Cehegín
Encyclopedia
Cehegín is a town and municipality
in the province
and autonomous community of Murcia
, Spain
, situated some 66 km from the city of Murcia
. It has a population of approximately 16,200 (INE 2005). It is crossed by the rivers Argos and Quipar.
The area has traditionally been an important source of marble
, particularly red marble, which is exported as far afield as Japan and Argentina. Agriculture has also been important, with apricot
and peach
grown on irrigated
soils, and olive
, almond
and vine
s grown on the drier land . Recent years have seen an increase in the cultivation of flowers under plastic. Much of the local produce is processed in fruit juice and canning facilities in the town.
The name Cehegín is sometimes connected by Spanish historians with that of the Zenaga, Senhaja or Senajeli, a North African tribe, which invaded Spain in the 11th century.
Cehegin has been inhabited since pre Roman times, the original settlement being called Begastri, cave paintings are found in the Peña Rubia a few kilometres outside the town. The Old Town, perched on a hill still has some of the 12th Century fortification such as the "Puerta de Caravaca." The Archaeological Museum can also be found in the Old Town.
Many conquistadores returned from South America with their riches and built large manorial houses in the Old Town. The Old Town has been revitalised recently by an influx of foreign (mainly British) buyers, who have renovated many of the older properties that were falling into disrepair.
The pilgrimage town of Caravaca de la Cruz is located about 5 minutes west of Cehegin. Access to the town from Murcia was much improved by the construction of the C415 motorway in the late 1990s.
External links
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the province
Provinces of Spain
Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. província.*Galician , sing. provincia.*Basque |Galicia]] — are not also the capitals of provinces...
and autonomous community of Murcia
Region of Murcia
The Region of Murcia is an autonomous community of Spain located in the southeast of the country, between Andalusia and Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, situated some 66 km from the city of Murcia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
. It has a population of approximately 16,200 (INE 2005). It is crossed by the rivers Argos and Quipar.
The area has traditionally been an important source of marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, particularly red marble, which is exported as far afield as Japan and Argentina. Agriculture has also been important, with apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
and peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
grown on irrigated
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
soils, and olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
, almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
and vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
s grown on the drier land . Recent years have seen an increase in the cultivation of flowers under plastic. Much of the local produce is processed in fruit juice and canning facilities in the town.
The name Cehegín is sometimes connected by Spanish historians with that of the Zenaga, Senhaja or Senajeli, a North African tribe, which invaded Spain in the 11th century.
Cehegin has been inhabited since pre Roman times, the original settlement being called Begastri, cave paintings are found in the Peña Rubia a few kilometres outside the town. The Old Town, perched on a hill still has some of the 12th Century fortification such as the "Puerta de Caravaca." The Archaeological Museum can also be found in the Old Town.
Many conquistadores returned from South America with their riches and built large manorial houses in the Old Town. The Old Town has been revitalised recently by an influx of foreign (mainly British) buyers, who have renovated many of the older properties that were falling into disrepair.
The pilgrimage town of Caravaca de la Cruz is located about 5 minutes west of Cehegin. Access to the town from Murcia was much improved by the construction of the C415 motorway in the late 1990s.
External links