.

In case people forgot about Jerez's importance in the country's sherry industry, the mammoth barrels by the bus and train stations were there to remind everyone!

A few blocks from our apartment - photos of it in an upcoming post - was the large Church of Santa Maria that was built, like so many other towns in the Andalusian area of Spain, atop a former mosque after Arcos was retaken from the Moors in the 13th century during the Reconquista. The church's chopped-off bell tower fell in the same 1775 earthquake that also destroyed Lisbon, a city we were looking forward to seeing in about a week.

The replacement was supposed to have been the tallest in Andalusia after the one in Seville but money ran out! If you thought that it looked like someone lives on the upper floor of the church, you were right - apparently the church guardian does "in a room strewn with bell-ringing ropes," according to travel writer Rick Steves. We were there at the wrong time to visit the interior of the church so put it off until the following day.

The church was the centerpiece of the Plaza del Cabildo, the town's main square that in the old days doubled as a bullring. To the right of the church was City Hall below the 11th century Moorish castle where the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, held Reconquista meetings. The castle was privately owned and therefore closed to the public unfortunately.

On the other side of the square was the former palace of the governor, now a state-run hotel called a parador.

Walking through the gate took us to a viewpoint where we had incredible views of the valley below. Steves wrote that "The people of Arcos boast that only they see the backs of the birds as they fly!" After reading how the parador lost part of its lounge due to erosion in the 1990s when it fell right off, I took a few steps back from the railing!

The viewpoint stood 330 feet above the Guadalete River. How tragic to read that this was the men's suicide departure point. Women jump from the other side.

New Street, just off the square, was the ancient moat of the castle until the 1775 earthquake knocked down the north wall which led to the street's formation. The archway was built in 1684.

Thought we couldn't see the church's interior then, there was plenty to learn and see about its exterior as the church took up an entire city block and was exposed on all sides. We circled around the church until we found the 3rd century Roman votive altar with a carving of the palm tree of life. This carved stone was found in the foundation of the original Moorish mosque, which stood in this spot long before the church was built.

The stunning details above the doorway was an architectural style called Plateresque, Spain's last and most ornate kind of Gothic.

As we headed down a few steps we reached the church's elaborate main entrance which was closed for renovation. In front of its west portal was a 15th century magic circle with 12 red and 12 white stones. The latter ones had marks or 'constellations' on them although they didn't resemble anything like current star charts.

When a child came to be baptized at Santa Maria, the parents stopped here first for a Christian exorcism! The exorcist would stand in the middle of the protective circle and cleanse the baby of any evil spirits. Locals no longer do this but many Sufi Muslims still come to this spot in a kind of pilgrimage each November.

As we continued to the back of the church and walked on the street, we noticed all the flying buttresses that were built to shore up the church when it was damaged in an earthquake in 1699. It was thanks to this foresight that the church survived the bigger 1755 earthquake.

As we walked down the narrow lane, Steven kept saying how thankful he was that we'd given up the rental car on arrival in Madrid a few weeks ago as it would be downright hairy to attempt to drive here. We could even notice all the scratches made on the walls by car mirrors!

The security grille over the window high above the street protected cloistered nuns when the building had been a convent.

All over town, arches supported earthquake-damaged structures and gave the town its name.

As we completed our circle around the church we saw the Convent of the Incarnation, which had been a chapel, a hospital and a monastery in the 15th century, and finally became a convent in the first half of the 16th century.

Walls were often scooped out on either side of the windows as a reminder of the days when women stayed inside but wanted the best possible view of any 'action' in the streets! I loved reading Steves' description that the "window ears" also assisted boys in a more modest era to lean inconspicuously against the wall to chat up eligible young ladies inside!

A little while later, we reached the last remaining cloistered convent in Arcos, the Convent of the Barefoot Mercedarian Order, that was founded in 1642. Just like several other churches we'd already seen elsewhere in Spain, nuns at this convent sold traditional goodies made from fresh ingredients to support their church work via one-way mirror and a spinning cupboard that hid the nuns from view.

The spiky window grilles high above had tiny peepholes in the latticework for the cloistered nuns to look through.

Tiny Calle Cuna or Cot Street was named because it included the entrance of the foundation for abandoned children. Also there was an old granary established by the Catholic Monarchs. The lane was made famous for being chosen by the French painter Maurice Utrillo to be reproduced in the Spanish Village of Barcelona, a collection of 117 full-size buildings that recreated Spanish villages in 1929.

On a small corner were the remnants of the 17th century Mayorazgo Palace built with twin Tuscan columns on both sides of a rectangular doorway. Nothing else of the palace was visible then.

Very close by was St. Peter's Church with St. Peter displayed on the centerpiece of the facade. This was known as Arcos' second church after it had an extended battle with the Santa Maria Church for papal recognition. When the pope finally declared his preference for Santa Maria, the parishioners of St. Peter's changed their prayers. Instead of honoring "Maria," they refused to even say her name.

The 16th century building was a collegiate church in the 14th century that was again built on a Muslim fortress. We also decided to wait until the following day to take a peek inside.

We saw a sign directing tourists to a lookout up ahead which sounded intriguing.

From the tiny square there were superb panoramic views of Arcos and the farmlands beyond. How gorgeous everything looked with the bright blue sky and the sun shining against the stark white buildings.

The large reservoir east of town was used for water sports in the summertime and was part of a power plant that local residents had been unable to prevent from being built despite their environmental concerns.

As we walked back to town, we spotted the Andalusian Garden, that was created earlier this century at the back of the Mayorazgo Palace we'd sen earlier. In the area that would have been the palace's stables and play area was the formal Arabic-style garden that had aromatic plants such as jasmine, rose and lavender and a water feature in the center.

This was just one of the many beautiful wrought iron doors we saw while wandering some of the lanes in Arcos' old town. Luckily, we were able to peak inside and see the pretty patio inside.

To end our day, we took the circular minibus shuttle ride through the town's one-way streets and around the valley under the cliff and lookout by the Santa Maria Church. The 30-minute ride gave us a much greater sense of the small town without having to climb up and down a gazillion stairs!