Old(est) Town

Billed as the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe, the former island of Cadiz is less than five kilometers long. At its widest, it is not much more than a kilometer across. In the days of old, Cadiz really was an island, but now a causeway connects it to the mainland. It is also one of my new favorite cities, rocketing up the charts to mingle with the likes of Barcelona and Lisboa.

See the domes on the Cathedral? That's a sure sign this used to be a Mosque.

Oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe. Yeah, sure, blah-blah-blah. Sounds like another roadside attraction, right? So I thought as well, being the jaded sort of guy I am, but guess what? It turns out to be true! Cadiz (say it with me now: CAH-disss) was founded by the Phoenicians about 1100 BCE. That's Before the Current Era, as in a damn long time ago. It wasn't called Cadiz (hiss like a snake!!) back then, almost 3,120 years ago. The city has had a few different names as conquerors came and went. When it comes to historical name-dropping, Cadiz has a few cards up its sleeve.

We already mentioned the Phoenicians, one of the first advanced sea-faring people of the ancient Mediteranean world. Then came the rise of Carthage, a city-state and cousins to the Phoenicians. They were the power against which Rome fought the Punic Wars. Imagine a World War that lasted, on-and-off, for 120 years.  That would give you a good idea of what the Punic Wars were like. During the first Punic War, Catharge occupied Cadiz. The Third Punic War began when Rome and Carthage exchanged in "Double-Dog-Dare-Yas!" The Romans got pretty miffed, burned the city of Carthage to the ground, then made sure that not a single stone stood atop another. Carthage disappears from history.

Back in Cadiz (CAH like a crow, Dsssss Hiss like a Snake!) it was the usual bloody history of the Roman Empire. Imagine a progression of Pax Romana, war, war, war, New Emporer! Pax Romana, war, war, war. Oops, we let the empire fail!! Maybe too many emporers. Aieeeee, here come the Visigoths (or Goths, or Huns, or...) And so it was here, Romans, Visigoths, Byzantines, Visigoths again, and finally the Moors. For all that is blathered about the Infidel invading Christendom, the Moors were a stunning example of stable government. Trade flourished, the arts and sciences flourished, and the Moors were surprisingly tolerant of other religions, including the Christians and the Jews. For about five-and-a-half centuries, there was peace and prosperity for most of the southern Iberian Peninsula. The Moors could be as bloody-minded as anyone else in the region, but they basically maintained a peace that lasted until the Christian armies pushed them south. The regular fun-and-games of feudal war began just after the arrival of the Christian Knights.

Gone but not forgotten, the stamp of Moorish culture is seen on almost every wall in Cadiz.

As far as name-dropping goes, the city has serious clout. Hannibal was here, as was Julius Caesar. Christopher Colombus sailed from Cadiz on his second and fourth voyages to the New World. Good old-fashioned pirating was a big tradition here. As the treasures of the West Indies flowed into the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, so did the Pirates. First it was the Pirates of the Barbary Coast, North Africans on the make for loot. Later on, it was British Privateers (a Privateer is a pirate with a license) who raided the city. In 1587, Sir Francis Drake, the most notorious mercenary of his day, looted and burned the city. 

Don't worry, there won't be a pop-quiz at the end of the blog post. I do think it is important, however, to have at least a cursory understanding of the history my big, flat feet are stomping across. If you need another set of quick crib-notes, it would go something lke this: Christians kick out the Moors! Yay for Feudalism! Two centuries of nothing. Exploration! New World! Yay, Gold!! Shit, it's the Pirates! Dammit, it's the English! Take that, you Pig-Dogs! Crap, they sunk our Armada. That sucks! Crap, it's the English again, wait, now it's the French, stupid Napoleon. Argh, bastard pig-dog English again! And so on, and so on. 

A Room With a View (and cigar)

Okay, enough with the history. My Beautiful Baby and I are in Cadiz, after a successful and easy travel day. We drop the bags, hit a cafe for a dose of caffiene, and set out for walkabout. One cannot get lost in Cadiz. There is water on three sides and a modern city on the fourth. If you hit water or new buildings, turn back.

Cafe time on one of the many old plazas.

Stray Cat Hostal on the breakwater. Some local women take care of the cats, building little huts for them out of plastic bins and whatnot. The Hostal complex stretches a good bit along the breakwater. Interestingly, I saw the same thing in Navarre, Portugal. The smell was a mix of stray cats, old cat food, drying fish, and seagull. A powerful aroma.

Night falls and the late Spanish dinner hour finally arrives.

Tapas! What a surprise. Dogfish, pimento salad, octopus, and, of course, bacalao.

Along the narrow stone lanes of Cadiz are huge wooden doorways. Next to some of the doorways are tile plaques. Spanish is a bit like Entish, in that anything worth saying is worth taking a long time to say. This particular doorway was on of the many organizations preparing for the upcoming Semana Santos, or Holy Week. This would be something along the lines of: "Sisterhood of Penitents of the Holy Jesus of the Blessed Death and Mary, Saint of Great Suffering." 

I snuck a peek in the doorway, just to see what goes on. A whole passel of pious folk were busy polishing and cleaning the oversized candle holders that will be part of the Semana Santos processions.

And sure, Cadiz is also a good town for doors. All of these ancient cities feed my obsession with doorways. Okay, I admit it, I have a bit of a problem. Maybe there is some cool new-aged therapy for door obsession.

As Tio Roberto would say: Ta-Daaa! I moved the blog ahead to Cadiz, one of my new favorite cities. I dropped in as much history as I dared. (Yeah, yeah, the city is old. We get it.) It is late, the travelers are tired, time to say goodnight. Sleep well, sweet dreams, watch out for the Pirates, and Ciao for Now!