City of Basques
The archaeological site known as "Ciudad de Vascos" corresponds to the remains of an ancient al-Andalus madina that was inhabited between the 9th and 12th centuries, and which is currently uninhabited.
To visit Vascos is to enter through a chink in the history of the Islamic presence in the Iberian Peninsula.
Access is difficult, first on roads, then on an uneven dirt track. But as we get closer, the landscape is beautiful, wild, a real spectacle in spring: almond trees, holm oaks, junipers and wild olive trees populate the abrupt rock formations dug out by the river Huso.
City of Basques
Dwellings and walls
In the middle of the steep terrain, the first thing that strikes us is the defensive remains of about 3 km in length, which surround an area of 8 hectares. Outside the walls, we can see the ruins of a suburb and two cemeteries, tanneries and baths. Inside the walls, a whole urban network with blocks of houses, sewers, souks, mosques, shops... And in the background, dominating everything on a rocky promontory, hanging over the river, the alcazaba (citadel).
Ciudad de Vascos is the paradigm of what a medina - or city - of al-Andalus was like between the 9th and 12th centuries, when it was inhabited.
Almost everything else about its history is a mystery. Why in this place, when it was founded, when it was depopulated and why, even the origin of its present name or the name it had in those centuries... almost everything, is usually answered by different theories.
One of the most important aspects of the site is the good preservation of the walls and the citadel, which form a defensive complex of great importance. After passing through its gates, we stroll through the streets where once there were souks, mosques, shops... we get a glimpse of the daily life, private and public, of the people, potters, blacksmiths, tanners, soldiers... who inhabited the city. It is worth mentioning the complex hydraulic system that channelled the springs from the neighbouring sierras through streams to feed a reservoir and a large watering place near the village. We see, in fact, the remains of a public bath that took advantage of this water and an advanced sewage system.
Necropolis
Mosque
VISITING HOURS
Saturday mornings from 16 May to 31 January
Contact: Ayuntamiento de Navalmoralejo, Pza. de la Constitución nº 1, 45573 Navalmoralejo (Toledo)
Telephone 925 43 63 17
The visit is free of charge
Access is via a dirt road that starts in an easterly direction at the Navalmoralejo crossroads on the CM-4100 road, from Puente del Arzobispo to La Estrella. The path goes through the Fuentelapio estate, to continue to the finca "Las Cucañas" where the site is located. Here you will find signposts leading to the town of Vascos.
The access is not accessible for buses.
Tips
Visitors are asked to protect and maintain this monument as it is incumbent upon all of us to preserve it. It is therefore requested not to climb on wall structures, to respect excavated areas and to follow the marked paths.
INTERPRETATION CENTRE: TEMPORARILY CLOSED
It is located in the town of Navalmoralejo, in the old schools of this town. Access is free of charge and can be gained by requesting a key from the bar opposite.
This is a space equipped for the explanation of the important remains of the historical past of this region and in which we can find from a series of panels and an audiovisual, the evolution of the occupation of the territory surrounding the City of Vascos throughout history, and that allows us to know the importance of this site.
In this building we can also find a sample of some of the material finds found at the site, such as alquerques, quarrymen's mallets, and a selection of pottery, which gives an idea of some of the most common finds that formed part of the everyday life of the people of Vascos.
Alcazaba seen from the Madina
