Cehegin, Murcia
The cat overboard has taken it Cehegin , making it possible for Murcia enters the Olympus of Rural Wonders for the first time and directly with a first place. And this has become a reality thanks to the 12,700 traveler votes that from September 25 to October 17 they have deposited on the HomeAway website. The vote was carried out among 20 candidates but only seven could remain. These seven.
CEHEGÍN, A HISTORICAL MARVEL
But what is it that has so fascinated Cehegín to elevate this small Murcian municipality to the top? Undoubtedly, the traveler who has discovered Cehegín has made a immense jump to the past when finding a town full of history , marked by an n rebellious nature and a whole collection of conquests of the different civilizations that left their mark here.
Cehegín was not always called that. Although there is evidence that life already existed 4000 years before Christ , would be the Iberians those responsible for the first settlement in Cehegín in what they initially called Begastri . With the arrival of the Romans, Begastri experienced a certain splendor with the construction of various typical buildings of the classical period , but they were always under the threat of the barbarians.
Cehegin, Murcia
It would be with the **conquest of Cartagena** by the vandals in the year 425 AD when Cehegín was taken from the Romans, who would turn it into an episcopal city and would be in control until the Muslim invasion in which Begastri would become part of the Caliphate. Muslims did not settle in Begastri itself but decided n settle right next to the citadel, what would become the current Cehegín.
With the Reconquest , Cehegín became part of Caravaca de la Cruz and the Order of the Templars but it was not definitive. When the Templars disappeared, it became part of the Order of Santiago and it was with the fall of the kingdom of Granada that the city began to experience its greatest splendor.
The Illustration allowed another important boost for Cehegín and dressed the city with new civil buildings that currently form part of its artistic heritage and that make this city a cultural benchmark for Murcia. Currently we find ourselves with a small city that takes care of its heritage and that discovers to the traveler that its years of history have not passed in vain.
Cehegin Aqueduct
ROADMAP
It is evident that with so much history Cehegín has a lot of things that contemplate and visit. Cehegin it twists in narrow alleys that surprise the traveler with a window or a balcony displaying a coat of arms (more than a hundred are scattered), with a mansion or a noble house. If you have to draw a roadmap you can not miss:
- Old Town. The Old Town of Cehegin It was declared Historic Site by the Ministry of Culture in 1982 and is considered one of the best preserved in the region. From the Plaza de la Constitución, all you have to do is stroll through the streets to find the traces of the 17th to 19th centuries in the form of mansions such as the Tercia, the Fajardos or the Jaspe house , of baroque style and current seat of the Town Hall. In addition, the old house contains the casino, inside which there is a very peculiar bar with a terrace whose views are the best in Cehegín.
- Begastri site. The remains of the Begastri s primeval city e are located about 3 kilometers from Cehegín and make up the true x-ray of the passage of the Iberians, the Romans and the Visigoths through the region . Excavations are still being carried out to recover the buildings that were there, and the remains of the wall that existed in another time can be perfectly appreciated. There was found the Begastri Monogrammatic Cross, one of the oldest crosses found in Spain.
Streets of the Old Town of Cehegín
- Churches and convents . Cehegín keeps in its interior various ecclesiastical buildings that demonstrate the importance that the town had in the Middle Ages. From the Renaissance-style Iglesia de la Concepción to the Hermitage of the Holy Christ built at the end of the s. XVI or the San Esteban Convent , ordered by the Franciscans also in the 16th century. Furthermore, we could not speak of a place inhabited by the Templars if there were not a church dedicated to Maria Magdalena , which in this case is one of the most important in Cehegín, currently declared an Asset of Cultural Interest.
UNIQUE NATURE AND GASTRONOMY
Another of the great attractions to escape to this wonder of rural tourism is undoubtedly its natural environment. Cehegín is very close to the Sierra de Burete, a paradise for lovers of bird watching. And it is that in this **ZEPA (Special Bird Protection Zone) ** we can find in the skies the majestic flight of an eagle (especially the roadway and the short-toed eagle) or a goshawk.
We are also in the territory of the wild boar and the mountain goat in a mountain range that has recovered up to 50 kilometers of land for hiking thanks to the action of the Cehegín town council for the environmental use. In fact, one of the routes has a background very marked by oenology, since Cehegín is waking up in wine tourism in a quite remarkable way.
In addition to wine, Cehegín is a benchmark when it comes to Murcian cuisine. The Cehegín table is dressed in crumbs with tajá, that at this time of year they are well appreciated because it is said that they are eaten when it rains.
michirones
Very typical are michirones , a very typical spoon dish from Cehegín that is made with broad beans and chorizo. Two other dishes that cannot be missed are the stoned, rice with beans and cod, rice with tripe and chamorro, a dish made with potatoes and flour that is accompanied with chorizo and bacon. And to finish the But from Cehegin , halfway between the pear and the apple that goes perfectly with the pralines and alfajores.
OTHER WONDERS THAT MAKE UP THE RURAL UNIVERSE
The participation of travelers has been crucial to determine which were going to be the ** 7 Rural Wonders of Spain in this 2019 .** And despite the fact that Cehegín has finally won first place, Puebla de Sanabria has followed closely. closely with little more than a point of difference. And it is that the natural environment of Lake Sanabria , the largest glacial lake in all of Europe, and the peculiar cuisine of Sanabresa have not been enough to win first place.
In third position is Zafra, without a doubt one of the most beautiful cities in Extremadura and the place where the wonderful Alcazar of the Dukes of Feria , currently converted into a Parador Nacional. In fourth and fifth position they are followed by Cantavieja in Teruel, which already gives a good account of its power as part of that wonderful list of the most beautiful towns in Spain , and Estella , better known as the “North Toledo” , a medieval city that rises between the green and lively Navarra and that has dazzled 7.3% of the travelers who have participated in the vote.
6. Bowls, Asturias
To finish with the last two classified we have to move to the north of Spain, more specifically to Tazones in Asturias and Bárcena Mayor in the province of Cantabria. And it is that the north of Spain is very pro in perfect destinations for travelers who love rural tourism. However, one thing is clear, everyone deserves to win because if there is something that should be awarded above all, it is ours rural tourism . Our peoples give a good account of this, who well know that whoever tries, repeats.