Europe Explored » aqueduct https://europeexplored.com Travel through the most beautiful places in Europe Sun, 08 Sep 2013 13:36:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=3.6 Almuñécar – important tourist resort at Costa Tropical in Spain https://europeexplored.com/2012/02/09/almunecar-important-tourist-resort-at-costa-tropical-in-spain/ https://europeexplored.com/2012/02/09/almunecar-important-tourist-resort-at-costa-tropical-in-spain/#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:13:33 +0000 Claire https://europeexplored.com/?p=6198 Almuñécar is very important tourist resort in Spain, situated on the Tropical Coast (Costa Tropical), between the sea and mountains in Granada province. Currently it has about 25 000 inhabitants. The name of this town dates back to the Arabs, when it was named HiSn-al-Munakkab (Surrounded by mountains). Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created […]

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Almuñécar is very important tourist resort in Spain, situated on the Tropical Coast (Costa Tropical), between the sea and mountains in Granada province. Currently it has about 25 000 inhabitants. The name of this town dates back to the Arabs, when it was named HiSn-al-Munakkab (Surrounded by mountains).

Almuñécar, Costa Tropical, Spain
Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Andrew Hurley

From the Arab period you can see well preserved Castillo de San Miguel and the towers, protecting the city against enemies approaching by sea. The towers are preserved in almost perfect condition today. From an earlier Phoenician Period comes the necropolis Puente de Noy. During excavations in the years 1979 to 1993 were discovered 132 tombs, which provide convincing evidence of ancient inhabitants of this place.

Quite a lot monuments date back to the period of Roman domination. Those include the Aqueduct and Cave of the Seven Palaces, which now serves as an archaeological museum. From this time you will find also the Monks Tower and even Factoria de Salazones de Pescado (Salting FishH Factory).

Encarnación church was designed by famed architect of King Philip II., Juan de Herrera. The author of its tower then became a Granada’s native Diego de Siloé, who mainly participated on the most part of the Cathedral of Granada.

Castillo de San Miguel, Almuñécar, Costa Tropical, Spain
Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by NoelWalley at en.wikipedia

Approx. 40 minutes from Almuñécar you can visit Peña Escrita natural park where you suddenly find yourself almost in paradise. You will see beautiful countryside surrounded by mountains on one side and sea on the other. It’s a great tip for a nice walk, when you go around wonderful nature that is full of various animals and birds singing.

Beaches

Beaches are very natural and not as commercial as they are on the Costa del Sol.

Playa de Cantarrijan
This beach lies exactly on the boundary of two provinces, Malaga and Granada. You can get here from the national road No. 340 and you have two options. Either you walk down the path that is steep and sometimes you come across a smaller gradient, or choose the second one, which is milder but longer.

Playa La Herradura
It is 2100 m long beach. From both sides is protected by foothills of La Punta de la Mona and Cerro Gordo mountains.

Playa del Muerto
Do not be intimidated by the title (in translation beach deceased). The name is probably derived from the peace and quiet to be found there. It is a small beach (280 meters long) which you can enter by following an artificial rocky road.

Playa de San Cristóbal
One of the most famous beaches of this area lies to the west of Almuñécar. Besides the beach you can go to several bars and restaurants and enjoy some of the excellent local cuisine.

If you did not choose any from these beaches, you certainly do so once you get there. There’s a lot more!


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Aqueduct Pont du Gard – ancient Roman aqueduct bridge in Provence, France https://europeexplored.com/2011/08/04/aqueduct-pont-du-gard-ancient-roman-aqueduct-bridge-in-provence-france/ https://europeexplored.com/2011/08/04/aqueduct-pont-du-gard-ancient-roman-aqueduct-bridge-in-provence-france/#comments Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:27:07 +0000 Claire https://europeexplored.com/?p=4734 The basic requirement of life is water and regular water supply and its transport is an absolute necessity for a living. Since ancient times people knew this and tried to transport it as easy as it was possible to the human houses – so they began to build aqueducts. Most impressive and largest aqueduct at […]

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The basic requirement of life is water and regular water supply and its transport is an absolute necessity for a living. Since ancient times people knew this and tried to transport it as easy as it was possible to the human houses – so they began to build aqueducts.

Most impressive and largest aqueduct at that time was undoubtedly the Pont du Gard in Provence, in southern France. It dates from Roman times – was built 2000 years ago. It is not only beneficial structure, but also an architectural gem. It can certainly be called wonder of the ancient world. This building has been preserved almost in working conditions until today.

Aqueduct transferred water from the Eure spring to the wells in Nimes (48 km). Noteworthy is that the height difference between spring and wells is only 17 m, which proves truly outstanding calculations of the whole system.

A part of the aqueduct is a huge, three-storey bridge over the river Gard, which is also the most interesting part. The bridge is 275 meters long, 49 meters high and at the highest part it is 3 meters wide. It consists of three rows of arches – the arcades. Blocks of stone are embedded into each other with millimeter accuracy while no fasteners were used.

At the time of the Roman Empire the city of Nimes had approximately 50 000 inhabitants. Aqueduct was able to supply about 400 liters of water daily for each person.

The bridge is now a major tourist attraction and one of the most visited monuments in France with more than 2 million tourists per year. In 1985 it was included in UNESCO World Heritage Site.

You can even stay in camping which is situated right bellow the Aqueduct.


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Magdeburg Water Bridge in Germany – the longest navigable aqueduct in the world (918m) https://europeexplored.com/2011/03/07/magdeburg-water-bridge-in-germany-the-longest-navigable-aqueduct-in-the-world-918m/ https://europeexplored.com/2011/03/07/magdeburg-water-bridge-in-germany-the-longest-navigable-aqueduct-in-the-world-918m/#comments Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:29:42 +0000 Claire https://europeexplored.com/?p=2785 Magdeburg Water Bridge (Wasserstrassenkreuz Magdeburg) is really unique bridge – it is the longest navigable aqueduct in the world. Its structure is crossing over the Elbe River in Hohenwarthe near the city of Magdeburg, Germany. As one of the few in the world it was not designed for vehicle traffic, but for the ships! This […]

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Magdeburg Water Bridge (Wasserstrassenkreuz Magdeburg) is really unique bridge – it is the longest navigable aqueduct in the world. Its structure is crossing over the Elbe River in Hohenwarthe near the city of Magdeburg, Germany. As one of the few in the world it was not designed for vehicle traffic, but for the ships! This is indeed, as the name predicts, the water bridge or channel.

Magdeburg Water Bridge was opened in 2003 and connects Berlin’s inland harbour network with the ports along the Rhine river. The bridge also allows the traffic of larger ships. This unique bridge is able to support even the heaviest boats and also to withstand the winter ice.

Its length is 918m, depth 4.25m and width is up to 34 m. The construction took €500 milion and used 24,000 tonnes of steel and 68,000 cubic meters of concrete.


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