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Lucena, The Pearl of Sefarad, shining with its own light

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I want, and I must talk about my city, the one that saw me be born and grow, and in which I started my career in tourism, and I can only start by giving an advance of how much it offers, this time, in the form of a route, but not just any route, but a very special one, in which not only will we know better the city, or at least a part of it and its history, but also, we will know its flavors.

Lucena is located in the south of the province of Cordoba. Its environment was a pre-Neanderthal dwelling 450,000 years ago and later stood out as the only theocratic republic of Andalusia, as it was run by Jews between the eighth and twelfth centuries.

As a border city, ancient Eliossana received a large Jewish population. This resulted in it becoming a city inhabited primarily by Jews in the Muslim Middle Ages and was known as the Pearl of Sepharad or the City of poetry, due to the large number of Jewish poets who inhabited it. From this splendid period there remains today a presence in its Jewish necropolis and some structures of its typical streets, among others.

It also has an Almohad fortress, the Castillo del Moral, which housed as a prisoner King Boabdil “El Chico”, the last Nasrid king of Granada as a result of the defeat in the battle of Martín González, and which today houses the Archaeological and Ethnological Museum inside.

However, Lucena is also famous for housing magnificent examples of Cordovan baroque, with the imposing Sagrario de San Mateo being its greatest expression, or the Palacio de los Condes de Santa Ana and the Santuario de la Virgen de Araceli, which we will talk about later, in another entrance I want to prepare.

Nowadays, they offer a letter of experiences where different routes with host are included and singular activities to know the magic of the city, between which they emphasize:

Eliossana, the Pearl of Sepharad
An experience to do with family, with our partner or friends, in which we travel back in time to the Pearl of Sepharad, the name by which Lucena was known among the Jews, called Eliossana.

There is a visit set in the period accompanied by a host, to make a tasting of Sephardic sweets (optional). Next, we will make a tour along which we will discover elements of Lucentine cultural heritage: Moral Castle, Santiago district, San Mateo Parish, Palace of the Counts of Santa Ana and Jewish Necropolis. They will evoke the Sephardic past of the bride of Israel, as she was called Eliossana.

Its importance made it known as “the city of poets” because it housed the most important Talmudic school in Spain.

This experience can be contracted, but it is carried out on certain dates, which can be consulted here:

Services included in the experience:

Guided visit with host.
Sephardic sweets tasting (optional).
Duration: 2 hours and a half.

In order to consult the dates that it is carried out, and to consult availability, they can go to:

lucena@tuhistoria.org / Tel. 957 503662 – http://www.tuhistoria.org/experience/la-perla-de-sefarad/

About The Author
Israel Huertas Salazar

Inmobiliaria en Torrox. Ofrezco un trato personalizado y una contrastada experiencia como intermediario en la compraventa de inmuebles de todo tipo, oportunidades y grandes inversiones inmobiliarias, en diversas ubicaciones, tanto en Torrox, como Nerja, Frigiliana, Torre del Mar… y gran parte del territorio andaluz. Como broker inmobiliario, colaboro en red con todas las inmobiliarias y empresas promotoras y puedo conseguir la propiedad de su interés.

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