Right now there is a big storm outside so I voluntarily got trapped in our home. My student also cancelled his lesson - that means I got some free time to walk this Wednesday. Hmmm... the walking part will happen through the photos I took last Monday in one town, Sax. I hope you don't mind. ;)
What is a good thing here is that this walk happened on a sunny day, so maybe until I finish this post the storm will calm down and the sun will also come back.
What is not a good thing for those who maybe don't like to climb uphill... is that this walk is actually... climbing uphill from the beginning until the end. 😁
I said this to warn you, that if you are going to have sore muscles in your legs tomorrow, this post may be partly to blame. Of course, if you stay with me now and go on this virtual walk.
We start from the town hall...
...and also check the Church of the Assumption which is located in front of the town hall.
The sun was so strong, so there was no better angle to capture the church and its tower, in those narrow streets. It is a building with a single nave and it has the shape of a Latin cross. It was built in the 16th century... I thought it was one of the oldest buildings here in Sax but then I started reading the history of this town and got dizzy from all the dates and years. So let's skip the history lesson and get dizzy from the climbing part haha.
Ok, there were some relatively flat streets, but then the sloping streets came into view.
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My husband had to breathe... and simply accept the fact that I was determined to climb to that fortress that my friend and I saw on the map. He is not a huge fan of height but we just continued walking and passing through these narrow streets, reaching higher altitudes with each step we took.
The names of the streets were interesting. We saw street nameplates like Deer Street (Ciervo), Arch Street (Arco), and San Jose Street, but the most interesting was Danger Street (Calle Peligro)!
I am wondering why it was named the Street of Danger! 😯
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After leaving behind the old town centre, we arrived at a little square and a church (Ermita de San Blas) before some steep steel stairs took the lead, up to the fortress.
Here we go, the fun can start!
The view from the stairs toward the little square and church tower.
Our destination can be seen there, up on the hill - the fortress castle of Sax. In the nearby towns (Villena and Biar) there are other two important ones, so this one from Sax is one of these three great fortresses of the region.
It was part of the defensive line of fortifications in this area since Muslim times. It is basically made up of two large cubic towers joined by wall sections with battlements. The base of one of the towers is possibly Roman, and the other, considered the "Homenaje" tower, is Muslim, from the 12th century, although its foundations date from the 10th century.
source of information about the fortress
To reach it, we have to climb these steel stairs.
Looking back sometimes to see the views...
Slowly arriving at the castle of the fortress, but just to see it from outside. It was closed (I think it opens only on Sundays, we had no luck seeing its interior).
From this side of the fortress, we can see a forest, the valley and the mountains in the background. It is completely opposite to the views toward to other side, to the town.
The views to the town of Sax. There we will have to walk back, but it will be easier to go downhill. 😇
I hope that you didn't regret coming along with us on this walk, through the street of danger, climbing all those stairs and seeing the castle and these cool views of the small town of Sax.
P.S. The storm indeed calmed down... as a few hours passed since my first sentence. 😁
