September 6th, 2008 admin
The selection of museums has changed substantially over last few years. Usually, people have visited the Camilo Visedo Archaeological Museum and, of course, the Moors and Christians Fiesta Museum (MAF). That used to be all. But nowadays the collections and places of interest that the city offers have grown.
It’s still recomeded to visit the Archacological Museum, a true reference to remnants of Iberian culture, and the Moors and Christians Fiesta Museum, in Casal de Sant Jordi, which has recently been renewed and deeply restored. But it’s worthy to visit the Explora Interpretation Centre, that offers a global vision of the past and present history of the town. The visitor will find very interesting the anti air-raid refuge from Spanish Civil War, which has been rehabilitated and converted into a museum wich tries to recreate that period. Some interesting collections, as the religious works shown in San Mauro’s Church and the Science Museum in Pare Vitoria High School can be visited as well. Soon there will be new museums: one dedicated to the Three Wise Men Fiesta, another one to Conternporary Art ant the last one will be the Provincial Firefighter’s Museum.
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September 6th, 2008 admin
Two natural parks Font Roja and Mariola.
Font Roja Natural Park
The Carrascar de la Font Roja Natural Park is one of the best preserved nature areas in the Valencian territory. The natural landscape is specially outstanding there, a unique location where one can enjoy the vegetation of the mixed Mediterranean forest. Besides the natural heritage, there are other points of interest in the park, as the constructions of great architectural, and also ethnographic value: the icehouses or snow pits. In the l8th century the snow trade played an important role in the mountain counties, which propitiated the birthof the tce-cream industry. The six icehouses still to be found today in this natural park continue to bear witness to this business.
The existence of a well-preserved wood and different landscape areas in the park favour the presence of a rich and varied fauna: boars, genets, weasels, Wildcats, badgers… and ornithological, species such as the sparrow-hawk, the eagle or the goshawk, amongst others.
Mariola Natural Park
The Sierra de Mariola Natural Park is mainly known for its varied quantity of aromatic and medicinal plants. Mariola is one of the parts of Valencia where particularly significant environmental, landscape and Socio-cultural values all overlap.
Through its long history of occupation and human interaction the different uses made on the natural resources of the range have ended up shaping an outstanding mosaic of ecosystems and landscapes, which synthesize, like few territories in Valencia do, the basic characteristics and peculiarities of the Mediterranean mid-height mountain range, an aspect that has made the Sierra de Mariola a genuine sign of identity for the surrounding villages.
The surroundings of Alcoy offer many interesting excursions. The city lies close to the natural environment, so there is a greate variety of places in nature that could be visited on a walk from the city: la Vía Verde (Greenway), Barranc del Sint, Els Canalons, Racó de Sant Bonaventura, el Salt… which are admired by walkers and nature lovers.
Urban green areas: The center of the city has many green areas. Alongside large parks like el Romeral, zona nort, cantagallet and the newly opened green area by the banks of the Riqer river, there are countless squares and leisure areas in the different districs of alcoy. Specially remarkable is the glorieta, a Romantic-style garden in the very center of the city.
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September 1st, 2008 admin
The first bilingual magazine in the Ayora valley.
All good stories start with “Once Upon A Time”, and so to begin.,.
Once upon a time there was a valley called El Hoya - Ayora — where, to quote Señor José Martínez Sevilla, half a dozen villages slept the sleep of centuries.
Then one day, many years ago, an English couple arrived and the valley stirred, opened one eye, yawned a big yawn and went back to sleep again.
But later Spain became a member of the EU and many more extranjeros began to arrive, bringing with them their language and culture — and many questions. The villages, which had been sleeping the sleep of centuries, suddenly woke up and took notice, and words such as “un momento, por favor”, “tranquilo”, “poco a poco”, “mañana” and “cómo?” echoed round the valley.
Most of the villagers offered the hand of friendship, bat there was mach to be learnt on both sides, and it was not always “tranquilo”. Words like “IIow do we do?, “Where do we go for?” ami “No entiendo, más despacio por favor.” also started to echo round the valley. There appeared to he as many ways to do something as there are hairs oii a bali’s tau, and as difficult to untangle the truth when ful! of burrs. There was a great need for understanding, patience, exchange of information and also mach to be learnt about this beautiful valley, its people, its history and its customs.
So it came to pass that a small group of extranjeros, mindful of the great diversity to be found in the villages ami amongst the people who live here, as well as the problems facing the extranjeros who have come to make their home here, decided to produce a news!etter, It was hoped that this newsletter would go some way to help all the people of the valley, local and extranjeros, to form one valley community, living, working and playing together.
Ayora Valley News, a free, bi-lingual monthly magazine was hora.
With tbe enthusiasm and support of Spanish friends for translations, contributions from the people in the communities, letters from readers, and advertising by local businesses and individuals, the newsletter, now a magazine, is growing — “poco a poco”!
It is not easy for the small team who produce Ayora Valley News, there is “mucho trabajo”, and we always need contributions from readers to help fill the pages, But we hope that Ayora Valley News in some small way will bring us all together, to share languages, cultures, information, stories, ideas and fun (even if it is difficult sometimes to translate jokes!), so that we may all live “happily ever after” in “el hoya”.
Posted in Tourism | No Comments »
September 1st, 2008 admin
The first bilingual magazine in the Ayora valley.
All good stories start with “Once Upon A Time”, and so to begin.,.
Once upon a time there was a valley called El Hoya - Ayora — where, to quote Señor José Martínez Sevilla, half a dozen villages slept the sleep of centuries.
Then one day, many years ago, an English couple arrived and the valley stirred, opened one eye, yawned a big yawn and went back to sleep again.
But later Spain became a member of the EU and many more extranjeros began to arrive, bringing with them their language and culture — and many questions. The villages, which had been sleeping the sleep of centuries, suddenly woke up and took notice, and words such as “un momento, por favor”, “tranquilo”, “poco a poco”, “mañana” and “cómo?” echoed round the valley.
Most of the villagers offered the hand of friendship, bat there was mach to be learnt on both sides, and it was not always “tranquilo”. Words like “IIow do we do?, “Where do we go for?” ami “No entiendo, más despacio por favor.” also started to echo round the valley. There appeared to he as many ways to do something as there are hairs oii a bali’s tau, and as difficult to untangle the truth when ful! of burrs. There was a great need for understanding, patience, exchange of information and also mach to be learnt about this beautiful valley, its people, its history and its customs.
So it came to pass that a small group of extranjeros, mindful of the great diversity to be found in the villages ami amongst the people who live here, as well as the problems facing the extranjeros who have come to make their home here, decided to produce a news!etter, It was hoped that this newsletter would go some way to help all the people of the valley, local and extranjeros, to form one valley community, living, working and playing together.
Ayora Valley News, a free, bi-lingual monthly magazine was hora.
With tbe enthusiasm and support of Spanish friends for translations, contributions from the people in the communities, letters from readers, and advertising by local businesses and individuals, the newsletter, now a magazine, is growing — “poco a poco”!
It is not easy for the small team who produce Ayora Valley News, there is “mucho trabajo”, and we always need contributions from readers to help fill the pages, But we hope that Ayora Valley News in some small way will bring us all together, to share languages, cultures, information, stories, ideas and fun (even if it is difficult sometimes to translate jokes!), so that we may all live “happily ever after” in “el hoya”.
Posted in Tourism | No Comments »
