Zahara de la Sierra
Encyclopedia
Zahara de la Sierra is a small town in the province of Cádiz in the hills of Andalusia
, southern Spain
. It is perched on a mountain, overlooking a valley and a man-made lake formed by the dam that must be driven over to access the town. It is considered to be one of the "pueblos blancos" or "white towns" because the overwhelming majority of the buildings are white.
The town was originally a Moorish
outpost, overlooking the valley. Due to its position between Ronda
and Seville
, it was a perfect site for a castle to be built to serve as a fortress in case of attack. The remains of the Moorish castle are still existing
The Garganta Verde canyon is located nearby.
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, southern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It is perched on a mountain, overlooking a valley and a man-made lake formed by the dam that must be driven over to access the town. It is considered to be one of the "pueblos blancos" or "white towns" because the overwhelming majority of the buildings are white.
The town was originally a Moorish
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
outpost, overlooking the valley. Due to its position between Ronda
Ronda
Ronda is a city in Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about West from the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is approximately 35,000 inhabitants.-History:...
and Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, it was a perfect site for a castle to be built to serve as a fortress in case of attack. The remains of the Moorish castle are still existing
The Garganta Verde canyon is located nearby.