The Teatro Romano at the base of the Alcazaba
Built in the 1st century BC during the reign of Emperor Augustus (63 BC-19 AD), the ruins of the Teatro Romano served as a convenient quarry for the Moorish fortress being constructed above in the 700s. Some of the amphitheatre’s columns and capitals were recycled and can be picked out in the Alcazaba.
As for the Teatro Romano, through the centuries it was filled with rubble and forgotten until “rediscovered” during a construction project in 1951. Excavation and restoration did not begin until 1995, and it reopened for outdoor performances in 2011.
Entrances to the Alcazaba were angled advantageously on the hillside to protect the Moorish fortress. Most of the Alcazaba’s remaining palatial structures were erected between the 11th and 14th centuries.
The security of the Alcazaba was eroded with the advent of artillery usage in warfare. So in the 14th century, Yusuf I (1318-1354) built a hilltop castle, Castillo de Gibralfaro, to protect Alcazaba down below.
The ascent to the castle was a climb. Upon arrival at the top, of course, we observed a shuttle bus that approached it from the other side. The climb did, however, make one appreciate its topographic advantage with commanding view on all sides, particularly of the harbor.
The descent was somewhat challenging as the soles of my shoes bore a seemingly impenetrable layer of wax from weeks of wandering around Andalusian streets coated in wax from candlelit Holy Week processions. It has taken several hundred more miles of walking to finally render the rubber soles safe again.
Following the expulsion of Moorish rulers in 1487, the Castillo remained a military garrison until 1925.
Postcards from Barton Springs 