Friday 23 May 2014

Gr-92 Murcia Long-distance footpath

                                             

                                      GR-92 Murcia


The coastline of the Region of Murcia is connected through a network of trails since ancient times. It is verified that some trails are of Iberian and Roman Origins and some mining roads from XIX century. The former route of “Los Carabineros” linked the lookout towers that there are along the coast, the fishermen’s foot tracks along the cliffs of "Cabo Tiñoso" formed a network of roads where people and places met the necessities of towns and villages.
In 1992 a recovery project began of old roads and trails along the coast of Cartagena. At the end of 1995 the “Centro Excursionista de Cartagena” was granted the project to carry out the GR-92 outline as it passes through the Region of Murcia. In 2008 the revision of the GR- 92 was complete with some sections being revised for a total of a 180 km journey in nine stages.
The route runs through the eight coastal municipalities of the Region of Murcia with a common environment; the Mediterranean Sea. The GR -92 runs through unfrequented and unknown environments and on occasion by unique natural landscapes.

The hikers who walk the GR -92 in its entirety will find something more than a footpath. It is possible to come across the nature of the Region of Murcia in their entirety through areas of coastal low spots, mountains, urban environments, places like “Las Salinas de San Pedro”, “Calblanque” , the trail of “Los Carabineros”, the malestic cliffs of “Cabo Tiñoso”, “La Sierra de las Moreras” in Mazarron, “Puntas de Calnegre” in Lorca, the impressive “Cabo Cope” and “Cuatro Calas” in Aguilas.

Discover the history of the Region of Murcia by the Roman trails of Portman, the mining trails of past centuries in Cartagena and “La Union" and not to mention the great gastronomic variety as it passes through urban sections that some of the areas provide. All municipalities offer a tasty gastronomy variety, such as “Calderos” in San Pedro”, Cabo de Palos and Portman or the fish of Mazarron and Aguilas.
Without a doubt the hiker will not be disappointed as there will always be a unique environment that will accompany the tour, the Mediterranean Sea, the people of the coast of Murcia and a wonderful climate.



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Silent Sentinels of the Kingdom of Murcia


The Coasts of the Kingdom of Murcia to this day hold many secrets, even for Murcians. If we take the Gr 92 and walk the entire Murcia coast, we would find that every few kilometers, there, stand lonely tips , gulfs and bays, some buildings, sometimes modest and sometimes impressive that appear as eternal lookouts of the sea.

Santa Elena Tower
Cap Cope Tower


What do these buildings mean? What were they lifted for? Who inhabits them? ... To answer these questions we must look as far back as the century XVI. The two major maritime powers, the most important of the time in the Mediterranean, the Spanish Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire fight to the death for dominance of the sea routes. The Ottomans , backed by the enemies of Spain , provided arms, ships and men to the pirates of North Africa making the cities of Algiers, Oran and Tripoli authentic pirate bases with a flourishing slave trade and endless wealth as a result of their attacks. The Abrupt coast of the Kingdom of Murcia was a scene of continuous war that lasted until the beginning of the nineteenth century, in which, Coastal Towers were the protagonists. King Felipe II entrusted military engineer Juan Bautista Antonelli to build a real "sea wall", the engineer decided to build a series of military towers at the most vulnerable points of the coast of Murcia.

At the same time warning towers and castles, they were used for three hundred years, these towers were the silent guardians of the kingdom. When the pirates were spotted by the troops, a flare was used to signal the impending danger. The signal spread rapidly throughout the coast and inland alerting the army, who then prepared for battle. Famous pirates attacked our shores: “Barbaroja”, The Commander “Dragut” and especially “Morato Arraez”, who was taken into the Kingdom as the devil himself.

Since the end of the eighteenth century piracy was losing importance, and virtually ceased in the early nineteenth century, when France conquered Algiers great pirate base. The towers lost their function and began declining. Some fell to make way for the construction of lighthouses, others simply met their fate: abandonment... the sea and the men did the rest.
Todayrestored and returned to its former glory, there are still some of them that stand as before, challenging enemies who will never return. If we close our eyes we can grasp the smell of tar bonfires, the firing of cannon, the shouts, the crazed bells calling the fight and we can return to that moment, even for a few seconds to a time and place where the pirates were known as lords and masters.