Valencia - City of Arts and Sciences in the Turia Riverbed

Valencia is the third largest city in Spain, after Madrid and Barcelona, and its port is the busiest container port on the Mediterranean.  Founded by the Romans in the 2nd century BC, the historic old town is one of the largest in Spain.

Valencia has built a futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, including a planetarium, an aquarium, an opera house, and an interactive science museum, all located in the Turia river bed, now dry, turned into a fabulous park.  The river was prone to floods and has previously caused significant property damage and death.  Tiring of this after a particularly large flood in 1957, Valencia diverted the river out of the city and turned the riverbed into a great playground for the people.

It takes a while to walk out of the port, but eventually, we arrive at the riverbed and the City of Arts and Sciences.  We first come across the Assut de l'Or Bridge (El Ponto de l'Assut de l'Or), crossing the dry riverbed between the Science Museum and the Ágora concert/exhibition/sport center.  Built in stages between 1994 and 2009, the City of Arts and Sciences is a key tourist destination in Valencia, but we're here for a day to walk around and experience the city, so we just wander through the complex and don't enter any of the enticing buildings (we need to come back).

 Ágora center on one side, Oceanographic museum behind it

 Principe Felipe Science Museum on the other side

 El Ponto de l'Assut de l'Or

Walkway past the science museum

The Principe Felipe Science Museum (El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe) occupies three floors within a structure that resembles the skeleton of a whale, providing a highly interactive visitor experience.   After the Science Museum, we pass the Hemisfèric, a 3D cinema built to resemble a giant eye, with a 900 meter concave screen.

 Hemisfèric

Alongside is the Umbracle, a huge, open-access garden of sculptures amid plants indigenous to Valencia, designed for wandering, admiring the art, or sitting and enjoying the Mediterranean weather

 Umbracle

Next, the Palau de les Arts concert hall, with opera, ballet, and music concerts.

 Palau de les Arts

The water features surrounding the buildings in the City of Arts and Sciences are incredible.  People rent boats in the lagoons and walk across the water in the round bubbles,

 Water features everywhere

But, enough of the City of Arts and Sciences, we're walking to the old town and we continue through the riverbed park, with the old town coming up on the left and new Valencia on the right.

 Beautiful walkways

More water features along the paths

 Guilliver (from Gulliver's Travels) as a playground

 And, expansive views

After about 3.5km (2.2 miles), we reach the Torres de Serranos gate into the old town, enter, and start to wander (next post).

Cartegena

Cartagena is a much larger city than we have visited previously on this trip, capital of the region of Murcia, with over 200,000 people and over 400,000 in the surrounding metropolitan area.  Once again, Roman and Moorish conquerors and influence weave through its history over two thousand years as one of the most important defensive ports in the western Mediterranean.

Cartagena is still an important seaport and the Spanish Navy bases their Mediterranean fleet and activities in its port.  The town also is also an important submarine base and shipyard, with immense underground caves built for Spanish submarines during the Second World War.

 As we head into the city, we find tropical boulevards and sweeping views.

 Boulevards and parks

We're here for the ruins and head up to the Roman Theatre Museum.  Built between the 5th and 1st centuries BC, the ruins were hidden for several centuries and has now been excavated and restored, opening as a museum in 2008.  The Roman Theatre contains seating for 6,000 people, with seats excavated out of rock and a stage over 43 meters (141 feet) in length.

 Roman Theatre Museum

Near the Roman Theatre is Molinette Hill which has been converted into a large, open-air archeological park and is still being excavated.  Meanwhile, the park is open to walk through the paths and open areas, see what is completed, and view archeologists at work excavating an entire block of Roman Cartagena, including a Roman thermal spa and an an atrium building used for banquets.  Ultimately, this will be a grand park highlighting the ruins, sporting a new museum, and integrating adjacent parts of the city.

Molinette Hill park with work in progress

Beautiful stone sidewalks weave around old trees

From the hills, we get great views of the harbor

 Views from the hills

And as we descend into the old town, we return to winding Mediterranean streets that lead back to the port and back to our ship.

Streets in old town

And, strolling through the area, greeting tourists

Next, Almeria

Almeria, about 200 km (125 miles) east of Málaga, was ruled by the Moors from the 10th century and its Moorish Castle, the Alcazaba of Almeria, is the second largest former-Muslim fortress in Andalusia.  The castle stands proudly above the town and will be our first and main destination.

Almeria went through many sieges, was conquered by the Christians during the Crusades, then returned to Muslim control, and finally came permanently under Christian control in the 15th century, although still retaining a large Muslim population.

Almeria is one of the driest cities in Europe, with a true desert climate, and also one of the warmest, having never recorded a below-freezing temperature.

We leave the port and start hiking through town toward the castle.

 Picturesque town

Construction of the Alcazaba of Almeria began in the mid-10th century AD and the castle now consists of three large walled enclosures:  a military camp, a palace and mosque, and three towers built after the Christian conquest.  Many of the city streets head up to the castle, and the walk up is rewarded, once we arrive, with stunning, dominating views of the city and the harbor.  The castle is the best-preserved Moorish fortress in Spain and definitely worth a lengthy exploration.

Approaching the castle

Exploring inside

 Beautiful gardens inside the castle

Expansive views looking out

Great entrances though the castle walls

 And a school group meeting in the castle garden

Outside of and even higher than the Alcazaba of Almeria (with more great views) is an imposing structure with the statue Cerra de San Cristobal, built in the Castle of San Cristobal, now in ruins, but connected to the Alcazaba by a line of walls.

Cerra de San Cristobal

Looking out from Cerra de San Cristobal toward the city and sea

Eventually, we end our exploration of the hilltops and head back down the picturesque streets of the old town.

Charming streets in town

And, random beautiful gardens

As we stroll back to our ship through the gardens and palm trees of the seaside promenade, we think about what a great little town this is.

While I relax for a bit, Laura borrows a bicycle from the ship and rides along the  seaside and beaches for a totally different experience.  She didn't take pictures and we'll have to go back for those someday!