Albarracín: The Taifa That Stayed Independent
Aragon, Spain
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Albarracín
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275
XP
+100 Spain
= 375 total
1 day
Albarracín: The Taifa That Stayed Independent
275 + 100 XP
Albarracín is named after the Banu Razin, a Berber clan who made themselves the sovereign dynasty of their own taifa here in the 11th century. What happened next is the unusual part: the taifa passed to the Azagra, a Christian family of Navarrese lineage, by cession rather than conquest, and from 1170 they held it independent of both Castile and Aragon — to the point of running their own bishopric. The town is built of rodeno, the local reddish stone, and is walled, vertical and almost entirely intact.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Walk the wall up the ridge above the town and look back down into it
2
of 5
Work out the political anomaly: an Islamic taifa handed to a Christian family by agreement, then held independent of Castile and Aragon from 1170, with its own bishop
3
of 5
Find the rodeno — the reddish local stone that gives every building in the town the same colour
4
of 5
Go into the Cathedral of El Salvador in the middle of the old town
5
of 5
Look at the forged ironwork on the houses, which is the local vernacular and is everywhere once you notice it
Walk the wall up the ridge above the town and look back down into it
Work out the political anomaly: an Islamic taifa handed to a Christian family by agreement, then held independent of Castile and Aragon from 1170, with its own bishop
Find the rodeno — the reddish local stone that gives every building in the town the same colour
Go into the Cathedral of El Salvador in the middle of the old town
Look at the forged ironwork on the houses, which is the local vernacular and is everywhere once you notice it
Before you go
The town is steep, cobbled and almost entirely closed to vehicles — park below and walk up. Teruel province winters are severe.
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About Aragon
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
275 XP
Spain country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
375 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in Spain.
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