Huesca. Coffee in Huesca, Cathedral. Misleada Mosque

 Huesca is still known for its motivational factor in the Spanish Civil War. It is said that the militiamen rallied time and again with the slogan -- Tomorrow, we will have coffee in Huesca. That is a great reason to go there and do it.

George Orwell fought near here.  He had joined the POUM Militia, against the falangists (Franco's Fascist party, 1930's) who held Huesca at the time. Orwell was stationed near there.  See http://www.hotelsclick.com/hotels/Spain/HUES/Huesca-COFFEE_IN_HUESCA-1.html 

George Orwell and the militia:  See overview and photo at http://libcom.org/history/international-volunteers-poum-militias

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Coffee in Huesca. Today.

Huesca, Spain. Coffee in Huesca.  

Coffee, and a little ham and melon, and some macaroni.  And macaroons.

Time clocks.  All was closed from 2-5PM-- long siesta -- so see what you can and enjoy the ambiance.

Immediately behind the cafe area is the Cathedral of St. Mary, Huesca; also known as the Mary Church, or the Holy Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord -- two separate events-people memorialized.  To many guidebooks, it is simply the Huesca Cathedral.  A mosque predated it on this site, the Misleida Mosque.  This one dates from the end of the 13th Century, Gothic.

Huesca Cathedral, Spain.  Cathedral of St. Mary; Holy Cathedral of the Transiguration of the Lord

The right tower, here on the left, looks like it is part of the old Misleida Mosque.  The Gothic of the central facade does not extend to the rest of the exterior.  The tower looks Moorish and is defensive: small-windowed, simple, not soaring, not fancy.  

Or is it part of an old San Miguel Romanesque Tower?  Which came first, after the mosque?

Cathedral at Huesca, Spain. Misleada Mosque tower.  Cathedral built on the remains of the mosque.

Huesca long predates the Moors, who invaded in the 8th Century and called this Wasqah, back to the Romans (Urbs Vitrix Osca), and before that, the Iberians known as Bolskan.  Look up Wikipedia. 

Origins. Patchworks of researchers-musers suggest migrations of people from the areas of the Tribes of Israel, see http://chiefio.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/irish-scots-gaelic-egyptian-connection/; a topic I also enjoyed exploring, see http://irelandroadways.blogspot.com/2010/03/tralee-queen-scotia-and-slieve-mish.html.

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On the Christian end, Saint Lawrence was from Huesca, 268 AD.  He was martyred violently, roasted on a grill, see grill motif on the breastplate at the painting at http://denmarkroadways.blogspot.com/2011/07/bjernede-inside-round-church-rundkirke.html 

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And, who is making that fine cup of coffee and side dish delicious? As anywhere, one of The Angels of the Kitchen.

Angel of the Kitchen, Cathedral Square, Huesca, Spain

Montearagon. Sancho Ramirez. Mallos de Riglos.

King Sancho Ramirez, 1045-1094, built a castle on this high site, making a fortress from which to attack Wasqah, the city nearby we know as Huesca, then occupied by the Moors. He was killed by a stray arrow, however, and the venture abandoned.  He was king of Aragon and Pamplona-Navarre.

Montearagon Castle, near Huesca, Spain

The castle then was given to an Augustinian order of monks, who remained there for centuries until, in the19th century -- it was confiscated and became a powder magazine that then exploded. Some restorations are going on now, we understand.

 Clifftop, hilltop monasteries and villages tell of the need for defense or a place to fight against invading Moors and others. All were ultimately unsuccessful against the Moors on this side of the Pyrenees. There was no place to run.

This monastery is unidentified.  No notes on it, but its place on the card puts it soon after Huesca.

Hilltop monastery, near Huesca, Spain

The land is formidable.   The area, known as Mallos de Riglos, draws climbers as well as drivers.  See http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=4614

Mallos de Riglos rock formations, near Huesca, Spain

Rock formations, near Huesca, Spain

Reservoir of Barasona, from Huesca toward Graus, Spain. Pantona de Barasona.

Loarre Castle, Spain. Clifftop, 11th Century beginning

Castles in Spain. Loarre, near Jaca.  

Loarre is one of the best, a Crusader castle with elements that predate even that.  It is a Romanesque treasure, measured by its excellent state of repair (dry, steady climate helps),  its eyrie location, open accessibility for unguided explorers roaming and climbing about, and history with Moors and conquest, invasions, migrations across borders, and defenses against further incursion, then the Reconquest. One of the best. Castles in Spain can be every iota as gripping as the legends suggest, but few offer this hands-on experience.  Go to Loarre. It is also on the tentative list for World Heritage sites, completed process by now? see http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5135/

Loarre Castle, near Jaca, Spain. Distance view from flatland side.

The History Channel featured it in a series, History vs Hollywood: The Kingdom of Heaven, see video clip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMKWAQNKqZA.
The clip points out the three levels of defenses, the oldest part as the inner tower with its secrets and luxury; the monastery that developed around it; and, finally the much later walls.  Invasions.  See
http://www.spainisculture.com/en/monumentos/huesca/castillo_de_loarre.html

Loarre Castle, Spain, distance view, castle emerging from the cliff rock. Also near Huesca.

Loarre Castle has several towers.  The King's Tower, and the Queen's Tower. Which is which? A tunnel burrows beneath for escape to the mountain areas behind.

The oldest tower, free-standing.  1020-1030 or so, would probably be the one known as The King's Tower.  Have to check.  The walls came centuries later.  Note the half-open side of the turret, a design that became common.  A King would not always be inresidence.  This was a kind of garrison for troops, mostly, I understand, with a Castellan in charge, until finally the Moors of nearby Huesca were defeated.  It was then that the monastery was established -- no further use for a totally military structure..

Castellan's Tower, Loarre Castle, Spain

 Is this the Queen's Tower?  It is vastly restored. Small doors at ground level:  difficult for a knight in full armor to enter; or anyone on horseback.  Remove the armor, and become more vulnerable.

Castillo de Loarre, Huesca Province, Spain. Monastery complex tower, Augustinian, 1064 or so.

Interior Courtyard, Loarre Castle, Spain