Cadiz

Cadiz is regarded as the most ancient western city that is still standing and it has had a varied and interesting history. Today I thought I would try and discover some of it.

My first port of call was the Cadiz museum a few minutes walk through the back streets from my hotel. It was mainly prehistory and Roman with the latter being the focus. The Romans settled here in 206 BC and made a big impact on the existing settlement; the theatre, the remains of which I saw yesterday, could seat 10,000 people and was one of the biggest in the Empire. To add an element of eclecticism there were also some modern paintings and a selection of puppets used for entertainment in the 19th century, more interesting than it might sound.

Next it was to a site where some Phoenician remains had been uncovered. The Phoenicians founded the city, maybe as early as 1100 BC, but any remains seem largely to have been buried by the extensive Roman building works, or at least that was my understanding from the two very enthusiastic tour guides who gave me an extensive history lesson of the Phoenician/Romano history of Cadiz in Spanish. Overall more Interesting than the museum in my opinion although my head was throbbing from trying to cope with the onslaught of Spanish by the end.

After this it was a big leap forward in time and a visit to one of the two forts overlooking La Caleta beach. Santa Catalina fort was built in the 17th century to protect the city after an Anglo-Dutch fleet had captured Cadiz and destroyed 32 Spanish ships. There wasn’t much to see but the views were good.

I am now doing the last of my packing and preparing for a final night out in Cadiz. Tomorrow I begin my walk.