Like many British people of their generation, my parents have long dreamed about retirement
(or semi-retirement in their case) in the south of Spain.
And so, in order to live out there life-long dream, they moved to Mojocar in Almeria just
a few months ago.
I'm currently staying here for Christmas, and I can easily see the appeal.Mojacar sits
on one of the southernmost points of Spain.
It is a municipality of the province Almeria and Almeria is a province of the semi-autonamous
region of Andalusia.Mojacar mostly consists of an old town on top of a hill, and a nearby
community living on the beach.
Mojacar Pueblo — the town — and Mojacar Playa — the beach — are joined by a road
which winds through olive groves and some wonderful orange trees.
The abundant vegetation is part of the reason why Mojacar has the highest GDP per capita
in the whole of Andalucia.
The other reasons for this municipality's relative wealth are the jobs created from
tourism and immigration from Western Europeans like my parents.People from other countries
have brought a lot of money to Mojacar — and they've also brought a lot of change.
There are Irish pubs here, British pubs there, and a German pub near Mojacar Pueblo as well.
Of course, if the history of Mojacar has taught us anything, it's that the municipality
has handled a lot of change already.In the Bronze Age, Mojacar was populated by a rag
tag group of Phonecian, Carthiginian, and Romans traders.
Then, it was colonized by the Greeks and — after that — it was populated by the Islamic Empire.Being
one of the southern most towns in Spain, Mojacar was one of the first Spanish towns the Islamic
Empire conquered in the early years of the eighth century.
This is probably why, about 1,300 years later, Mojacar is one of the best preserved examples
of an Islamic style mountain town in modern Spain.
Looking at it from a distance, it wouldn't look at all out of place in an Islamic country.
In Mojacar, a little bit of the old Islamic Empire holds on in the south west of Europe.After
the Islamic Empire fell in Spain during the Reconquista, many of the North African and
Arab people living in Spain faced expulsion.
Historically, Andalusia has been one of the regions most sympathetic towards these groups
of people — who are known locally as "Mariscos".
So, while the rest of Spain was expelling its Mariscos, there were no expulsions of
Mariscos in Mojacar.
Rather, the town prides itself on the peaceful surrender of Islamic rule in the town and
cohabitation of Christians and Mariscos since that day.
Peaceful surrender was quite a rare thing — not just in Spain, but in human history.The
terms of this peaceful surrender are detailed by a plaque which was placed on the Mojacar
Public Fountain in the 15th Century.
This natural source of spring water has been used by the people of Mojacar — regardless
of the ethnic background — for as long as Mojacar has been settled.
People still use this fountain today.And the people of Mojacar are the result of this peaceful
cohabitation— being the descendants of Spanish and Marisco peoples.The Islamic look of Mojacar
today is also the result of this cohabitation.
The Catholic church in the centre of the Pueblo doesn't look like a Catholic church from
the outside because, once upon a time, this building used to be a mosque.Of course, like
any brief history, this brief history covers up a lot of complexity…First of all, attitudes
towards Moriscos, Africans, and Islamic people vary wildly across Spain.
On the one hand, Andalusia and Mojacar have historically been on the side of of these
people.
On the other hand, Andalusia was not completely free from joining in with the mass expulsion
of Moriscos in the 17th Century.This rock tower on the outskirts of the municipality,
for example, was built during the Nasrid Dynasty towards the end of the Islamic rule of Spain
in 12th Century.
However, it was then later used as a watchtower to help with the expulsion of Moriscos just
a few hundred years later.
In other words, the Spanish ending up using a tower which the Islamic people had built
to help expel Islamic people from the country.Secondly, imagining that the story of Mojacar's last
few hundred years is solely about the relationship between two religions — Christianity and
Islam — ignores some of the awesome semi-religious, folklore of this municipality.La Cueva de
Mariquita La Posá is a small cave in Mojacar Pueblo where a local legend says that a woman
named Maria lived there with a local wizard.
She married the wizard so that he would use his powers to help save the village from a
deadly plague.
Of course, Maria didn't really love the wizard.
So, rather than stay married to him, she tried stealing the potions she needed to save her
village while he slept.
However, in the confusion of stealing the potions and replacing them with fakes, she
spilt some real potion on her hand and accidentally cast a spell.
In doing so, Maria and the wizard disappeared and they were never seen again.Another local
legend is the story of the Indalo.
The exact origins of this symbol are unknown.
Some trace it back to neolithic times, others to the Islamic rule of Spain, and some trace
it back to as recently as the 1950s.
Indalos can be seen dotted all over people's homes and they are seen as the symbol of Mojacar.
It's said to depict a hunter carrying a raindow.
So, the Indalo is a protector, but they are also supposed to bring wealth.Third, attitudes
towards Western European immigration vary wildly.
On the one hand, British, Irish, German, French, and many other wealthy immigrants bring an
injection of wealth the region.
On the other hand, injections of wealth are not always evenly distributed.
What's more, Almeria's wealth from being the "green house of Europe" is sometimes
scrutinised.
I mentioned winding paths through olive and orange plantations earlier, but that's not
how a lot of Almeria and Mojacar's vegetables are grown.
A lot of them are grown in rows upon rows of greenhouses.On the one hand, growing vegetables
en masse is a very sustainable business plan — much more so than raising animals for
meat or producing plastics.
This kind of intensive farming has reduced pesticide use, boosted the local economy,
provided jobs, and it's even reduced the local temperature because of the sheer amount
of white.On the other hand, the pay and working conditions aren't always great and such
heavy dependance on one business model can quickly lead to problems should something
happen to the climate here.
And, well, something is happening to the climate here.
I mean, something's happening to the climate the world over.The history of Mojacar could
be the history of any town.
Change begets change, some change is good, and some change is bad.
Equally, Mojacar's future could go any which way as well.
As for Mojacar's present, here's what the place looks like in December 2017.Thanks
for watching.
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